Los Angeles: Acclaimed filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola paid an emotional tribute to his longtime collaborator and friend Robert Duvall, who breathed his last on Sunday at the age of 95.
“What a shock to learn of the passing of Robert Duvall,” Francis wrote on Instagram.
Such a great actor and such an important part of the American zoetrope from the beginning: The Rain People, The Conversation, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, THX 1138, Assassination Tango.”
She also shared several pictures with Robert, remembering their partnership.
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As noted by Coppola, he collaborated with Robert Duvall on seven films during his career, including The Rain People (1969), THX 1138 (1971), The Godfather (1972), The Conversation (1974), The Godfather Part II (1974), Apocalypse Now (1979), and Assassination Tango (2002).
According to Variety’s report, the news of Robert’s death was announced by his wife Luciana through a post on Facebook.
She wrote, “Yesterday we said goodbye to our beloved husband, dear friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time. Bob passed away peacefully in the love and comfort of his home.”
Pouring out her heart in a touching message, Luciana remembered the late actor calling her her “everything”. “To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything. His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love of characters, a great meal and holding court. For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to the truth of his characters and the human spirit they represented. In doing so, he left something lasting and unforgettable for all of us. For the support over the years Bob showed us and we celebrate Thank you for giving us this time to celebrate and the memories it leaves behind,” she added.
In 1979, Duvall delivered one of cinema’s most iconic lines, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning”, as Lt. Colonel Kilgore in ‘Apocalypse Now’. The same year, he played an overbearing marine father in ‘The Great Santini’.
His portrayal of a betrayed country singer looking for redemption in ‘Tender Mercies’ earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1983, marking the pinnacle of a career filled with accolades.
Over the years, Duvall received seven Oscar nominations, four Golden Globes, a BAFTA, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. On television, he won hearts as beloved Texas Ranger Gus McCray in Lonesome Dove, a role he once described as his personal favorite.
Beyond acting, Duvall was an accomplished filmmaker. He wrote, directed and self-financed ‘The Apostle,’ a passion project that earned him another Oscar nomination. (ANI)