The class and comedy of Robert Duvall

The various roles of Robert Duvall Image Credit: Wall Street Journal

On February 15, Hollywood icon Robert Duvall passed away at the age of 95-years-old. Luciana Duvall, his wife of 20 years says he died "peacefully".

Duvall was born in San Diego, California in 1931. He would eventually move to St. Louis, Missouri, for his formative years, where acting inspiration would strike. He began acting in 1952 doing plays in the summer, taking a hiatus in 1959, when he took a one-year break to serve in the United States Army. While there, he made contacts that should help him to break into television in shows such as The Defenders and Playhouse 90.

His feature film debut came in a silent performance in 1962's To Kill a Mockingbird where he played the mysterious Boo Radley, a captivating and ominous character that appears only at the very end, but remains a consistent presence in the world of the film. His other earlier film appearances include portraying antagonist Ned Pepper in True Grit with John Wayne in 1969 and as frustrating Major Frank Burns in Robert Altman's M*A*S*H in 1970. In 1971, he would star in George Lucas's debut feature film THX 1138.

However, the role that will forever cement Duvall's legacy as disciplined and beloved actor was as Tom Hagen in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. In the first two films of the trilogy, Duvall plays the Corleone family lawyer and unofficial son of Marlon Brando's Don Vito Corleone. In the role, Duvall portrays the rational, loyal consigliere with class and heart.

Duvall would also get noted attention for his memorable roles in Network and Apocalypse Now later in the 1970s. He would win the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in the 1983 film Tender Mercies as a struggling country singer. He won a Golden Globe for Best Lead Actor in a Television Miniseries for his incredible role as the folksy Texas ranger turned cattle driver Augustus McCrae in Lonesome Dove (1989). He would later win a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Lead Actor in a Limited Series for Broken Trail (2006).

Duvall would eventually push his artistic limits as a director in 1997, when he directed and stared in the critically-acclaimed film The Apostle.

In the 2000s and onward, he often took roles that delved into comedic territory, playing the 'funny old dad' in Four Christmases with Vince Vaughn and Kicking and Screaming with Will Ferrell. In the 2010s, he returned to drama with the titular role in The Judge with Robert Downey, Jr.

Leaving behind a vast career marked by versatility, realism, and pure dedication to the craft, actors for generations to come will look for epitomized excellence in the career of Robert Duvall.