There really was no one like Robert Duvall.
He had seven Oscar nominations and one win, for “Tender Mercies,” a brilliant performance.
His hits included the first two “Godfather” movies, “Apocalypse Now,” “The Great Santini,” “MASH” — he was the original Frank Burns, “True Grit,” and dozens of roles in TV’s Golden Age. If you watch MeTV you’ll see him pop up all over the place.
He wrote, directed and starred in “The Apostle,” starred with DIane Ladd — who just passed away recently — in “Rambling Rose,” and co-starred with James Earl Jones in “A Family Thing,” a lost gem.
There was also his starring role on TV in “Lonesome Dove.”
Duvall refused to be paid less than Al Pacino for “The Godfather III” and so did not appear as consigliere Tom Hagen. Ironically, he dodged a disaster.
Five years ago I did a short interview with him after knowing Duvall for many, many years. Like Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, and others of his era, Duvall was a real movie star — one of the last. When you were in his presence, you knew he was a Big Deal. He was a serious person. Robert Duvall will never be forgotten.
