So sorry to hear about Shelley Duvall’s death at 75.
There was a time in the 1970s when certain actors worked so much and were so unusually gifted you looked forward to seeing them in movies. That was the case with Shelley Duvall.
She appeared in seven Robert Altman movies, most memorably in “3 Women.” She won Best Actress at Cannes for her unique style. She starred with Keith Carradine in “Thieves Like Us,” and was also in “Nashville.” Altman really loved her, as did everyone in his repertory.
Their last film, “Popeye,” with Robin Williams, was a flop, although Duvall as Olive Oyl was pretty great.Duvall became part of film lore when she co-starred with Jack Nicholson in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” Her last part in a good film was in Steve Martin’s “Roxanne,” in 1987.
Quirky was one way to describe Duvall. She could make goofy seem sexy and bright at the same time. But she didn’t play the Hollywood game, despite dating Paul Simon in the 70s (they’re each in Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall”). She lived with Dan Gliroy, a musician who’d been an early boyfriend of Madonna, since 1989.
Duvall, sadly, suffered from declining mental illness. Reports say she died from diabetes. She was “only” 75, younger than almost anyone in her generation, because Altman gave her her big break when she was just 20. She has a cinematic legacy that no one will forget.
