Robert Duvall, star of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, has died at the age of 95

Robert Duvall, the Oscar-winning actor known for his roles in some of American cinema’s greatest films, including “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now,” has died at the age of 95.

The letter read: “Yesterday we said goodbye to my beloved husband, dear friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time. Bob passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort.” statement It was posted by his wife Luciana on the actor’s official Facebook page.

A statement from Duvall’s representative confirmed the actor’s death, saying in part: “Oscar-winning actor Robert Selden Duvall passed away peacefully at his home in Middleburg, Virginia on Sunday evening, February 15, 2026 with his wife Luciana Duvall by his side. He was 95 years old.”

The statement continued: “In keeping with Duvall’s wishes, no formal service will be held.” “Instead, the family encourages those who wish to honor his memory to do so in a way that reflects the life he lived by watching a great movie, telling a good story around a table with friends, or taking a trip out into the countryside to appreciate the beauty of the world.”

Duvall brought a distinct naturalness to the roles he played, an unfussy style that infused his countless characters with a quiet strength—a contrast to his often self-admitted temperament on set—and earned him a reputation as one of the finest actors of his generation. Robert Duvall made his memorable film debut as Boo Radley in 1962’s To Kill a Mockingbird, in which he did not utter a word, and went on to appear in more than 90 films over the next seven decades, working with some of Hollywood’s most iconic filmmakers and performers.

Duvall shared the screen role of outlaw Ned Pepper opposite John Wayne in the 1969 film “True Grit.” He also originated the role of Major Frank Burns in Robert Altman’s 1970 black comedy “M*A*S*H,” and starred in the title role in George Lucas’s 1971 “Star Wars” directorial debut, “THX 1138.” Duvall also played Corleone family advisor Tom Hagen in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather and The Godfather Part II opposite his co-star Marlon Brando, and had a pivotal role as ruthless Network VP Frank Hackett in the 1976 satirical film Network.

As shirtless cowboy-hat-wearing Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore in Coppola’s 1979 Vietnam War epic “Apocalypse Now,” Duvall delivered the film’s most quotable line: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” Four years later, Duvall won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Mac Sledge, an alcoholic country music star trying to make amends in “Tender Mercies.”

Other career highlights included playing satirical sportswriter Max Murphy in Robert Redford’s 1984 baseball story “The Natural”; NASCAR crew chief Harry Hogg opposite Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in 1990’s “Days of Thunder”; Sgt. Martin Prendergast, a retired LAPD officer who spends his last day on the job pursuing Michael Douglas’s troubled character in the 1993 film “Falling Down”; A criminal court judge accused of murder is defended by his estranged son, played by Robert Downey Jr., in the 2014 legal drama “The Judge.”

However, of all his famous acting roles, Duvall has repeatedly said his favorite is that of retired Texas Ranger Augustus “Gus” McCray in the 1989 Western television series “Lonesome Dove,” which Duvall has called “the Godfather of Westerns” in 2021. interview With Stephen Colbert. The series was one of many television projects in which Duvall starred. Others include starring in the 1992 HBO drama “Stalin,” for which he won a Golden Globe Award — his fourth win ever — and the 2006 AMC Western miniseries “Broken Trail,” for which Duvall received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, as well as another for producing the series.

“Time teaches you a lot of things. It gets a little easier as you get older,” Duvall, then 72, said. ABC News’ Charlie Gibson said In 2003, which reflects his craft. He went on to quote a line from his beloved “Lonesome Dove” character, Gus McRae: “The older the violin, the sweeter the music. Maybe that applies somewhere.”

Robert Selden Duvall was born in San Diego, California, on January 5, 1931, to Mildred, an amateur actress, and William, a rear admiral in the US Navy, and the middle of three children. His family soon moved to Annapolis, Maryland, home of the U.S. Naval Academy, where Duvall spent much of his youth. Despite his father’s desire for him to join the academy, Duvall graduated from Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, with a degree in drama in 1953, after which he joined… Soldier He joined the US Army and was honorably discharged two years later.

Duvall moved to New York after being discharged from the military and used his GI Bill to enroll in the famous school Neighborhood Theater School of Theater. During this same time, Duvall roomed with fellow struggling actor and newly transplanted Californian, Dustin Hoffman, and also became friends with Hoffman’s fellow Californian transplant, Gene Hackman. After graduating two years later, Duvall worked mostly in local and regional theater before making his television debut in 1959 in the anthology television drama series “Armstrong Circle Theater.”

More TV roles followed – in all, Duvall made about 50 guest appearances though 1969 on hit TV shows including “Route 66,” “Naked City,” “The Twilight Zone,” “The Untouchables,” “The Fugitive,” “The Outer Limits” and more. He also made his Broadway debut in “Wait Until Dark” in 1966, one of only two appearances he made, the second being in the original Broadway cast of playwright David Mamet’s famous work, “American Buffalo.”

At the same time, Duvall began building his film resume, making his big screen debut in Robert Mulligan’s 1962 classic adaptation of Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Duvall played the aloof Boo Radley in one scene, opposite Neighborhood Theater alumnus Gregory Peck, in his Oscar-winning role as lawyer Atticus Finch. A number of modest film roles followed until Duvall landed the breakout role of outlaw Ned Pepper in John Wayne’s 1969 western classic, “True Grit.”

This role opposite a living legend of cinema raised Duvall’s profile in Hollywood. Bigger film roles soon followed, including the role of repressed Major Frank Burns in the 1970 box office hit, whose success inspired the long-running television series of the same name. However, Duvall’s most memorable film role to that point came two years later, when Francis Ford Coppola cast him to play Corleone family advisor Tom Hagen in The Godfather, a role that Duvall reprized in 1974’s The Godfather Part II. His work in The Godfather earned Duvall his first Academy Award nomination.

Including “The Godfather” and “The Godfather Part II,” Duvall appeared in five Coppola-directed films in five years, starting with the 1969 drama “The Rain People,” 1974’s “The Conversation” opposite his old friend, Gene Hackman, and ending with his Oscar-nominated turn as Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore in Coppola’s 1979 Vietnam War epic, “Apocalypse Now.”

Duvall worked steadily throughout the remainder of his life. He received his third Academy Award nomination for The Great Santini in the 1980s, and his first win three years later when he played country singer Mac Sledge in the 1983 film Tender Mercies, written by Pulitzer Prize winner Horton Foote. The latter also took home an Oscar for the film – his second win, the first being for Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Duvall’s feature film debut.

When asked by ABC’s Chris Connelly in 2014 if winning an Oscar had changed his life, Duvall was succinct: “I’ve become more recognizable in airports. That’s about it.”

In all, Duvall was nominated for seven Oscars, the last three for his performance in the 1997 film The Apostle, which he also wrote and directed. “A Civil Action” (1998), co-starring John Travolta as a corrupt corporate lawyer; and “The Judge” in 2014. His nomination for “The Judge” at the age of 84 made him the oldest actor ever nominated in the best supporting actor category, until Christopher Plummer was nominated, at the age of 86, three years later for “All the Money in the World.”

Other notable films in which Duvall has appeared include 1990’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” 1996’s “Sling Blade,” the 1998 sci-fi thriller “Deep Impact,” 2009’s “Crazy Heart” — this time with Jeff Bridges playing a down-on-his-luck country singer — and as a shooting range owner in Tom Cruise’s 2012 hit “Jack Reacher.”

In addition to winning an Academy Award, an Emmy, and a Golden Globe, Robert Duvall has won a BAFTA and a Screen Actors Guild Award, the former for “Apocalypse Now” and the latter for “A Civil Action,” in addition to dozens of other critical and popular award nominations and wins. He also received a medal National Medal of Arts By then-President George W. Bush in 2005.

“Well, you spend your time with young people. I can learn from them, and they can learn from me,” Duvall replied when Connelly asked him how he continued to work into his eighth decade. “I think that’s what keeps me going, at least.”

“The day will come when they wipe away the drool once and for all and you stop,” Duvall added. “Until that time comes, you have to try to live life to the fullest.”

Duvall was married four times, most recently in 2005 to Luciana Pedraza, who survives him. He had no children.