Shelley Duvall, known for her big eyes and slender frame, starred in seven movies by Robert Altman and escaped Jack Nicholson’s ax in “The Shining” by Stanley Kubrick. She passed away on Thursday at 75 years old.
Gary Springer, her spokesperson, said Duvall died in her sleep from diabetes complications at her home in Blanco, Texas.
Dan Gilroy, her partner since 1989, said, “My dear, sweet Shelley has left us. She was suffering a lot lately, but now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley.”
In November 2016, Duvall appeared on “Dr. Phil” and talked about her mental illness, saying, “I am very sick. I need help.” Four years later, Seth Abramovitch from The Hollywood Reporter visited her for an article.
Before moving back to Texas in the mid-1990s, Duvall had a great career as an actress and head of her own company, Think Entertainment, which made popular children’s shows and earned her two Emmy nominations.
While in junior college in Houston, Altman’s team discovered her and convinced her to take a screen test. She debuted as Suzanne Davis in “Brewster McCloud” (1970).
Ten years later, Duvall starred opposite Robin Williams as Olive Oyl in Altman’s “Popeye.”
During her career, she worked with Altman in several movies, playing diverse roles like a mail-order bride in “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” (1971) and Millie Lamoureaux in “3 Women” (1977), for which she won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.
In “The Shining,” Duvall played Wendy Torrance, who spends a harsh winter with her mad husband (Nicholson) and their young son at the Overlook Hotel. Kubrick made her cry for hours each day during filming, which she found very difficult.
Roger Ebert said in 1980 that Duvall “looks and sounds like almost nobody else” and played many different characters in the 1970s. She returned to acting in 2022 after two decades with a role in “The Forest Hills.”
Born on July 7, 1949, in Fort Worth, Shelley Alexis Duvall was the oldest of four children. Her family moved to Houston when she was five. At a party she hosted for her fiancé, Bernard Sampson, she met Altman’s crew and was eventually cast in “Brewster McCloud.”
Duvall’s career included roles in “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” (1976), “Frankenweenie” (1984), and “The Portrait of a Lady” (1996). She also created the Peabody Award-winning “Faerie Tale Theatre” and other family shows.
Duvall married Sampson during “Brewster McCloud” but they divorced in 1974. She later dated musician Paul Simon and lived with Stan Wilson before meeting singer-drummer Gilroy.
She is survived by her brothers, Scott, Stewart, and Shane.
