Army Vet Robert Duvall, 95, passes
Robert Duvall, arguably one of the greatest actors in our lifetimes, has passed at the tender young age of 95.
It’s safe to say his time in the service was uneventful – unlike his Navy father, who was a fast-tracker in the Navy.
His father had expected him to attend the Naval Academy, but Duvall said “I was terrible at everything but acting—I could barely get through school”. He instead served in the United States Army after the Korean War, from August 19, 1953, to August 20, 1954, leaving as private first class. “That’s led to some confusion in the press,” he explained in 1984,
“Some stories have me shooting it out with the Commies from a foxhole over in Frozen Chosin. Pork Chop Hill stuff. Hell, I barely qualified with the M-1 rifle in basic training”. While stationed at Camp Gordon in Georgia, he appeared in an amateur production of the comedy Room Service in nearby Augusta.
By the dates, it would appear young Mr. Duvall was a stereotypical ’50s draftee – get in, get out, done.
After that, Duvall bounced around stage productions through the mid-50s, getting a few semi-anonymous TV roles.
In 1959, Duvall made his first television appearance on Armstrong Circle Theater in the episode “The Jailbreak”. He appeared regularly on television as a guest actor during the 1960s, often in action, suspense, detective, or crime dramas. His appearances during this time include performances on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Naked City, The Untouchables, Route 66, The Twilight Zone, Combat!, The Outer Limits, The Fugitive, T.H.E. Cat, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel, The F.B.I., and The Mod Squad. Wiki
1962 marked his film debut as Boo Radley in “To Kill A Mockingbird”. Minor roles followed (remember Steve McQueen running around San Francisco in a taxi? Duvall was the cab driver) culminating as Lucky Ned Pepper in 1969’s “True Grit”. This line may ring a bell – “I call that brave talk from a one-eyed fat man.” (Apparently the wrong thing to say.)
The ’70s made him a star. He played the original MAJ Frank Burns in “M*A*S*H”, and really rocketed to stardom as the Corleone family consigliere in the “Godfather” movies. One notable moment in 1979’s “Apocalypse Now” is probably one of the top five famously misquoted movie lines: what LTC Kilgore actually says is:
You smell that? Do you smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for twelve hours. When it was all over I walked up. We didn’t find one of ’em, not one stinkin’ dink body. But the smell! You know – that gasoline smell… the whole hill! Smelled like… victory. Napalm YouTube
During his career Mr. Duvall played a variety of military-related roles. One standout was as “Bull” Meachum in “The Great Santini” (got an Oscar nomination for that – should have gotten the award, too.) Probably one of his best-known roles was as a retired Texas Ranger, Captain Gus McCrae, in “Lonesome Dove”. Go to www.imdb.com and look up his credits.
Over 145 credited appearances, both as the star and as a character actor. His presence alone could lift an otherwise dreary movie to higher levels (see “days of Thunder” or “Gone in 60 Seconds” for examples.) Eight Oscar nominations, one win (for “Tender Mercies”) – hardly seems like enough, does it.
Not bad for a PFC who couldn’t shoot. If you see his name in the credits – watch it. It’s just that simple.
Category: Army, We Remember
CAV
Kilgore was based largely upon Col John B Stockton, 1/9 Commander in Vietnam. Other influences were Col David Hackworth and Lt Gen James Hollingsworth. All of the above were legendary innovative and charismatic leaders of that era. Stockton passed away in 2016. The other two preceded him
Hackworth was probably the most famous of the three and Stockton likely the most flamboyant although he wasn’t quite as over the top as Kilgore was.
Words to live by…
He made a great cowboy! Lonesome Dove is an awesome movie.
Don’t forget Tom Hagen, consigliere to the Corleone family.
A class actor!
Go easy & rest in peace.
I thought he was great in the movie second hand lion.
Nice to see an actor that actually did something beside pretend in front of a camera or audience. That is a genuine rarity these days.
One of my favorites!! Even in Tender Mercies (not really my type of move)!
His roll in Sling-blade was sort of small, but like every thing else he did (except shooting, evidently) it was great.
God be with his family now. You will not be forgotten, Sir.