Duvall

I have, with great pleasure, been reading through Elmore Leonard’s Library of America series, I’m currently reading City Primeval, the 1980 Detroit noir classic that contained a reference to Robert Duvall’s indelible character from Apocalypse Now, which was presumably written not long after it came out. It’s that memorable, and from Tom Hagen to The Apostle there are plenty more where that came from:

Robert Duvall, who drew from a seemingly bottomless reservoir of acting craftsmanship to transform himself into a business-focused Mafia lawyer, a faded country singer, a cynical police detective, a bullying Marine pilot, a surfing-obsessed Vietnam commander, a mysterious Southern recluse and scores of other film, stage and television characters, died on Sunday. He was 95.

His death was announced in a statement by his wife, Luciana Duvall, who said he had died at home but gave no other details. Various news outlets reported he lived in Middleburg, Va.

Mr. Duvall’s singular trait was to immerse himself in roles so deeply that he seemed to almost disappear into them — an ability that was “uncanny, even creepy the first time” it was witnessed, said Bruce Beresford, the Australian who directed him in the 1983 film “Tender Mercies.”

In that film, Mr. Duvall played Mac Sledge, a boozy, washed-up country star who comes to terms with life through marriage to a widow with a young son. The performance earned him an Academy Award for best actor, his sole Oscar in a career that brought him six other nominations in both leading and supporting roles.

My favorite semi-obscure Duvall performance is Jerome Facher, the quietly brilliant corporate lawyer in the fine film version of A Civil Action. But he was almost always great — even in junk like Lucky You he leaves an impression. R.I.P.