The Shining star Shelley Duvall dies, aged 75
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Shelley Duvall, the actress who portrayed Jack Nicholson's spouse in The Shining, has passed away at the age of 75.
In Stanley Kubrick's 1980 movie based on a Stephen King novel, Duvall portrayed the character of Wendy Torrance, the wife of the crazed man played by Nicholson who wielded an axe. Duvall also acted in seven movies directed by Robert Altman over the years and had a role in Jane Campion's film The Portrait of a Lady in 1996.
Dan Gilroy, who has been with her since 1989, shared the sad news of her passing. He revealed that she had passed away peacefully in her sleep due to complications from diabetes.
"My beloved life partner and friend has passed away. She had been experiencing a lot of pain recently, but now she is at peace. Soar high, dear Shelley," Gilroy expressed.
Duvall, who hails from Fort Worth, Texas, became a student of director Altman after crossing paths with the filmmaker during the production of the fantasy comedy Brewster McCloud (1970).
Following the positive impression she made on several crew members, Duvall received an invitation to star in the film. Without hesitation, she immediately hopped on a plane and got the job done.
After that, she appeared in Altman's movies McCabe & Mrs Miller (1971), Thieves Like Us (1974) and Nashville (1975), which is considered the film that made her famous.
She also had a role in the director's thought-provoking film 3 Women (1977), where she won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival and earned a nomination for Best Actress at the Oscars.
Duvall also appeared in a minor role in the movie Annie Hall and, during the 1980s, she starred in Altman's Popeye as Olive Oyl and in the Steve Martin comedy Roxanne.
Talking about her collaboration with Altman, Duvall expressed to The New York Times in 1977 that he provides her with great opportunities. Each role he offers her is unique and he shows a lot of faith in her abilities. She feels trusted and respected by him, and appreciates that he doesn't limit her or make her feel nervous. She has strong feelings of love towards him.
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But it was Duvall's performance in Kubrick's The Shining that was the most memorable. There have been many stories circulating about Duvall's challenges while filming the movie, as it took a whole year to finish filming because Kubrick wanted everything to be perfect.
In order to create more tension between his main actors, it has been said that Kubrick would intentionally provoke and separate both Duvall and Nicholson. It has been alleged that Kubrick had Duvall repeat a well-known scene where she frantically defends herself from her husband with a baseball bat a total of 127 times.
Duvall mentioned that it was very challenging to act hysterical for such a long time and she found making the film to be almost too much to handle. Despite this, she also had positive things to say about the experience, commenting that it was nice in some ways.
Throughout the years, Duvall consistently disproved allegations that she faced difficulties after shooting The Shining.
Duvall was nominated for a Razzie for her acting in the movie, but the awards committee officially took it back in 2022.
The actor had a role in producing a popular children's TV show in 1982 called Faerie Tale Theatre. She was a key player in both the on-screen and behind-the-scenes aspects. She also started another show called Tall Tales & Legends in 1985 and then went on to create her own production company called Think Entertainment in 1988. This company focused on making TV shows and movies for cable channels.
The actress appeared on screen until she retired in 2002, but unexpectedly returned to acting after 20 years to star in the horror-thriller movie The Forest Hills.
In 2016, Duvall made an appearance on an episode of Dr Phil where she talked about her mental health challenges throughout her life. The interview received backlash from some who believed it exploited her struggles.
Duvall and Gilroy were partners since 1989 and lived together in Texas where Duvall passed away.
She was married just once, to artist Bernard Sampson in 1970, and the marriage ended after four years.
In 1976, Duvall began dating musician Paul Simon for two years after meeting on the set of Annie Hall. Their relationship reportedly ended when Duvall introduced Simon to his soon-to-be wife, Carrie Fisher.
Duvall had three younger siblings - Scott, Shane, and Stewart. He was the eldest child of Bobbie Ruth Crawford and Robert Duvall, who is not the famous actor with the same name.
