Shelley Duvall, the versatile actor best remembered for her part in “The Shining” and collaboration with filmmaker Robert Altman, died on Thursday at the age of 75.
The Hollywood Reporter reported that Duvall died in her sleep at her Blanco, Texas, home due to diabetes issues.
Duvall, born on July 7, 1949, in Fort Worth, Texas, was found by Altman, the maverick filmmaker noted for his colorful characters, acute social critique, and piercing satire, who put her in the 1970 dark comedy “Brewster McCloud.”
The saucer-eyed performer had a vast repertory, breaking through with 1975’s “Nashville,” and going on to portray unique and eccentric characters that earned her a sprinkling of honors, including a Cannes award for her role in the famous 1977 drama “3 Women.”
Her career was defined by her work with Altman, whom she stated she continued to work with because “he offers me damn good roles.”
“None of them have been alike,” she told The New York Times in 1977.
“He has a great confidence in me, and a trust and respect for me, and he doesn’t put any restrictions on me or intimidate me, and I love him.”
‘Annie Hall’
Her role opposite Jack Nicholson in the film adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Shining” was, nonetheless, one of her most well-known.
Director Stanley Kubrick put her through the ringer to play Wendy Torrance in the horror classic about a writer husband who goes insane and terrorizes his wife and small boy.
Duvall told People in 1981 that the 13-month job was exhausting, and that Kubrick had her “crying 12 hours a day for weeks on end.”
“I will never give that much again. If you want to get into pain and call it art, go ahead, but not with me.”
In one famous scene Nicholson’s character tortures Duvall’s with a baseball bat, which reportedly took 127 takes to satisfy Kubrick.
Duvall also made a cameo in 1977’s “Annie Hall” by Woody Allen, and played opposite Robin Williams in Altman’s 1980 live-action rendition of “Popeye.”
Later in the 1980s she made her way into children’s programming.
Gilroy — a musician who was part of the Breakfast Club and had dated Madonna — was her longtime partner after the pair met on the 1990 Disney Channel Movie “Mother Goose Rock ‘n’ Rhyme.”
“My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley,” The Hollywood Reporter quoted Gilroy as saying.