It truly is a sad day in Hollywood and around the globe because the talented and iconic actress Shelley Duvall has passed away. Let us remember the life and legacy of one of the most unique actresses of the past 50 years.
Shelley was known for her big bright eyes and lean figure. She first got our attention as an actress in Robert Altman films. He gave her her big break when he cast her in her very first film role in the movie Brewster McCloud. He met her at a party and was struck by her, offering her the role and flying her out to Hollywood. She had never left Texas before leaving to shoot that movie! She didn't go nude, but it was the launching pad she needed to do so in another Altman film.
Altman took a liking to her and worked with her on several films. She earned a best actress award from Cannes for her role in Altman's 3 Women. This was her big breakout role which earned her a great deal of attention and critical acclaim. She and Altman worked together on Thieves Like Us, McCabe Mrs. Miller, and his famous ensemble film Nashville in which she played a far-out groupie chick who hung out in her undies.
In Thieves Like Us, she played Keith Carradine's mistress and she played it wonderfully by going nude. She took a bath and got out of the bath to reveal a sleek and wet figure complete with super perky boobs. Her nipples are long, pink, and pointing upwards.
Before Shelley became an award-winning actress, she was just a brunette babe from Texas. She has always been known for having an upbeat and energetic personality which is how Altman and other Hollywood folks were allured by her. People wanted to be near her bright energy.
She is extremely famous for her role in the Stanley Kubrick horror film The Shining. This was a controversial role because she was nominated for a Golden Rasberry for Worst Actress for her over-the-top performance in the horror classic. The tide has since shifted on her performance in the film, partially due to more information having come out about the way that Kubrick treated Duvall on set. The Razzies even retracted the nomination in 2022 after learning more about how she was treated and how that "impacted her performance".
Altman came back into Duvall's life by offering her the role of Olive Oyl in his bizarre live-action Popeye film that starred Robin Williams as Popeye. Despite being a box office hit, the movie had negative reviews except for Duvall's performance. Roger Ebert even said that it was a role that Duvall was born to play. He described her as "a precious piece of china with a tinkling personality. She looks and sounds like almost nobody else, and if it is true that she was born to play the character Olive Oyl, it is also true that she has possibly played more really different kinds of characters than almost any other young actress of the 1970s."
She turned her attention to television and children's programming in the 80s. She even created a horror anthology series for showtime called Nightmare Classics. Perhaps a bit of an American Horror Stories before its time? TV was a beautiful place for her to be and she even won an Emmy. Other anthologies she created included Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories. Who wouldn't love to be put to bed by Shelley Duvall?
She continued to work on a variety of projects until she retired from acting in 2002 with her role in Manna From Heaven. Twenty years later, she returned to acting to star in an indie horror film called The Forest Hills.
Shelley passed away at the age of 75 in Blanco, Texas. She passed away due to diabetes complications and she will be sorely missed.
