Shelley Duvall, the wide-eyed, slender actress known for her roles in seven films directed by her mentor Robert Altman and for surviving Jack Nicholson’s character’s rampage in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, passed away on Thursday at the age of 75.
Duvall died peacefully in her sleep due to complications from diabetes at her home in Blanco, Texas, according to spokesperson Gary Springer.
Dan Gilroy, her life partner since 1989, shared his grief, saying, “My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley.”
In November 2016, a disheveled Duvall appeared on an episode of the syndicated talk show Dr. Phil, where she disclosed her struggles with mental illness, stating, “I am very sick. I need help.”
Four years later, THR’s Seth Abramovitch interviewed her for a notable article.
Before returning to her native Texas in the mid-1990s, Duvall enjoyed a successful career as a unique and versatile actress.
She also headed her own production company, Think Entertainment, which produced innovative children’s programming for cable television, earning her two Emmy Award nominations.
Duvall was discovered by Altman’s staff members while attending junior college in her hometown of Houston.
They convinced her to take a screen test, leading to her onscreen debut as the teenage seductress and Astrodome tour guide Suzanne Davis in Brewster McCloud (1970).
A decade later, Duvall played the iconic comic-strip character Olive Oyl, opposite Robin Williams, in Altman’s live-action adaptation of Popeye.
In the years between, Duvall collaborated with Altman on several films: as a mail-order bride in McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971); as a woman in a romance with a bank robber played by Keith Carradine in Thieves Like Us (1974);
As the groupie L.A. Joan, known for her hot pants and platform shoes, in Nashville (1975); as the wife of President Grover Cleveland in Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976); and as Millie Lamoureaux, a daydreaming attendant at a Palm Springs health spa for the elderly, in 3 Women (1977).
