Shelley Duvall made Hollywood history with her eyes wide open in an unforgettable scene in the horror film “The Shining.” Now the film world is mourning the loss of the actor. Duvall died at the age of 75, as reported by the US magazines “Variety” and “The Hollywood Reporter”, citing her longtime partner Dan Gilroy. According to her statement, Duvall died in her sleep at her home in Blanco, Texas.
“We have left my partner and my sweet, sweet, wonderful friend. She has suffered too much recently, now she is free. Fly, my beautiful Shelley,” Gilroy told The Hollywood Reporter. According to a family spokesperson, she died as a result of diabetes, the New York Times reported.
Duvall became known worldwide in 1980 with his role in the horror film “The Shining” by director Stanley Kubrick. She then escaped from Jack Nicholson’s ax in a scene that probably stuck with most viewers. In the cult classic, which takes place in a secluded, snow-covered mountain hotel, she is threatened by her husband (Nicholson), who is slowly going insane. Filming was extremely difficult, Duvall told US magazine People in 1981. She cried for weeks under Kubrick’s direction.
The spirited woman with big dark eyes was discovered long before that by the US director Robert Altman. He cast her in many films in the 1970s, including “Only Flying Is More Beautiful,” “McCabe & Mrs. Millerie,” “Thieves Like Us,” “Nashville” and “Three Women.” Duvall was nominated for best actor at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival for her role in the psychological drama “Three Women”.
Woody Allen brought her in front of the camera for a role in “The Urban Neurotic”, and she shot the comedy “Popeye – The Sailor with the Hard Punch” with Robin Willams. She also appeared in Roxanne and Portrait of a Lady (1996).