Shelley Duvall, the beloved character actor best known for starring in Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of the Stephen King horror classic “The Shining,” has died at age 75.
The award-winning actor died of complications from diabetes, her partner Dan Gilroy told The Hollywood Reporter.
“Too much suffering lately, now she’s free,” Gilroy told the outlet.
Duvall found fame in the 1970s after being discovered by famed director Robert Altman. She would go on to star in seven of his films, including “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” (1971), “Nashville” (1975), “3 Women” (1977), and playing Olive Oyl opposite Robin Williams as Popeye in Altman’s live-action adaptation of the beloved comic strip “Popeye” (1980).
Shelley Duvall in “The Shining.”
Warner Brothers/Getty Images
Duvall’s big eyes and wiry frame were perfect for bringing Olive Oyl to life — and they also caught the eye of Stanley Kubrick when casting the frightened wife of a husband gone mad in his adaptation of the Stephen King novel “The Shining.”
Kubrick had apparently taken a liking to Duvall’s ability to cry, she would later tell The Hollywood Reporter.
Duvall’s screams and psychological breakdown opposite Jack Nicholson’s descent into insanity in “The Shining” (1980) became some of the most iconic horror movie scenes of all time.
But Duvall later described the shoot as “tumultuous.” In the interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Duvall described the stress she endured from being forced to cry hysterically for days during the grueling shoot.
Though Duvall demurred when asked if Kubrick was abusive to her on set, Nicholson’s girlfriend at the time, Anjelica Huston, told the Reporter that Kubrick went especially hard on her.
Still, Duvall’s wails anchor the classic horror flick.
“She actually carried the movie on her back if you look at it,” Huston told the Reporter. “Jack wavers between sort of comedic and terrifying, and Kubrick was Kubrick at his most mysterious, interesting, and powerful. But it must have been something for her to be in the middle of that mix. And she took it on. She was, I think, incredibly brave.”
Duvall’s other credits include Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall” (1977), Terry Gilliam’s “Time Bandits” (1981), and playing Steve Martin’s friend in “Roxanne” (1987). She also appeared in a children’s animated series called “Shelly Duvall’s Bedtime Stories” (1992).
Duvall was nominated for two Emmys over her career.
Along with Gilroy, Duvall is survived by brothers Scott, Stewart, and Shane.
