A famous American actor has passed away

Oscar-winning American actor Robert Duvall has passed away at the age of 95.

This was announced by his wife Luciana Duvall on the social network Facebook.

According to the information, he died at his own mansion located in Middleburg (Virginia, USA).

Duvall gained his greatest popularity from his participation in the films "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II," in which he portrayed the consigliere and lawyer of the Corleone family - Tom Hagen. He is also known for the film "Apocalypse Now," where he played Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore, the author of the iconic phrase: "I love the smell of napalm in the morning."

Robert Duvall was born in San Diego (California), received his education at Principia College in Illinois, and served in the army during the Korean War. Later he moved to New York, where he studied acting under the renowned teacher Sanford Meisner. During that period, Duvall shared an apartment with Dustin Hoffman and maintained a friendship with Gene Hackman.

Before making his film debut as Arthur "Boo" Radley in the screen adaptation of Harper Lee's book "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962), Duvall was involved in a number of theatrical productions. The actor later named one of his dogs Boo.

Subsequently in the artist's career came filming in the western "True Grit" alongside John Wayne (this work brought Wayne his only Oscar), the role of Major Frank Burns in Robert Altman's film "M*A*S*H" (1970), as well as the lead role of the character THX 1138 in George Lucas's debut science fiction dystopia "THX 1138," released in 1971. Following this, Duvall portrayed on screen the image of the mafia family's lawyer Tom Hagen in the legendary "The Godfather" by director Francis Ford Coppola.

In a conversation with Larry King, the actor explained his refusal to participate in the third part of "The Godfather" by the fact that Al Pacino's (Michael Corleone) fee was five times higher than the amount offered to him, which he considered "absolutely unacceptable." "Everyone was doing it for the money," he stated then. "Why did they need to wait 15 years to release a sequel?"

Duvall was awarded the Oscar in the "Best Actor" category for the film "Tender Mercies" (1983), where he appeared as the alcoholic country singer Mac Sledge. Additionally, he was nominated for the Academy Award for his roles as a pilot in the drama "The Great Santini" (1979) and Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore in Coppola's film "Apocalypse Now" (1979).

In 2003, the actor appeared in the western "Open Range" alongside Kevin Costner, and in 2006 he starred in the mini-series "Broken Trail" (also in the western genre), for which he was awarded an Emmy.

Duvall independently wrote the screenplay, directed, and played the lead role in the 1997 film "The Apostle." Later he served as director of the thriller "Assassination Tango" (2002) and the drama "Wild Horses" (2015). His work in the film "The Apostle" brought him another Oscar nomination.

Another nomination marked his role in the drama "The Judge" (2014), when the actor was 84 years old. Among his other works are the action film "Jack Reacher" (2012) and Steve McQueen's crime drama "Widows" (2018).

Throughout his career, Duvall portrayed many images of historical figures, including Confederate General Robert Edward Lee ("Gods and Generals," 2003), Joseph Stalin in the HBO television film "Stalin" (1992), and Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann in the film "The Man Who Captured Eichmann" (1996).