Death of Shelley Duvall, Legendary Actress of The Shining

Death of Shelley Duvall, Legendary Actress of The Shining



Terrified face in front of the scary Jack Nicholson, with his smile on his lips and his crazy look Shining (1980)and an important figure in Robert Altman’s cinema, Shelley Duvall died on July 11 at the age of 75. According to her husband Dan Gilroy (via The Hollywood Journalist), the actress died in her sleep following complications related to diabetes. The latter stated:

My dear, sweet and wonderful life partner and friend has left us. Too much suffering lately, now she is free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley

Tributes to this legendary actress quickly appeared on social networks.

From Robert Altman to Shining

Born on July 7, 1949 in Fort Worth, Texas, Shelley Duvall was noticed by Robert Altman while she is a cosmetics saleswoman. The director chose her as the protagonist Brewster McCloud (1970), the director’s fourth feature film. This first collaboration between Shelley Duvall and Robert Altman goes well and continues rapidly. In 1971, the director directed it again John McCabebefore finding it again in 1974 in We are all thieves. Next Nashville (1975), Buffalo Bill and the Indians (1976) and Three women (1977)In this, the actress is alongside Sissy Spacek and Janice Rule, but it was she who attracted the attention of the jury at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival who awarded her the award for the actress.

At the same time, Shelley Duvall met Woody Allen Annie Hall (1977) before finding Robert Altman one last time Popeye (1980). The same year, he got his most important role in Shining, adaptation of Stephen King’s novel by Stanley Kubrick. She performs Wendy Torrancethe wife of Jack Torrance, the uninspired writer who descends into madness, and mother of Danny, this boy with a supernatural gift.

Shelley Duvall in The Shining
Shelley Duvall in The Shining

A cult film par excellence and anchored in the collective unconscious, Shining offers Shelley Duvall unprecedented fame, but remains a traumatic experience. However, the rest of his career remained less memorable, with roles sometimes anecdotal. He still collaborates with big names (some in the making) – Bandits, bandits by Terry Gilliam, Frankenweenie by Tim Burton, On the edge by Steven Soderbergh, Portrait of a woman by Jane Campion.

A return 20 years later

In the 2000s, Shelley Duvall disappeared from the screens, but appeared in 2016 in The Dr. Phil McGraw Show to reveal that she suffers from mental illness. Her comments are therefore inconsistent and worry viewers, shocked to see that she is being used to gain an audience. Despite this event, almost twenty years after her last appearance on a film set, she acts The hills of the forest (2023) by Scott Goldberg, his latest film, unreleased in France.

Source: Cine Serie

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