Oscar winner and 'The Godfather' star Robert Duvall dies at 95, leaves behind towering Hollywood legacy

Legendary actor Robert Duvall, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Mac Sledge, a retired, alcoholic country music singer, in the 1983 drama 'Tender Mercies', has passed away at the age of 95, his wife, Luciana, announced in a post on Monday. "Yesterday, we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time. Bob passed away peacefully at home," she wrote, adding, "To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything. His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for characters, a great meal, and holding court."

Duvall, who shot to fame as Tom Hagen, the Corleone family lawyer and consigliere in 'The Godfather', started his acting career as Arthur "Boo" Radley, who ends up saving the lives of the children of Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck), Jem (Phillip Alford) and Scout (Mary Badham) in the 1962 classing, 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. He had six more Oscar nominations to his name, the last one coming in the 2015 edition of the Academy Awards, where he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in 'The Judge'. His other nominations included 'The Godfather', 'Apocalypse Now', 'The Great Santini', 'The Apostle', and 'A Civil Action'.

Since the announcement of his death, many Hollywood stars have come forward to offer their condolences. "He was a very good actor, and I admired his work," his co-star in 'To Kill a Mockingbird', Badham, told 'The Hollywood Reporter'. "The greatest consigliere the screen has ever seen," Jamie Lee Curtis wrote in an Instagram post and shared a picture of Duvall as Tom Hagen. Robert Patrick, who had shared the screen with Duvall on Billy Bob Thornton's 'Jayne Mansfield’s Car' said he was "gutted."

"Robert Duvall I will miss you brother (sic),” Patrick wrote, sharing a photo of "Bobby on his back porch after a lovely meal prepared by his wife Luciana at their ranch in Virginia." "That whole day is engraved in my memory," he shared before concluding his post with, "He was the actor I looked up to. His ability to find the truth of a scene was something special…I will miss Bobby. I will always be proud that I got to play his son. Rest in peace brother. (sic)" 

Celebrities from other walks of life also paid tributes to the veteran actor. "Robert Duvall, the Greatest Actor of his generation, has passed away and he will be missed. He was a true American original and his performances never failed to inspire, including roles in his later years in movies like Open Range and The Judge. Rest in Peace Robert Duvall (sic),” former Vice President Mike Pence shared on X. ""I love the smell of napalm in the morning!" RIP Robert Duvall," author Stephen King wrote, quoting Duvall's iconic character, Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore, from the 1979 war masterpiece 'Apocalypse Now'.