OT: RIP Robert Duvall (95)

He lived in Fauquier County VA , the wealthy horse country of Northern Virginia. He stopped several utility projects that affected a rapidly growing area- environmentalists loved him , others not so much

His movies, however , were some of the greats

Great Santini and Tender Mercies come to mind. He was great as consiglieri Tom Hagen in the Godfather. Also his role as a military officer in Apocalypse Now.

I didn’t realize he was born in San Diego, his father was a Navy admiral. He spent a short time at the Naval Academy but transferred to another school where he pursued an interest in acting. Quite a guy.

He was fantastic as Augustus McCrae in the 1989 TV miniseries adaptation of Lonesome Dove, the classic novel by Larry McMurtry. He said it may have been his favorite role.

Just watched The Godfather with (not so) Little Hungry. Duvall was great in his role.

A decade ago, I was doing an ad campaign with Robert Duvall in a supporting role. The ad was shot in Newark NJ. RD and his wife drove up to Newark from Florida. He and his wife could not have been nicer to our team. They were also loving to one another.

One problem. He struggled to remember his line.

As part of the script, another actor (someone I inherited when I took the role) prompts RD to say his line. To aid his recall, the actor whispers the line to RD. Instead of being helpful, this actor purposefully whispered incorrect lines to RD. The shoot went on much longer as a result.

At lunch break, RD turned to the other actor and said, "Hey (actor name), I noticed you look different from what I remember. Have you put on weight?"

Pure gold.