- Shelley Duvall
Infobox actor
name = Shelley Duvall
imagesize =
caption =
birthname = Shelley Alexis Duvall
location =Houston, Texas , U.S.
birthdate = birth date and age|1949|07|07
spouse = Bernard Sampson (1973–1977)Shelley Alexis Duvall (born
July 7 ,1949 ) is an award-winning Americanfilm andtelevision actress. She began her career in the 1970s, playing quirky andwaif -like characters in the movies ofRobert Altman , and eventually starred in movies byWoody Allen ,Stanley Kubrick ,Terry Gilliam andTim Burton .Biography
Early life
Duvall was born in Houston,
Texas , the daughter of Bobbie Ruth Crawford (née Massengale), areal estate broker, and Robert Richardson Duvall, a defense attorney. She has three brothers, Scott, Shane, and Stuart. Duvall graduated fromWaltrip High School . Duvall was working as acosmetics saleswoman at a HoustonFoley's when she was discovered at a party by production scouts for Altman's "Brewster McCloud " (1970).Career
After a tough interview with Altman, she won the lead role of Suzanne, the free-spirited love interest to
Bud Cort 's reclusive Brewster in "Brewster McCloud ". Altman was so impressed with Duvall's work that he cast the young actress in his next films, including "McCabe & Mrs. Miller " (1971), "Thieves Like Us" (1974), and "Nashville" (1975). In 1977, Duvall was awarded a Best Actress by theCannes Film Festival and theLos Angeles Film Critics Association for her portrayal of the delusional Millie Lammoreaux in Altman's "3 Women ".That same year, Duvall appeared in "
Annie Hall " asWoody Allen 's one-night stand and hosted an episode of "Saturday Night Live ". Her next role would be Wendy oppositeJack Nicholson inStanley Kubrick 's "The Shining" (1980). Jack Nicholson states in the documentary "" that Kubrick was great to work with, but that he was "a different director" with Duvall. Perhaps the most notorious example of this was Kubrick's insistence that Shelley perform 127 takes of the now-infamous "baseball-bat" scene, which broke a world-record for the most retakes of a single movie scene with spoken dialogue. Despite her turbulent relationship with Kubrick on the set, Duvall was fully satisfied with the final product and said she learned more from working with Kubrick on "The Shining" than she learned from working on all her previous films.In January 1979, Robert Altman called up Duvall and offered her the role he believed she was born to play:
Olive Oyl in the big-screen adaptation of "Popeye". Duvall was reluctant to accept the role due to negative memories of being called "Olive Oyl" as a child, but went on to accept it in stride. Although the film fell short of expectations, critics called her "perfect" for the role and agreed with Altman that "she was born to play" the character. Though she has appeared in many movies since, she never again reached the heights she did with "The Shining" or "Popeye".During the making of "Popeye," Duvall showed Robin Williams some of the antique illustrated fairy tale books that she had been collecting since she was 17. One of these was an old copy of "The Frog Prince." Envisioning Williams as the perfect "Frog Prince," she approached Showtime with her idea for a cable television series based on classic fairy tales. After receiving the go-ahead from Showtime, she proceeded to form her own production company, Platypus Productions, and in 1982 began executive producing "
Faerie Tale Theatre " for Showtime. The one-hour anthology series, which ran for twenty-six episodes until 1987, featured live-action adaptations of well-known fairy tales and starred many of Duvall's celebrity friends. The first episode, "The Tale of the Frog Prince," indeed starred Robin Williams in the amphibious title role. Duvall hosted every episode and played characters in four. In 1985, she created another one-hour anthology series for Showtime with a similar concept: "Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales and Legends" featured live-action adaptations of American folk tales. As with "Faerie Tale Theatre", the series starred well-known Hollywood actors, with Duvall serving as host, executive producer, and occasional guest star. The series ran for only nine episodes but resulted in an Emmy nomination for Duvall.After "Tall Tales and Legends" ended in 1988, she founded a new production company called Think Entertainment to develop programs and made-for-TV movies for cable channels. Under the banner of both Think Entertainment and Platypus Productions, she created "Nightmare Classics", a third anthology series for Showtime that adapted well-known horror stories by such authors as Edgar Alan Poe. Unlike the previous two series, "Nightmare Classics" was aimed at a strictly teenage and adult audience. It was the least successful series that Duvall produced for Showtime, running for only four episodes. In 1992, Think Entertainment joined forces with the newly-formed Universal Cartoon Studios to create her fourth and last original series for Showtime: "Shelly Duvall's Bedtime Stories," which brought children's storybooks to life with celebrity narrators, proved to be a comeback for Duvall, earning her a second Emmy nomination.
Current whereabouts
After playing a small role in the 2002 independent film "Manna from Heaven," Duvall disappeared from the public eye. She is currently believed to be living near Austin, TX, where she has been spotted by several fans. It is not known why she stopped acting or if she has any plans to resume her career in the future.
Filmography
*"
Brewster McCloud " (1970)
*"McCabe & Mrs. Miller " (1971)
*"Thieves Like Us" (1974)
*"Nashville" (1975)
*"Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson " (1976)
*"Bernice Bobs Her Hair " (1976) (TV)
*"Annie Hall " (1977)
*"3 Women" (1977)
*"The Shining" (1980)
*"Faerie Tale Theatre " (1982–1987) (TV)
*"Popeye" (1980)
*"Time Bandits " (1981)
*"Frankenweenie " (1984)
*"Booker" (1984) (TV)
*"Roxanne" (1987)
*"Frog" (1987) (TV)
*"Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme " (1990) (TV)
*"Suburban Commando " (1991)
*"Frogs! " (1991) (TV)
*"Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories (1992)
*"Underneath " (1995)
*"The Portrait of a Lady " (1996)
*"Twilight of the Ice Nymphs " (1997)
*"RocketMan " (1997)
*"Alone " (1997) (TV)
*"My Teacher Ate My Homework " (1997)
*"Changing Habits " (1997)
*"Tale of the Mummy " (1998)
*"Casper Meets Wendy " (1998) (TV)
*"Home Fries " (1998)
*"The 4th floor " (1999)
*"Boltneck " (2000)
*"Dreams in the Attic " (2000)
*"Manna from Heaven " (2001)External links
*imdb name|id=0001167|name=Shelley Duvall
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