Hollywood Mourns Robert Duvall: “Greatness Personified” & “Funny As Hell”

Refresh for updates… Friends, fans and colleagues of Robert Duvall are mourning the legendary Oscar winner, who died Sunday at 95. Here are some tribute and reactions”

Adam Sandler wrote on Instagram: “Funny as hell. Strong as hell. One of the greatest actors we ever had. Such a great man to talk to and laugh with. Loved him so much. We all did. So many movies to choose from that were legendary. Watch them when you can. Sending his wife Luciana and all his family and friends our condolences.”

Michael Keaton, who appeared with Duvall in Ron Howard’s 1994 film The Paper, posted on Instagram: “another friend goes down. acted with and became friends. shared a great afternoon on my front porch talking about horses. he was greatness personified as an actor. RIP RD.”

Said Deadline’s Peter Bart, who was an executive at Paramount Pictures when The Godfather was released: “On The Godfather, Duvall was by the far the closest to Marlon Brando, often calming him down where he was agitated by a script change or re-shoot. It was almost as if Duvall was Brando’s consiglieri and his link to Coppola. In a television interview years later between Duvall and me, Duvall remarked that playing scenes with Brando was perhaps the high point of his acting career.”

Said actor John Savage, whose wife was married to Duvall from 1982-86: “I literally started my career opposite Bobby Duvall in the late 1970s in the original Broadway production of David Mamet’s play American Buffalo, where I originated the role of Bobby. Without his generosity, brilliance and mentorship there is no way we would have won the critical praise, sold-out audiences or trajectory to any of our careers. Playing the role of ‘Bobby’ alongside his portrayal of “Teach” stands out as a time in my career that I will always cherish. I learned from the best and will miss him dearly.”