Editor's note: On July 11, local time, American actress Shelley Duvall died at home due to complications from diabetes at the age of 75.
Shirley played the classic role of writer's wife Wendy in Stanley Kubrick's horror film "The Shining" and is well-known to movie fans around the world.
During the filming of "The Shining", she "cryed 12 hours a day for several weeks." "I can't give so much anymore. If you want to call pain art, fine, just don't let me do it again." Got involved.”
html She just celebrated her 75th birthday on July 7th. Her partner Dan Gilroy wrote in a media statement: "She has suffered a lot recently, and now she is finally free. Fly, beautiful Shirley."The following article was originally published in 2021. In her later years, Shirley Duvall suffered from illness and disappeared from the public eye for a long time. Therefore, some media published an article "Searching for Shirley Duvall" in the hope that the public can get to know this outstanding female artist again.
Shirley Duvall
Moviegoers who have watched the classic horror film "The Shining" will probably never forget the frightened expression of the heroine Wendy with her mouth wide open. Shelley Duvall, who played this role, was a regular in the so-called New Hollywood movies of the 1970s and 1980s.
In addition to starring in "The Shining" directed by Stanley Kubrick, she is also the heroine of many famous films in film history such as "Three Women", "Time Bandits" and "Popeye". In addition, in the early 1990s, the TV theater production "European Fairy Tale Live-action Drama" was translated and introduced by CCTV. It was also executive produced and starred by Shirley Duvall. I believe that many people born in the 70s and 80s There should be an impression.
"The Shining" stills
However, if you search for information about Sydney Duvall on the Internet, you will find that the last work she participated in was "Manna from Heaven" in 2002. After that, she seemed to disappear completely, and even her old Hollywood acquaintances didn't know her whereabouts.
Journalist Seth Abramovitch published the article "Searching for Shirley Duvall" in the "Hollywood Reporter" magazine. In a conversation with Abramovich, Shirley Duvall recalled the pain caused to her by the filming of "The Shining" and explained why she stayed away from Hollywood and lived a reclusive life without competing with the world.
Sydney Duvall in her youth
Far from the madding crowd
Sydney Duvall, born on July 7, 1949, is 71 years old and now lives in the hilly areas of south-central Texas. Her hair has long since turned gray, her figure is no longer as thin as in "The Shining", and her original high-pitched voice has become completely hoarse due to years of smoking. At first glance, even the most experienced fans of "The Shining" would not be able to connect this elderly woman with the thin wife who was tortured by Jack Nicholson in the film.
During the day, Duvall often drove around alone in a white Toyota four-wheel drive. The car was filled with various convenience foods, and he would just take a bite when he was hungry. In the evening, she would return home and have dinner with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend is Dan Gilroy, who is five years older than Duvall. He once worked as an accompanist for Madonna, and was briefly rumored to have had an affair with the topical queen.
In 1989, Gilroy and Duvall fell in love while starring in the Disney Channel TV movie "Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme". They have lived together since then and have experienced many ups and downs together. rain. At that time, they lived on a three-acre farm halfway up the hills of Los Angeles. They had eight dogs, two cats, and 36 birds. However, in 1994, Duvall and Gilroy suddenly said goodbye without saying goodbye, leaving Los Angeles to live in Texas, and thus gradually distanced themselves from the Hollywood fame.The reasons behind
's decision were divided at the time. The more common theory was that the seven-magnitude earthquake that occurred in Los Angeles on January 17, 1994 caused huge damage to their farm and forced the two to abandon their home. , went to live in Texas. There is also a theory that it was difficult for Duvall to find job opportunities in major Hollywood productions at the time, and his personal financial situation was quite poor, so he had no choice but to return to his hometown.
Twenty-seven years later, when asked by reporters why she fled Los Angeles, Shirley Duvall still seemed hesitant. "We were completely exhausted," she replied. "What exhausted you? An earthquake?" "No, it was those people. After the earthquake, first it was the people from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (fema, the American disaster relief agency that specializes in earthquakes and other natural disasters), and then something else People come one after another. Engineers and people from insurance companies sometimes come together..." As for whether he is experiencing a financial crisis, Duval's answer is even more confusing. "Just owning something does not bring you wealth." She told reporters, "You have to actually control it, and you have to make sure it is a good deal."
In short, at the end of 1994, Shi Duvall has a small cameo in director Steven Soderbergh's new film Underneath. So, she came to report on the set in Austin, Texas. Her plan at the time was to take a trip back to her hometown in Houston after filming the film. "Because my mother said, she might have a way to help me. My mother suggested that I could do something else, such as painting or something. So I thought, yes, Joni Mitchell mitchell, the Canadian folk singer) can sell a painting for forty thousand dollars, why don’t I give it a try?"
As a result, selling paintings did not succeed, but Duvall stayed in Texas and stayed there until Now.
Amateur debut
Speaking of selling paintings, in fact, the reason why Duvall embarked on the path of becoming an actor in the first place was crucial to selling paintings.
On July 7, 1949, Shirley Duvall was born in Fort Worth, northern Texas. When she was a teenager, she moved with her family to Houston, the largest city in Texas. There, her father became a lawyer and her mother independently ran a real estate agency. Duvall's father died in 1995, and her mother, with whom she was close, unfortunately passed away due to the new coronavirus in March 2020, shortly after her 92nd birthday. As for other relatives, Duval has three younger brothers, but she has not contacted them much now, and she does not even know much about their current situation.
In middle school, Shirley Duvall was a top student and dreamed of becoming a scientist in the future. But when she was in her second year of high school, she had her first love interest, which caused her grades to plummet due to a puppy love. Finally, she dropped out of school altogether and worked as a salesperson in a department store in Houston, sometimes also working part-time as a model.
On January 27, 1967, an accident occurred during the test of Apollo 1, and three astronauts died at the Kennedy Space Center. In Houston, a non-governmental organization also held a fund-raising party for this purpose. Among the models hired to walk the show was Duvall, who was only seventeen years old at the time. At the party, she was introduced to the painter Bernard Sampson. Three years later, the two got married and started a family, but due to financial constraints, they could only live at the man's parents' house.
In order to move out and live independently as soon as possible, Duval mobilized contacts and held a party for her husband, hoping that potential buyers would show up. Among the people attending this party, there happened to be members of the crew of the movie "Brewster McCloud". This is a new film by the famous director Robert Altman, which was already in preparation at the time. Altman's black comedy "Army Field Hospital" (m*a*s*h) is currently being screened across the United States and has a huge box office. Hot. The other party took a liking to Duvall's appearance and felt that he was very suitable to play the second female lead in the new film, so he introduced her to Ultraman and producer Lou Adler.At that time, they only told her that they were introducing her to sell paintings, but they did not tell her that it was actually a secret audition. Duvall, who didn't know what was going on, heard that the other party was looking for her to make a movie. He was a little frightened at first, fearing that they were looking for her to make a pornographic film.
At the end of 1970, "Stranger Things" was officially released, and Shirley Duvall, who had never received any acting training, appeared on the screen and entered the film industry. In the following years, she starred in six more Robert Altman works, ranging from supporting roles to starring roles, and almost all of them were successful.
In 1974, Duvall and her husband moved to Los Angeles. They originally hoped to take their life and career to a higher level, but they suffered the painful ending of the breakdown of their marriage not long after. In 1976, Duvall was invited to play a small role as a female reporter in Woody Allen's "Annie Hall." simon) fell in love.
"Annie Hall" stills
Also in that year, Robert Altman's "Three Women" starring Duvall received great acclaim. Duvall's acting skills were unanimously recognized by the critics, and he also won the 1977 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award.
Stills of "Three Women"
Surviving "The Shining"
In addition to the Cannes jury, Duvall's performance also conquered the heart of the famous director Kubrick. He decided to use her to partner Jack Nicholson in his new film "The Shining." "He called me personally," Duvall recalled, "and praised my crying scene as being particularly good." At that time, the script for "The Shining" had not yet been written, so Kubrick sent it to her. An original copy of Stephen King's novel, let her read it first.
At this time, Duvall had been living in Manhattan with Paul Simon for two years, but the relationship had become somewhat distant. "That day, I was reading "The Shining" and I was reading a very tense section. I didn't hear him coming in at all... He quietly walked up behind me and suddenly made a sound, which shocked me. He gave me Furious." A month later, on New Year's Day in 1979, Simon broke up with Duvall at the New York airport. Duvall then boarded a flight to London to report on the set of "The Shining."
Being with Paul Simon
The shock of the sudden breakup caused Duvall to have a complete emotional breakdown and cried all the way from New York to London on the plane. But she never expected at the time that this love break might be nothing compared to the all-round emotional shock she would later experience on the set of "The Shining."
Kubrick, the great director who always paid attention to details, was very particular about perfectionism. "The Shining" took a total of fourteen months to shoot from beginning to end - and it was shot six days a week, sixteen hours a day! Even more stringent are the emotional requirements that the story theme of "The Shining" places on the two leading actors.
At that time, Jack Nicholson was in a relationship with actress Anjelica Huston, and the two rented a house in London, a two-hour drive from the set. When he's not filming, Nicholson at least has a companion.
In contrast, Duvall, who was alone, chose to rent a small single room near the set, with only a puppy and two birds to accompany her. Her daily life was to report to the set with her eyes open, shoot scenes over and over again according to Kubrick's requirements, and then return to the cabin to sleep alone after work. Such a monotonous life lasted for a full year and a half.
and Jack Nicholson on the set of "The Shining"
"Every shot he had to take at least 35 times before it was passed. 35 times for one shot! Running up and down, crying, and carrying a baby Boy. It was really hard. And it was so hard to put on makeup from the first rehearsal," Duvall recalled. "I would put it on sometimes before we started shooting. Walkman, listen to some sad songs. Or simply recall the tragic events in your life and miss your family and friends far away. But after a while, your body will protest.You will tell yourself, please stop doing this, you don't want to cry every day. Ironically, sometimes the more you think about it, the sadder you feel and the harder you cry. We have Sunday off, but early Monday morning I wake up. Thinking of having to cry all day again today, tears started to flow down my face. I told myself that you have reached your limit and can't go on anymore, but when I got to the shooting scene, I persevered again. I don’t even know how I did it at the time. Jack Nicholson also told me that he couldn't imagine how I held on. "
html For more than 0 years, "The Shining" has been firmly established as a classic in film history, and director Kubrick is also revered as one of the greatest directors in history. But Kubrick is also famous for his superb treatment of actors. It's been more than two decades since Kubrick's death, and some film critics who are no longer taboo have begun to raise their opinions on whether Kubrick was too cruel to his actors. Examples include "The Shining." "The famous scene of waving a baseball bat on the stairs, which he asked Shirley Duvall to perform 127 times before passing, Duvall's own view is very fair: "Kubrick has always been a fan of me. He was very friendly and warm, and he loved spending time talking to me and Jack Nicholson, even when the entire crew of more than sixty people was waiting. "Breaking the Calm
After "The Shining", Duvall starred in "Popeye" directed by Robert Altman and "Time Bandits" directed by British director Terry Gilliam. In 1982, She began to produce "European Fairy Tale Live-action Drama", which lasted for six seasons and 27 episodes. The stories were all based on the works of famous fairy tales such as the Brothers Grimm and Andersen, including "The Girl Who Spun Gold", "Rapunzel", " She also starred in seven episodes of "The Nightingale", "Snow White", "Puss in Boots" and "Aladdin". After that, she created "Tall Tales & Legends", which specializes in American fairy tales. ) and "Nightmare Classics", which specializes in classic horror stories, are all popular with young audiences.
Duvall and Robin William in "Popeye", the latter committed suicide due to depression in 2014. .
"Rapunzel" stills
But by 1994, Duvall left Los Angeles and settled in Houston. She also sold her television production company and gradually moved away from Hollywood. Before 2002, she also worked in "The Beauty of a Lady" and She has appeared in film and television works such as "The First Light", "Naughty Boy", "Elf 3", etc. However, after "Godsend" in 2002, the audience never had the opportunity to learn about her current situation. .
Until one day in November 2016, Duvall's seemingly peaceful life was suddenly broken by Phil, the host of the popular psychotherapy talk show "Dr. Phil" produced by Oprah. Phil McGraw managed to find Duvall, who had already retired from the industry, and offered to provide her with psychological assistance.
On November 18, 2016, the conversation between the two became official. Broadcast. American viewers were surprised to find that the heroine of "The Shining" not only looked completely different, but also spoke incomprehensibly and was in a trance. She suspected that someone was trying to kill her, and she even insisted that she had died two years ago. Robin Williams, his old partner in "Popeye", is still alive in the world and has become a person with special abilities who can transform and disappear at any time. Dr. Phil offered to pay for Duvall to receive psychological treatment from a professional institution. But this "good intention" was ultimately rejected by Duvall. In 2016, Duvall participated in the talk show "Dr. Phil" and immediately attracted a lot of criticism, including actors Mia Farrow and Ku. Director Brick's daughter has published articles one after another, criticizing the quack doctor for using Duvall's mental illness to gain attention and eating steamed buns with human blood. "I paid a heavy price to understand who he was." Time has passed, and Shirley Duvall still cannot hide her regret when recalling this nightmare more than four years ago."My mom hates him, and Dan. He also said that I shouldn't have agreed to let them film in the first place."
Fortunately, there are many people who really care about Duvall. Just like Abramovich, the reporter who traveled thousands of miles to find her for an interview. He said that the main reason why he did this was that he did not want such an excellent film actor to leave the last impression on the world. , it was fixed on the image of the crazy-talking old woman in "Dr. Phil".
also has Lee Unkrich, a well-known animation director who has produced "Toy Story 3", "Coco" and other works. He is an avid fan of the movie "The Shining" and has been searching for Duvall's whereabouts over the years. In 2016, he watched the show "Dr. Phil" and was filled with indignation. In 2019, he finally contacted Duvall and discovered that her mental condition was actually far less bad than shown on the TV show. Although his emotions still have ups and downs, his memory is quite good and he can recount what happened in the past.
Living in the Texas Hill Country over the years, Duvall also made friends with many locals. A painter born in the 1970s named Ryan Obermeyer grew up watching "European Fairy Tales" and has always been concerned about Duvall's situation. "I found Dan and left a postcard with my work printed on it, and also recorded my phone number on it. She called me within ten minutes and said she was willing to meet me," Obermeyer said. explain. Soon, the two formed a lifelong friendship, and Obermeyer managed to give her a lot of help.
Having been working in movies for many years, Duvall originally collected a lot of souvenirs from her work, including the meaningful black and white photo at the end of the movie "The Shining", which was a gift specially given to her by Kubrick. However, as the years passed, many of these souvenirs had already flowed out of her hands. Obermeyer specially bought some of them from the Internet and returned them to Duvall, which brought a lot of happiness to the old man. The summer before last, when Duvall celebrated his 70th birthday, he also specially found actor Paul Reubens (Paul Reubens), who had played Pinocchio in "European Fairy Tale Live-action Drama", and asked him to do it with Duvall. Video connection. The two old friends reunited after a long absence and couldn't help crying with joy.
