FORT WORTH, Texas — Academy Award winner Robert Duvall died at his home in Virginia on Sunday, Feb. 15. He was 95 years old.

Duvall’s wife Luciana announced his death in a Facebook post on Monday, Feb. 16.

“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, surrounded by love and comfort,” the post read. “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. For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented. In doing so, he leaves something lasting and unforgettable to us all. Thank you for the years of support you showed Bob and for giving us this time and privacy to celebrate the memories he leaves behind.”

While Duvall was born in California and raised in Maryland, he had numerous ties to Texas, including in Fort Worth.

Duvall’s Fort Worth connection

One of Duvall’s final roles was in 2021’s “12 Mighty Orphans,” which filmed in Fort Worth and Weatherford.

The inspirational sports film follows Fort Worth’s Masonic Home orphanage and its football team the Mighty Mites, who once ruled Texas high school football in the 1930s and 1940s. The film stars Luke Wilson, Martin Sheen, Wayne Knight, Treat Williams and a pre-“Landman” Jacob Lofland.

Duvall has a supporting role in the movie as Mason Hawk, who is a stand in for the various donors that supported the Masonic Home. He stopped by Fort Worth for the film’s world premiere at the Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theater in June 2021.

At the 2012 Lone Star Film Festival, Duvall stopped by to present an award to Billy Bob Thornton.

Duvall labeled Thornton as “the hillbilly Orson Welles” at the event, according to previous Star-Telegram reporting.

Duvall’s Texas connections

Beyond “12 Mighty Orphans,” Duvall made several other projects in the Lone Star state.

He played a broken-down, middle-aged country singer in 1983’s “Tender Mercies.” Duvall won a Best Lead Actor Oscar for the movie that filmed in Arlington, Grapevine, Palmer and Waxahachie.

Duvall returned to Texas in the late 1980s to film “Lonesome Dove,” the miniseries based on Larry McMurtry’s novel.

The highly popular project starred Duvall as Augustus “Gus” McCrae, a former Texas Ranger driving a cattle herd from Texas to Montana. More than 26 million people tuned in for the CBS program that aired in 1989.

Duvall told American Cowboy in 2014 that former TCU quarterback Sammy Baugh influenced some of the mannerisms he used for Gus.

“We went in and talked for two hours. He didn’t know who I was, but some of the gestures he used while talking about football, I incorporated into the part,” Duvall said.

“Lonesome Dove” was filmed in Austin, Brackettville and Del Rio.

Duvall’s 1997 directorial effort “The Apostle” was filmed in Dallas and Denton.

The film follows a Texas preacher that leaves the state for Louisiana and starts preaching on the radio. Duvall was Oscar-nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

In 2003, Duvall starred in “Secondhand Lions” as former adventurer Hub McCann. The movie primarily filmed in Austin and the surrounding areas.

More on Duvall

In addition to his Texas-filmed projects, Duvall counts more than 140 acting credits to his name.

Some of his biggest roles were in “The Godfather,” “The Godfather Part II,” “Apocalypse Now,” “Network,” “Bullitt,” “The Natural,” “Open Range,” “The Judge” and “Days of Thunder.”

His final role was in 2022’s “Pale Blue Eye.”

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