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Shelley Duvall has tragically died aged 75 – following decades spent in the wilderness after leaving Hollywood behind in 2002.
The actress – who cemented her place in cinematic history with her tortured portrayal of Wendy Torrance in the 1980 Stanley Kubrick horror, The Shining, passed from diabetes complications in her sleep – with her death announced Thursday.
Bar a brief return to film in 2023 in The Forest Hills, the once-Tinseltown darling had lived a simple life off the grid in Texas for more than 20 years – often sleeping in her car and looking back at photos of her old film she kept in the glove box.
As she battled increased health problems, she spent her days listening to music and enjoying the hot Texas weather – with a fan club member revealing Duvall rang in her 74th birthday in 2023 with ‘iced coffees, sugar cookies, and kolaches’.
Duvall revealed in her final interview in April that she left the film industry because people in Hollywood ‘hurt’ her.
The Shining star Shelley Duvall has tragically died aged 75 – following decades spent in the wilderness after leaving Hollywood behind in 2002
Bar a brief return to film in 2023 in The Forest Hills (pictured), the once-Tinseltown darling had lived a simple life off the grid in Texas for more than 20 years – often sleeping in her car and looking back at photos of her old film she kept in the glove box.
During her chat with The New York Times, she said ‘I was a star, I had leading roles. People think it’s just aging, but it’s not. It’s violence.’
Duvall would not elaborate on what kind of violence she suffered.
She then asked the writer how they would you feel if people were really nice, and then, suddenly, ‘on a dime turn on you.’
The interview also revealed Shelley would often sleep in her white SUV – which was ‘crammed with used takeout containers’.
Duvall, who had a swollen foot due to her diabetes, spent most of the interview jumping around subjects and mentioning song lyrics. She also kept photographs from her old films in a bag stuffed into her glove box.
Her life partner Dan Gilroy – who she had been with since 1989, said of her past mental health battles: She became paranoid, ‘kind of delusional,’ thinking she was being attacked, he said, and would even call the FBI for help.;
He then added: ‘It went south like that.’
Gilroy also explained that when her Los Angeles home was destroyed in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, they moved to Texas hoping for a happier life.
That is when things went ‘downhill’ and she ‘started becoming afraid of things, maybe didn’t want to work.”
As she battled increased health problems, she spent her days listening to music and enjoying the hot Texas weather – with a fan club member revealing Duvall rang in her 74th birthday in 2023 with ‘iced coffees, sugar cookies, and kolaches’ – pictured 2016
Duvall began her career by appearing in the 1970 black comedy feature Brewster McCloud; she is seen in a photo taken circa 1970
In the final known photo of Duvall, the frail actress posed with a superfan to mark her 75th birthday on Sunday – just four days before her death,
The follower – who runs a Shelley Duvall fan account – revealed the star had been having ‘difficulties with her health over the past few months’.
In the photo, Shelley leans on the fan’s shoulder while holding a bouquet of flowers.
Sarah wrote: ‘I’ll always be grateful for the memories I created with her and that I was able to give her comfort and companionship.
‘This photo was this past Sunday on her 75th birthday. She was so appreciative and when I left she thanked me for lifting her spirits. I’ll always remember that. She made such a positive impact on my life as I did on hers.’
The fan also revealed she had played Sabrina Carpenter’s hit, Espresso for Duvall in her final days.
In a February 2023 interview, Duvall said family heartache sparked her decision to leave Hollywood in 2002 in order to reconnect with her loved ones.
She told People she decided to move back to Fort Worth, Texas after her brother was diagnosed with spinal cancer and her movie roles began to peter out, saying: ‘It’s the longest sabbatical I ever took but it was for really important reasons—to get in touch with my family again.’
She took time to reflect on her successes in the acting world, saying: ‘On one channel there is Popeye and another one The Shining. Boy, those are two different films. But in a way it’s like, “Gosh, I was great”‘.
She also detailed her hopes for acting’s highest honor, saying: ‘[Jessica Tandy] won an Oscar when she was 80. I can still win.’
Duvall’s undying love for the arts would ultimately coax her out of retirement – she played a lead role in The Forest Hills alongside Terminator 2 star Edward Furlong, Chiko Mendez and Dee Wallace.
The movie followed a man who begins experiencing disturbing visions after enduring a head injury during a camping trip in the Catskill Mountains.
Duvall played the mother of Mendez’s character, and she served as his ‘inner voice.’
Her life partner Dan Gilroy – who she had been with since 1989, said of her past mental health battles: She became paranoid, ‘kind of delusional,’ thinking she was being attacked, he said, and would even call the FBI for help’ – pictured 1990
Shelley is pictured with Jack Nicholson and Danny Lloyd in The Shining
Duvall began her career by appearing in the 1970 black comedy feature Brewster McCloud.
She went on to appear in features such as Annie Hall, McCabe & Mrs. Miller and Popeye, among numerous others.
In 2021 – in her first interview since her concerning TV chat with Dr Phil, Shelley spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about her grueling filming days with Kubrick, who was notorious for being a hard taskmaster.
Duvall explained that she constantly had to get her mind in a state of panic to get into character for the filmmaker for The Shining.
Duvall explained: ‘[Kubrick] doesn’t print anything until at least the 35th take. Thirty-five takes, running and crying and carrying a little boy, it gets hard. And full performance from the first rehearsal. That’s difficult.’
She said that she would put on a Sony Walkman and listen to sad songs or just think of unhappy memories to get into the proper head space to play Wendy Torrance.
Duvall said: ‘You just think about something very sad in your life or how much you miss your family or friends. But after a while, your body rebels. It says: “Stop doing this to me. I don’t want to cry every day.” And sometimes just that thought alone would make me cry.
‘To wake up on a Monday morning, so early, and realize that you had to cry all day because it was scheduled — I would just start crying. I’d be like, “Oh no, I can’t, I can’t.” And yet I did it. I don’t know how I did it. Jack said that to me, too. He said, “I don’t know how you do it.”‘
She was asked by THR if she felt like Kubrick had been unusually cruel or abusive toward her in order for her to achieve the desired performance for the film.
Duvall answered: ‘He’s got that streak in him. He definitely has that. But I think mostly because people have been that way to him at some time in the past. His first two films were Killer’s Kiss and The Killing.’
Writer of the piece, Seth Abramovitch, asked the star to elaborate more on the subject specifically when it came to the director’s treatment of her.
She said: ‘No. He was very warm and friendly to me. He spent a lot of time with Jack and me. He just wanted to sit down and talk for hours while the crew waited. And the crew would say, ‘Stanley, we have about 60 people waiting.’ But it was very important work.’
The elegant actress in the 1977 movie Three Women, directed by Robert Altman. After 20 years, she made her return to the big screen in the 2023 film The Forest Hills, see video above
However, fellow actress Anjelica Huston – who was dating Nicholson at the time – recalls Duvall and Kubrick’s interactions much differently.
The actress said: ‘I got the feeling, certainly through what Jack was saying at the time, that Shelley was having a hard time just dealing with the emotional content of the piece.
Duvall began her career by appearing in the 1970 black comedy feature Brewster McCloud.
She went on to appear in features such as Annie Hall, McCabe & Mrs. Miller and Popeye, among numerous others.
Duvall’s last appearance in a feature before The Forest Hills was in Manna from Heaven, which was released in 2002.
Following the movie’s release, the actress retreated from public life and retired.
She eventually made an appearance on an episode of Dr. Phil in 2016, where she spoke about dealing with mental illness during her time on the show.
The show’s host was subsequently criticized for what many saw as his exploitation of the performer.
The Forest Hills’ writer, director and producer, Scott Goldberg gave a statement to Deadline to express how much he and his collaborators were fans of Duvall’s work in the the 1980 Stanley Kubrick-directed feature.
‘We are huge fans of The Shining and it’s honestly one of my favorite horror movies of all time, up there with John Carpenter’s Halloween and George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead,’ he said.
The filmmaker went on to speak about how the actress’ performance helped define the movie.
‘Shelley contributed to The Shining being an absolute masterpiece by giving her all, and performing in a way that really showcased the fear and horror of a mother in isolation,’ he said.