Shelley Duvall Remembered

The American Cinematheque is honored to commemorate the repertoire of one of the most captivating performers of the New Hollywood movement and American cinema in its entirety: Shelley Duvall. Known for emitting an aura of ethereality and authenticity, her presence on film has left generations of audiences spellbound. Despite the fact that she was never classically trained in acting, Duvall skillfully infused an intuitive sense of perceptibility and pathos with her offbeat magnetism to fully embody an unforgettable assortment of roles. Join us throughout the month of August as we memorialize the transplendent career of a truly singular luminary.

Shelley Duvall worked with a myriad of visionary filmmakers, but her acting career began as a result of Robert Altman’s crew spotting her at a party in her native Houston. Altman was entranced by her “painted on eyelashes that weighed about four pounds” and spent months convincing Duvall, who originally aspired to be a scientist, to act. She eventually gave in and left Texas for the first time to star in BREWSTER MCCLOUD as the eccentric love interest of Bud Cort’s titular character, officially kickstarting her illustrious career. Altman immediately sensed Shelley’s star power and continued to cast her in his projects, including THIEVES LIKE US, where the actress played the mistress to Keith Carradine’s escaped convict character, and NASHVILLE, as a teenage groupie with an iconoclastic sense of fashion.

In 1977, Duvall attained the award for Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her haunting performance of Millie Lammoreaux in Altman’s mystifying pastel-colored nightmare, 3 WOMEN. The two collaborated once more in 1980 for the live-action musical POPEYE, with Duvall perfectly encapsulating the scrappy Olive Oyl opposite Robin Williams’ Popeye the Sailor. In that same year, the versatile actress appeared in Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel as the tacitly resilient Wendy Torrance in THE SHINING. Returning to lighthearted fare, Duvall then teamed up with Terry Gilliam to depict the regal Pansy in TIME BANDITS.

Whether it be Olive Oyl’s ballad “He Needs Me” utilized at the emotional core of Paul Thomas Anderson’s PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE or the new generation of Scream Queens invoking the vulnerability and sheer terror of Wendy Torrance, Shelley Duvall has left an everlasting imprint on the medium and beyond. Duvall’s artistic range and otherworldly qualities have solidified her status among the most transcendent thespians in cinematic history.