Remembering actor Robert Duvall & filmmaker Frederick Wiseman

Fresh Air

NPR

Society & Culture, Arts, Tv & Film, Books

4.3 • 36.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2026

⏱️ 47 minutes

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Summary

The great actor Robert Duvall made his mark starring in epic movies and intimate dramas including ‘The Godfather,’ ‘Tender Mercies,’ ‘The Great Santini,’ and, of course, ‘Apocalypse Now.’ He died Sunday at age 95. We listen back to archival interviews from 1996 and 2010.

Also, the documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, whose approach was to choose a subject and capture it at great, revealing length, died Monday at age 96. His films include 'Titicut Follies,' 'Central Park,' 'Juvenile Court,' 'High School,' and 'Hospital.' He spoke with Terry Gross in 1986 about why he chose documentary as his medium.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Fresh Air. I'm David Being Coulee. Robert Duval, the Oscar-winning actor whose roles in both blockbuster movies and small independent films were equally powerful and memorable, died Sunday. He was 95 years old. Born in San Diego in 1931, Duval studied acting in New York City alongside such other future stars as Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman, and James Kahn.
0:25.0	Duval was performing at Long Island's Gateway Playhouse when screenwriter Horton Foote saw him and recommended him for a part in the movie Foot was adapting.
0:34.2	The movie was to kill a mockingbird, and Robert Duval was indeed cast in his first screen
0:39.9	role as the silent but haunting Boo Radley. Duval was 31 years old, but never stopped working
0:47.7	afterward in film and TV. His last two credits were in 2022, six decades later.
0:55.6	Duval's contributions to film were constant and indelible.
0:59.7	The characters he played were passionate, intense, and often combative.
1:04.8	Tom Hagen, the Consigliary and the Godfather, earned Duval his first Oscar nomination.
1:10.9	The role of the Napalm-loving Lieutenant Colonel in Apocalypse now earned him his second.
1:17.5	Eventually, Duval won a Best Actor Academy Award for playing a country singer in Tender Mercies.
1:23.4	But whether or not his roles garnered nominations or awards, they certainly made their mark with audiences.
1:29.7	He played the uptight Dr. Frank Burns in Robert Altman's original movie version of MASH.
1:36.2	The Ruthless TV Executive in Patty Chayefsky's network, a cynical sports writer in the natural opposite Robert Redford,
1:47.1	and the abusive father in the great Santini.
1:54.2	On television, Duval played Gus McCrae, the charming Texas Marshall in the CBS miniseries Lonesome Dove.
2:03.2	In the 60s and early 70s, he clocked a lot of episodic TV, including episodes of the Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents,
2:10.7	the outer limits, and even the Wild Wild West and Mod Squad. Today, we're going to remember Robert Duval with two conversations, one with Terry Gross, the other with Dave Davies. Terry Gross spoke with
2:16.8	Robert Duval in 1996.
2:19.8	So your father was in the military in the Navy, I believe?
2:22.3	Yes, he was.
2:22.9	He was an admiral?
2:24.7	Well, he retired as a rear admiral.
	...

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