Shelley Duvall, ‘The Shining’ Star, Dies at 75
Shelley Duvall, the actress best known for her performance in 1980’s The Shining, has died. She was 75.
Duvall’s death was confirmed by her longtime life partner Dan Gilroy, who told The Hollywood Reporter the actress died in her sleep at her home in Blanco, Texas from complications from diabetes. Gilroy said in a brief statement, “My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley.”
Duvall notably worked with director Robert Altman in seven different films: 1970’s Brewster McCloud; 1971’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller; 1974’s Thieves Like Us; 1975’s Nashville; 1976’s Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson; 1977’s 3 Women; and 1980’s Popeye.
Of course, Duvall’s most iconic performance came in The Shining as Wendy Torrance, wife of Jack Torrance played by Jack Nicholson. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, the film was adapted from the Stephen King novel of the same title. The Shining is considered one of the best horror films of all time.
In 2018, The Shining was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. The National Film Registry is a collection of films that have been selected for preservation for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
The Library of Congress notes of The Shining, “The film is inventive in visual style, symbolism and narrative as only a Kubrick film can be. Long but multi-layered, ‘The Shining’ contains stunning visuals — rivers of blood cascading down deserted hotel hallways, disturbing snowy mazes and a mysterious set of appearing and disappearing twins — with iconic performances by Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall.”
Duvall was infamously nominated for Worst Actress in the 1st Annual Golden Raspberry Awards for her performance in The Shining. However, in March 2022, the Golden Raspberry Committee announced they were rescinding Duvall’s nomination. The committee said in a joint statement, ” … We have since discovered that Duvall’s performance was impacted by Stanley Kubrick’s treatment of her throughout the production. We would like to take this opportunity to rescind that nomination as well.”
It has been widely discussed in the years since the release of The Shining that Kubrick infamously made Duvall and Nicholson shoot the baseball bat scene 127 times. Slash Film writes, “The result of the constant takes were Duvall’s hands were shredded raw from gripping the bat for such a prolonged period of time, her voice was hoarse from crying, her eyes became swollen, and she left the set completely dehydrated. The moments we see on screen of Duvall crying in pain, fear, and exhaustion were not acting but an actor delivering lines while enduring a trauma response.”
In archival footage from the BBC, Duvall said of working with Kubrick and the many takes of scenes she went through, “I had never done more than say 15 takes [of a scene] before in my life … My stamina has increased so much since ‘The Shining.’ I mean, you really have to be strong for an entire day, because the role required me to cry all day long, every day. It was so difficult being hysterical for that length of time.”
