Shelley Duvall — the actor who was best known for her harrowing portrayal of Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick‘s The Shining – has died, aged 75.
Duvall passed away in her sleep from complications of diabetes at her home in Texas, with her long-term partner Dan Gilroy sharing the sad news via The Hollywood Reporter.
“My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley,” he wrote.
Duval was first discovered by director Robert Altman who was captivated by her unique look when he met her at a party in 1970. With her big eyes and waif-like frame, he felt that she “looked like a flower”.
At the time, he was filming Brewster McCloud. Although she wasn’t an actor at the time, Altman cast her as Suzanne, the main character’s love interest, catapulting her into the acting world.
Altman championed Duvall, casting her in several of his films and taking her under his wing as a mentor. He praised her for her effortless range and never pigeonholed her into characters.
“He offers me damn good roles. None of them have been alike,” she told the New York Times in 1977.
“He has a great confidence in me and a trust and respect for me, and he doesn’t put any restrictions on me or intimidate me, and I love him.”
In 1980, Duvall starred in the film adaptation of Stephen King‘s horror novel The Shining. While it is considered to be Duvall’s most famous role, and gone down in history as one of the most bone-chilling, terrifying horror movies of all time.
Sadly for Duvall, the horror wasn’t limited to the silver screen.
The plot follows Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) an aspiring writer who takes a job as the winter caretaker for a remote hotel. He brings with him his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and his son Danny (Danny Lloyd). Alone at the hotel, Jack’s mental health deteriorates, leaving Wendy and Danny to handle his unsettling, unhinged outbursts.
The film — which was shot consecutively over 13 months — required a high level of emotional output from Duvall, whose character was in a state of constant distress.
“You just think about something very sad in your life or how much you miss your family or friends [to make yourself cry],” Duvall told the Hollywood Reporter.
“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.”
In an interview with PEOPLE after filming, Duvall said that she couldn’t fathom going through that again.
“I will never give that much again. If you want to get into pain and call it art, go ahead, but not with me.”
Along with the emotionally demanding aspect of the role, it has long been rumoured that she faced bullying from Kubrick who allegedly isolated her from the rest of the cast, cut her lines and forced her to do dozens of takes of emotionally distressing scenes.
Over the years, Duvall has made varying statements about her experience on The Shining set. While Duvall confirmed that Kubrick was harsh on her, she still referred to him as being “warm and friendly to me”.
While The Shining (and possibly Popeye alongside Robin Williams) was notably her biggest role, Duvall continued to act until 2002 when she took a step back from Hollywood for a quieter life back in Texas. Still, the wide-eyed starlet was a feature of curiosity for tabloid media.
In 2016, Duvall appeared on The Dr. Phil show. During the interview, she appeared to be disoriented and mentally unstable. As a result, there was mass outcry with viewers alleging that Phil McGraw exploited Duvall.
Later, in 2021, Duvall confirmed that she had regret over the interview.
“I found out the kind of person he is the hard way,” Duvall told The Hollywood Reporter.
“My mother didn’t like him, either. A lot of people, like Dan [Gilroy] said, ‘You shouldn’t have done that, Shelley.'”
Shelley Duvall’s legacy (and unlikely friendship)
Despite living life out of the public eye, we have had a glimpse into Duvall’s final years through journalist Sarah Lukowski — a fan of Duvall’s who began running a fan page on X (formerly Twitter) in 2021 in the hopes of one day writing a book about her.
Along the way, Lukowski befriended Duvall, visiting her home in Texas often and sometimes posting about their times together.
There is no denying the influence that she had on the horror genre. From her dreamy yet haunting wide-eyed appearance to her unfiltered terror, Duvall set the groundwork for the future of gothic heroine-esque characters for years to come.
I’ve said it before — and I’ll say it again — Shelley Duval walked so horror girlies like Mia Goth could run.
Although the image of Duvall screaming in terror is almost synonymous with the horror genre, it was only a moment in her 32-year-long career. Lukowski is quick to remind people that her legacy isn’t just her work in The Shining — or the alleged mistreatment she faced on set.
Duvall was a style icon, a producer and a performer with an immense range whose influence on cinema is still felt today.
Rest easy, Shelley.
The post Hello, I’m Shelley Duvall: The Legacy Behind The Face Of Horror appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
