Shelley Duvall tells all

Tidbit: Dan Gilroy, who was in The Breakfast Club with Madonna and briefly dated her, has been Shelley's long time partner.

Wow, she needs to call Morgan Fairchild for some beauty tips. Poor dear. Looks like life has been rough for her.

Poor baby. I like her.

Kubrick should’ve hired Jessica Lange for “The Shining,” like King and Nicholson wanted, and saved Shelley the trauma.

This is an incredibly well done article.

A fuller picture than the horrible Dr. Phil.

Love Shelley Duvall and hate, hate, hate Dr. Phil.

[quote] She was at that point coming off a run as a highly successful and prolific producer who'd trailblazed cable TV with her offbeat approach to children's programming. It all began with Faerie Tale Theatre, a very ahead-of-its-time anthology series that ran from 1982 to 1987 and saw major stars like Mick Jagger, Jeff Bridges and Carrie Fisher performing in classic stories directed by the likes of Tim Burton and Francis Ford Coppola. Every aspect of the show was overseen by Duvall.

Fascinating! This she be talked about more.

*should be

Maybe I didn't read too closely, but the article doesn't say whether she has received treatment post-Dr. Phil when she most definitely needed it. I guess she's not hurting anyone with her delusions, but it's still sad that she's obviously mentally unwell.

She was a hotsy-totsy back in the day.

You better stop it, Connie Chung!

[quote] Duvall narrowed her gaze and asked, "What's your angle?" The question — pointed and savvy — made me laugh. It was clear she could still play the game, rendering me a little tongue-tied in the process.

😂

[quote]That is until 2016, when she was contacted by a Dr. Phil producer. She grows visibly distressed at the mention of McGraw's name. "I found out the kind of person he is the hard way," Duvall says. "My mother didn't like him, either. A lot of people, like Dan, said, 'You shouldn't have done that, Shelley.' " (She had submitted to the interview without Gilroy's knowledge.) After the broadcast and ensuing backlash, McGraw made repeated attempts at contacting Duvall: "He started calling my mother. She told him, 'Don't call my daughter anymore.' But he started calling my mother all the time trying to get her to let me talk to him again."

So even with all that controversy surrounding the first interview, Dr. Phil didn't give a fuck and wanted to get a whole series of interviews exploiting her?

She seems content, and her partner and the community (unlike "Dr." Phil...) look out for her. Thanks for posting.

First time I'd seen a photo of Jeff Bridges as the prince in "Rapunzel". 10/10

She seems really sweet and everyone (Spacek, Huston) speak very fondly of her.

Dr. Phil is an asshole.

I love Anjelica Huston's honesty:

[quote] But as Huston remembers it, the director — and Nicholson — could be unduly rough on Duvall. "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," she says. "And they didn't seem to be all that sympathetic. It seemed to be a little bit like the boys were ganging up. That might have been completely my misread on the situation, but I just felt it. And when I saw her during those days, she seemed a generally a bit tortured, shook up. I don't think anyone was being particularly careful of her." Still, Huston admits there is no denying the ferocious power of the final product. "She actually carried the movie on her back if you look at it," Huston says. "Jack wavers between sort of comedic and terrifying, and Kubrick was Kubrick at his most mysterious, interesting and powerful. But it must have been something for her to be in the middle of that mix. And she took it on. She was, I think, incredibly brave."

It is a great profile, and I think Anjelica is spot on about her performance carrying the movie. 3 women is one of my all time favorites.

I’m not sure what to think about Dr Phil. His motivations are clearly not 100% altruistic, but I don’t believe that he is the devil incarnate. the statement from his producers claims they tried to follow up in order to provide her with treatment, treatment that would probably be beneficial. It’s nice that she has a partner and a community who are protective of her, but shielding somebody from outsiders and medical treatment (whether facilitated by Dr Phil or not) may not always be in their best interest. Obviously Shelley doesn’t owe anybody anything, and if she wants to spend her days grazing on diner food in a pick-up truck that’s her business. Her work speaks for itself, of course, but she is a national treasure, and I hate to think of illness holding her back. Hopefully this profile will go some way in showing her how much people still love and appreciate her, no matter her looks or her struggles.

If she wasn’t so mentally ill, she’s be a great media personality. She seems to have a sense of humor.

Remember when back in the early 2000s we had a discussion regarding the rumor that she was wandering the desert talking about aliens? Who could have guessed it would be spot on?!

When the Enquirer reported it.

Was this from the last film she did back in 2001/2?

Dan & Shelley

"3 Women" would not be the masterpiece it is without her performance. She commits so wholly to it.

R15 I've been on the Dr. Phil set. He made us redo his wife's entrance 3 times until we got her applause right. Dr. Phil is the LAST person anyone should go to if they're seeking legitimate help

A quiet life in the country is a lot better fate than many others: Judy, Barbara Payton. Good for Shelley

Her scene in "Annie Hall" is hilariously Kafkaesque.

"Undaunted, Unkrich continued his search for Duvall, whose location was never disclosed by the Dr. Phil show. He finally located her in Texas two years ago and made a pilgrimage to show her a trove of Shining photos from Kubrick's archive: "I was really curious to see how she would react and the stories that it might draw out of her." Unkrich was pleased to find that the Duvall on Dr. Phil was just one part of a bigger picture. Yes, she could be gripped by anxiety attacks or meander into unsettling descriptions of alien-surveillance programs. But she also could converse for long, coherent stretches and conjure up the slightest details about her life and of her career, of which she remains very proud."

Love Shelley Duvall in Three Women! I just wrote somw days ago that I want to make a thread about her.

My partner and I have a weekend home in the town where Shelley lives. I've seen her twice - both times at the supermarket. She's very friendly and warm and unguarded. She clearly does have mental health issues that are untreated. From what I understand she gets enough money on royalties and social security to survive, just barely.

Seriously...fuck Dr Phil.

"For the next two decades, she fell completely off the map.

That is until 2016, when she was contacted by a Dr. Phil producer. She grows visibly distressed at the mention of McGraw's name. "I found out the kind of person he is the hard way," Duvall says. "My mother didn't like him, either. A lot of people, like Dan, said, 'You shouldn't have done that, Shelley.' " (She had submitted to the interview without Gilroy's knowledge.) After the broadcast and ensuing backlash, McGraw made repeated attempts at contacting Duvall: "He started calling my mother. She told him, 'Don't call my daughter anymore.' But he started calling my mother all the time trying to get her to let me talk to him again."

(A spokesperson for the Dr. Phil show replies: "We view every Dr. Phil episode, including Miss Duvall and her struggle with mental illness, as an opportunity to share relatable, useful information and perspective with our audiences. We don't attach the stigma associated with mental illness which many do. With no one else offering help, our goal was to document the struggle and bring amazing resources to change her trajectory as we have for so many over 19 years. Unfortunately, she declined our initial offer for inpatient treatment that would have included full physical and mental evaluations, giving her a chance to privately manage her challenges. After many months of follow-up, in collaboration with her mother, she ultimately refused assistance. We were of course very disappointed, but those offers for help remain open today.")"

I said this in the other thread. She mentions that she modeled briefly. Looking back at those photos of younger Shelly, i think she could have been an incredible model. Such distinct looks, huge eyes, model litheness and long limbs. I'm not saying she should have been, just that she could have been. I can see the editorial photos and covers.

I miss Shelley.

Popeye was awful, wasn't it?

I thought it was pretty much awful except for the cute sets and the beautiful sea, which made me want to visit Malta, where it was filmed, but I never made it.

R31 Sentimentalist

Thank you for posting this. I adore Shelley Duvall and was happy to read the article

As others have mentioned, the writer did a fantastic job of being truthful without being exploitative. He also managed to honor Shelley without being schmaltzy or cloying.

I hope he does a follow up.

Shelley is wonderful, I always liked her. Quirky, original, unique, and a great actress. I wish her peace and contentment and it looks like she found it.

So she's not the eccentric, slender beauty she once was. I admire her courage to go natural and be the old broad she became. I hope I have the guts to do that some day.

R35 She really was and still is unique. I would love to see her in a raw, gritty indie.

Why was Kubrick so awful to her on The Shining? Many people have gone on record saying that he treated her terribly.

I did think it was cool that his daughter Vivian set up a Go Fund me page to help her out after the Dr. Phil interview aired.

Here's Andy Cohen grilling Ellen Barkin about Shelley and being his usual "charming" self. Barkin doesn't take the bait.

Thanks for sharing this article OP. Great read!

She seems like such a sweetheart. I’d pick Texas hill country, diner food and Dan Gilroy over Hollywood too. Hill country is beautiful

I’d love to hear her experiences on other movies and co-stars.

R40 Yes!

I think this is probably Shelley's last public word. And if it is, it's a really good one.

"3 Women" is one of my all-time favorites, and Duvall is otherworldly great in it. Good to hear she's doing okay.

Shelley and Robert Altman had a brief falling out when she dropped out of "The Wedding" after filming was delayed. She later said in an interview that she was disappointed that Altman had offered her such a tiny role in "The Wedding" (which Pam Dawber eventually played) after casting her as the lead in "Three Women". The screenwriter for "Popeye", Jules Feiffer, said that at one point Altman wanted anyone but Duvall for Olive Oyl. Duvall said Robin Williams pushed for his close friend Gilda Radner to be cast, but Radner wasn't interested. Lily Tomlin had also been considered, but by the time the studio was reviewing casting options, Altman decided it had to be Duvall or he would withdraw from the film. He has said he considers her performance the best thing about the movie, but they never worked together again.

Finally, after all these years, I'm getting the attention I deserve! .... Oh wait. You said *Duvall.*

[quote]on New Year's Day 1979, as Duvall was about to board a Concorde jet to London to begin filming The Shining, Simon broke up with her at the airport.

True to form, Paulie, ya scuzzy little shit.

They probably never worked again after Popeye because Altman had nothing for her. What was she going to do, show up in Streamers? OC and Stiggs? Fool For Love? Plus she was super busy with Faerie Tale Theater. By the time he got around to stuff like Short Cuts, The Player and Ready to Wear, she had pretty much abandoned acting.

R47 She hadn’t. Maybe he was just through with her nutty ass. And to the one who wants to see her in a gritty indie? Shame on you. Go watch Titticut Follies.

R48 “Shame on you” says the one calling poor ol’ Shell a “nutty ass.”

Oh, I’ll cut your titty and give you some follies, alright.

Paul Simon does seem to go for a certain kind of woman - Shelley, Carrie Fisher.....both a little bipolar, no?

One wonders about Edie "What I Am is What I Am" Brickell, especially when they had their public fight a while back.

Wonderful article, thank you for Posting it, OP!

I'm sorry all the discussion about 3 Women ignored Janice Rule.

The backstory of Fairie Tale Theatre is indeed a major omission in the story.

WTF are you on about, R48?

Shelley is a gritty indie as crazy as she is? It would be obscene. It would be worse than Gummo.

I would love to see Shelley act again, but it sounds like that isn't in the cards. How about at least stabilizing her long enough to get her an Honorary Oscar. She sure as fuck deserves one.

R54 Oh well it would probably take quite a while to bring her back.

She should get the monthly Invega Sustenna lol

ICON. 3 Women, The Shining, and Fairy Tale Theater alone. Add to that Nashville, McCabe, Annie Hall, etc. She projects a specific energy that is not replicable. It is obscene that she is in such dire straits.

Wonderful. Thank you OP.

It's a relief to see a well written article on Shelley, especially after the awfulness with Dr. Phil. He's a hateful man, and she deserves far better than his meddling.

I'll continue to hope that she gets the medical care she needs. In the meantime, it's good to know she's with caring people.

So, wait... why doesn’t she want to get medicated?

Also, what’s Shelley Long up to?

R60 No insight, doesn’t think she’s ill.

I loved this article. It was respectful to her and insightful. I am glad she has decent people around her.

.....

With cute bf Stan Wilson, 1981.

It was a good article, well written and sensitive - but it doesn’t necessarily give us a good picture of the extent of her mental illness. Those delusions she had on Dr Phil - I mean they weren’t manufactured but...does she have those often? Or was it just an “episode.” I mean anyone who experiences those things even some of the time, very clearly needs help, and it’s a shame she refuses it still. I also wish we could get some more insight into how and when she really started to devolve. Were there signs of it when she was active? It’s doubtful any actors or directors, etc will shed light on this, because understandably they’ll feel like they’re “ratting on her,” but it will still be helpful to know in trying to figure out how/when/and why she “snapped.”

Also, Paul Simon is a fucking asshole.

The Shining is great and all, but her best work in my Millennial opinion is Faerie Tale Theater and Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme.

Even at her healthiest, she elicited feelings of warmth and sympathy effortlessly.

I'm pretty sure this movie helped confirm any baby gay inklings. Thanks Shelley!

I've worked with schizophrenics. The problem with treatment is that. for many, the side effects are worse than the illness itself. Reality can be traumatic. Shelley probably feels a lot safer in the bubble she's built around herself. Yeah, she's enabled, but that's not always a bad thing.

R32 Curmudgeon

Any love for Thieves Like Us?

R69 it sounds like she has the most important thing, a solid support system

Such a shame the heading couldn't be "Academy Award Winner Shelley Duvall tells all".

She deserved an Oscar for 3 Women and a nomination for The Shining. Incredible presence in everything she appeared in.

Her Fairy Tale Theatre productions were a delight.

R3 As great as Jessica Lange can be she is no match for Shelley Duvall at her best.

I wonder if Kubrick would have been as mean to Jessica Lange as he was to Shelley Duvall.

[quote]Huston admits there is no denying the ferocious power of the final product. "She actually carried the movie on her back if you look at it," Huston says.

Anjelica is a real piece of work but she's 100% right. The key to understanding much of The Shining is to realize that no one, except perhaps Dick Halloran (Scatman Crothers), is very smart. Shelley understood that and was able to let go of her own ego and play Wendy the way she needed to be played.

It's too bad people are so wedded to actors' personal brands and tired old movie tropes and can't see a female character panicking without thinking they're hysterical and weak. Duvall gave a fantastic performance.

Lange would have been absolutely terrible, it would have been a movie about two Movie Stars (tm) who were giving performances that were on-brand and Instantly Iconic (tm) and it would have been awful, just Hollywood movie product. I know that's what half the audience and Stephen King wanted, but they're fools.

R74 😂 I’ll let you have this one because I really do love Shelley.

R77 is that you Lange Troll?

R78 Why do you feel so threatened by someone being a fan of Lange that you have to constantly refer to them as “troll”? Does it sting that Meryl is a fan, too?

Then again, I am speaking with the Lange Hater who also called for violence and death to trans people and was crossed out and banned for it, right? Talk about troll.

Can’t you find a more dignified way of making yourself feel better?

R79 I asked if it was the Lange Troll because that person has identified themselves as such previously on the board, that's all.

I like Lange and am not the Lange hater or some Meryl loon, nor am I antitrans in any way, so I think you have your wires crossed, toots.

All I was going to say is that it was a nice thing to say about Shelley Duvall.

I don't have any desire to hear about how Shelley "snapped". I want to hear her talk about the amazing work she did, the amazing people she got to work with. Why d we have to turn her into a crazy victim? Everybody's a goddamned Dr. Phil story, mental health blah blah fucking blah. Go tell it to Oprah and give me a fucking break.

Dr. Phil is satan incarnate. His producers procure drugs and alcohol which they then give to guests who are addicts in order to bring out their worst behavior on camera for purposes of sensationalism. His wife is a joke. Someone had a relative who had been murdered or had just recounted years of sexual abuse and Dr. Phil decides to cheer them up by giving them products from his wife's skincare line. That bitch has a facelift like Melania where her eyes are reduced to slits. She didn't get it from using skin cream. Reminds me of how Eli and Daphna Weingarten run a national skin cream scam in malls (Truffoire and Rejunair) where they have people unknowingly sample Preperation H and then con them into buying thousands of dollars of empty product packaging and refusing to issue refunds.

R79=Jessica Yaniv Lange. Go wax your balls dear.

Millie Lammoureax has always reminded me of my mother. The recipe cards, all that Harvest Gold.

R83 Don't bring your fuckery into this thread.

R85 😂🤣😂

I love Shelley’s voice.

Three Women is one of my favorites of all time. It’s like a memory that never happened but is embedded in my subconscious anyway. The cast was perfect—odd, misfit western Richard Avedon subjects come to life. I can’t think of any modern actors that would be able to do a movie like this. I may have read that it was a lucky accident that Shelley Duvall’s dress got caught in the door every time she drove away, what a detail! It captured her whole weird fantasist unaware personality. I’m so glad that article was written. It’s good to remember such a unique talent. I’m glad she seems happy.

Just re-watched 3 Women for the umpteenth time. Shelley is just wonderful. Easily one of my favorite performances in film.

I'm curious where in Texas she lives now.

NY conceptual artist Ray Johnson was obsessed with her, and used to have meetings of the "Shelly Duvall Fan Club" in his 'Mail Art" gallery shindigs. She appears in his generic female face in many works. She was terrified of him, but eventually they met and got on great. He even did a portrait of her.

Johnson committed suicide in 1995.

One of Johnson's Shelly Duvall tributes.

New thinkpiece

R75 I suspect Stanley Kubrick would have meet his match with Jessica Lange and either she would have left the project or he'd have her sacked.

Back in the early 1980s Sissy Spacek commented that she couldn't ever work for a director like Stanley Kubrick with all those takes. I wonder who she had been speaking to? (A. Clearly Shelley Duvall).

[quote]Tidbit: Dan Gilroy, who was in The Breakfast Club with Madonna and briefly dated her, has been Shelley's long time partner.

Not to be confused with the screenwriter and film director Dan Gilroy who has been married to actress/model Rene Russo since the early 1990s.

I agree, r94. Jessica Lange has always had a toughness about her, and I don't think she would have let Kubrick bully her. I bet that's one of the reasons he refused to hire her.

I need to pull out a book I have on Kubrick which includes an extensive with him by Michel Ciment ( French Film Critics Born 1938 and still alive).

Kubrick was asked did he hire Duvall based on her work in Altman's 3 Women to which Kubrick replied something liked he watched all of Shelley's films so it wasn't just 3 Women that landed Duvall the role of Wendy. Kubrick went on to say that he thought she was perfect for the role because she looked exactly like the type of woman who would end up with Jack Nicholson.

When you look at Kubrick's filmography the only films with leading roles that include women are Lolita (Susan Lyon) and The Shining (Shelley Duvall). In general he wasn't attracted to stories that involved them in a major way - most women in his films are supporting players and most of the female characters get treated like shit and go through horrific experiences. Nicole Kidman's character in Eyes Wide Shut is probably the only exception.

my ex became like her and is unrecognizable from his former self but i sill love his soul, but he has mental illness like her and became reclusive, living out on the desert in his van.

I loved Faerie Tale Theatre. Jeff Bridges as Rapunzel's prince was handsome as hell, but I will always love Christopher Reeve at his most handsome as the prince to Bernadette Peters' Sleeping Beauty. Reeve took my breath away, he was so gorgeous.

I want to watch Faerie Tale Theater but Amazon has the set for like $200.

Shelley lured a lot of top notch talent to do those shows.

R100 They’re on YouTube, babe.

Shell and Jeff.

Gaylord Television Entertainment Presents

Shell is so cute!

Here’s the playlist of full episodes:

Didn't she win a Razzie for The Shining?

WTF???

Was it not well received as the horror masterpiece it is today?

I love that picture of her with the cactus. What a wonderful face.

And yes, there is lots of love out here for "Thieves Like Us," [R71]. I suddenly remember one of those brilliant phrases Pauline Kael could toss off--when she described Shelley Duvall's "flip gallantry." Exactly.

[quote]Was it not well received as the horror masterpiece it is today?

Not initially, no. You can read about it on Wikipedia. They were initially mixed, but it eventually went through a reappraisal and is now considered a classic. From what I've read it's a different beast from the book, so I assume that played a part in unmet expectations.

R7 Well anybody around then remembers it.

[quote]Not initially, no. You can read about it on Wikipedia. They were initially mixed, but it eventually went through a reappraisal and is now considered a classic. From what I've read it's a different beast from the book, so I assume that played a part in unmet expectations.

I remember going to see it when I was a kid. The audience laughed at some places we weren't suppose to. I'm still surprised it's considered a classic. It seemed overblown and pretentious at the time. Shelley Duvall could sometimes be a bit laughable in her acting, too. This wasn't a time when Jack Nicholson was overly popular, either.

*supposed, because someone will probably correct me

R106 She was only nominated for a Razzie. When of their ridiculous selections..

R111 I think it was the first year of the Razzies, actually. In the early days they nominated a lot of movies that initially got negative/mixed reviews and later became classics - Scarface is another.

It could have been specified if she drives around and talks to people from the driver's seat of her car because of the pandemic.

I hope they track down DL Fave Tuesday Weld next! I believe she's recently moved back to L.A.

She did not win an Academy Award for Three Women, but, iirc, she won the top female acting award that year at Cannes.

The throw away line I always remember from Three Women: "It's better than waiting for some fat nurse to answer the ad."

There's a shot in The Shining where she takes a big, restaurant-size can of fruit cocktail, removes the top with a can opener, and holds the bottom against her stomach while the contents spill into a large mixing bowl. I doubt it was her idea, but it's supposed to represent her innards pouring out of her stomach and into the bowl.

And btw, why so much fruit cocktail for two adults and a child?

Three Women is interesting and Shelley, Sissy Spacek and Janice Rule are so compelling and wonderful . But I dont enjoy that movie overall.

I love her character in Three Women, and all the dialogue she improvised with Sissy Spacek. My ex and I used to always quote her character when we cooked anything together: "It tastes okay!"

She's clearly batshit insane, but she's lucky that she has a caring group of people who look after her. Many crazy people are not so lucky.

I would bet money that she didn't want the journalist to see her house because it's a filthy hoarded pigsty.

*FUN FACT: Jack Nicholson is reading a Playgirl magazine in the lobby of the hotel in The Shining

The original release of The Shining was before my time, and I'm very surprised to learn that it initially had a middling reception. Wow. I thought it was always praised as the horror classic it is.

She had such a unique, interesting look. Not conventionally beautiful, but beautiful in her own way.

I'd love to see someone hire Shelley to host as dark Fairy Tale Theater show now.

"Next up we have Rumplestiltskin starring that midget from Game of Thrones but... shhhhhhhh... it's really Robin Williams who shapeshifted for the role."

Filming that iconic scene in ‘The Shining.’ 127 takes over 3 weeks, imagine that.

[quote] I'm curious where in Texas she lives now.

R90 Allegedly on a “rundown ranch” in Blanco, TX, pop. 1,800. It’s 50 miles north of San Antonio and 50 miles west of Austin.

Shelley at home on the ranch.

She is unrecognizable. I know people's looks change as they get older but holy shit!

I knew she never could have naturally been THAT skinny but I assumed she would have still had a tall lanky build that wasn’t that far off. She must have been doing a ton of drugs to keep at that emaciated weight.

This is OT, but can we just pause for a second and appreciate what a fucking piece of ass Jeff Bridges was back in the day?

I appreciate the Hollywood reporter. They are one of the few entertainment outlets that still produce fascinating articles about movie and celebrities written by and for ADULTS. No gratuitous obscenity or juvenile baby talk common in so many online pieces.

Maybe The Shining works better on TV. Sitting in a movie theater I hated it. And I never got Shelley Duvall's appeal, if in fact she had any.

Nice tribute to Shelley from the Texas Film Awards

I know Blanco. Near one of my favorite spots for a quick weekend getaway, Wimberly and Gruene. Lots of exotic animal ranches out that way.

There's one really stupid scene from The Shining where, in the middle of all of this terror, Shelly Duvall's character stops for a nap.

Stopping production to chat (Kubrick), doing takes in the 3 digits (100+ takes), that's ridiculous.

I could understand if Shelley Duvall didn't want to work for a few years after that. But something is really wrong with her now.

I think what made Kubrick's version so controversial is that it is nothing like the book, which was a huge best seller at the time, and was more fresh in people's minds on the movies initial release. Wendy in the book is much more put together, defiant. Duvall's character has an inner strength, but it's buried beneath a lot of outer weakness, complacency and battered wife behavior.

The movie is interesting, because Kubrick seems to have a great distaste for King's book. From the graphic killing of Scatman Crothers character to the creepy dysfunction bordering on intense dislike that the Torrance's seem to have for one another.

The book was very popular, r121, and I think at the time, some criticized the liberties Kubrick took with it. After a while the film was looked upon on its own merits separate from the book. Anyway, I included this on many mixed tapes I made back in the day.

Why do people like R27 post entire paragraphs from the article? Do you think we can't read it at the link?

R6 It's really great. My sister is an academic. She has a PhD in Literature and fairy tales and media studies are among her research interests, and she cites Faerie Tale Theatre among the the best fairy tale adaptions (she claims it's the "only good American versions of fairy tales") and has published scholarship on it.

[quote] [R75] I suspect Stanley Kubrick would have meet his match with Jessica Lange and either she would have left the project or he'd have her sacked.

Oh what horseshit. You and the other Lange loon know nothing. Lange was as ambitious as all get out back then and would have killed her mother for a good role. And she worked for a notable prick like Fosse in a tiny role in All That Jazz, so she damn well would have jumped at the chance to do a lead role in a Kubrick film and would have cleaned the floor with her tongue if he told her to.

R141 The only Lange loon here is you, dear; a Lange hating loon who can’t help but foam at the mouth at the mere mention of her. We’ve already covered your other proclivities which truly speak for themselves.

r141, Lange was Fosse's ex-girlfriend at the time of "All That Jazz". They remained friends, and Fosse created that role specifically for Lange.

[quote] [R141], Lange was Fosse's ex-girlfriend at the time of "All That Jazz". They remained friends, and Fosse created that role specifically for Lange.

And? Ann Reinking was his CURRENT girlfriend at the time and he made her audition to play HERSELF.

R144 But Mizz Lange [italic]didn’t[/italic] have to audition.

Wonderful article, OP. Thank you for posting!

The Hollywood Reporter posted a picture on their Twitter today of her with print version of the above article, and her fingers look swollen. I hope she doesn't have some bad heath problem.

She was (is?) a smoker. Likely COPD/edema.

I love Shelly, but the younger people need to realize that she was a quirky character actress who made most of her movies with Robert Altman. The Shining was non-ALtman and her first movie as a lead actress opposite a big male lead. The only other movie in that category was Popeye a few years later, also directed by Altman. for a while instead of Robin Williams and Shelly, it was going to be Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin.

"Popeye" and "The Shining" were both released in 1980.

R132 This is an awesome tribute to Ms. Duvall. I will look up more if her movies. She was darling and you can see she loved to act. She seems like an interesting, non-conforming person.

Old age will hit all of us eventually. Oh well.

Her performance in 3 Women really is like nothing else. It's almost like she's building the movie from scratch, scene by scene. She just inhabits that character and her world completely. Sissy is great too, but she's more playing off Shelley. The film sorta loses steam at the end though, with that heavy plunge into mysticism. Altman admired Bergman, but he doesn't seem totally comfortable in that territory.

The endless takes in The Shining must have been extra challenging for her, because Altman was the exact opposite. He thought doing more than one or two takes was pointless and killed spontaneity and creativity. (Beatty was the opposite, which is why they clashed during McCabe. Altman would give him the camera and let him film endless takes of his performance, and then just use the first one anyway.)

When "Three Women" was released Altman said that Duvall had written much of Millie's dialogue, which prompted some critics to say she deserved a co-writer credit as it's such a large and distinctive role.

Love Shelley Duvall. And if such a hack as Jackie Chan gets an honorary Oscar, she should too.

The 70s were a great decade for actresses.

Razzies rescinded Shelley Duvall's The Shining nomination

We ended up down in Hill Country a few weeks ago and drove thru her town on the way to San Antonio. Beautiful area, she picked a very nice place to retire