Shelley Duvall who is famous for staring in such films as The Shining and Popeye, passed away early this morning from complications from diabetes, she was 75, having just celebrated her birthday on July 7, 2024. Best known for her role as Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” opposite Jack Nicholson. Shelley suffered greatly on the set of The Shining, she stated that Stanley Kubrick’s style of film making was “grueling”, but also said that Kubrick treated her very well on the set. While she was filming The Shining she was cast as Olive Oyl by Robert Altman, the director who helped her get started in acting, and was the director for most of her early on-screen performances.
She also created, produced and stared in Fairy Tale Theater, a 27 episode anthology originally broadcast on Showtime Network. After 2002, she left Hollywood and moved back to Blanco, Texas, with her partner Dan Gilroy, a relationship that lasted from 1989 up to her passing. In 2022, Shelley was talked out of retirement by director Scott Goldberg, and portrayed the role of “Mom” in the independent horror film “The Forrest Hills”. In 2023 at the Premier held at Kevin Smith’s Theater “SModcastle Cinemas in Atlantic Highlands, NJ, Shelley called into the actors Q&A roundtable after the screening, and she was so generous with her time, and had a smile on her face, that lit up the room.
Her long time partner Dan Gilroy stated “She had lots and lots of cards and letters and well wishes from all over the place,”but she’s been bedridden now for over a month, maybe six weeks or so. She’s not been happy lately, she’s been suffering, but we made her as comfortable as possible.”
One thing kept under wraps by Geekykool was that Scott Goldberg had passed my contact information on to Dan to do an interview with Shelley, I did not press the issue as time went by, since Dan hadn’t touched base with me, but with her passing I understand the delay, and am sad that we never got to talk. Here is tribue video that director Scott Goldberg posted on The Forest Hills Youtube Channel.
For more Information on Shelley’s last film Role, check out The Forest Hills YT Channel https://www.youtube.com/@theforesthillsmovie
RIP Shelley, You will be missed by many of us, your acting shined a bright light that touched so many of us.
