Shelley Duvall, Star of 'The Shining' & Creator of 'Faerie Tale Theatre,' Dies at 75

Shelley Duvall, one of the most inimitable and acclaimed actors of the 1970s, and the creator of the popular, star-studded series "Faerie Tale Theatre," died Thursday, THR reports.

Duvall had just turned 75 this past weekend.

Dan Gilroy, her partner of 35 years, confirmed she had died of complications from diabetes at their home in Blanco, Texas. “My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us," he told the outlet. "Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley,”

Duvall had shocked fans in a November 2016 "Dr. Phil" interview, in which she appeared to have deteriorated physically and mentally. "I need help," she told host Phil McGraw.

Just over four years later, in February 2021, she was doing well, telling THR of McGraw, “I found out the kind of person he is the hard way. My mother didn’t like him, either. A lot of people, like Dan, said, ‘You shouldn’t have done that, Shelley.’"

She recently returned to acting for the first time in 20 years, starring in 2023's "The Forest Hills."

Duvall was born July 7, 1949, in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1969, she met director Robert Altman, who was in her home state filming "Brewster McCloud" (1970). Her bubbly personality and out-sized eyes captivated the filmmaker, who immediately cast her in the film.

She became known as a muse to Altman, appearing in "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" (1971), "Thieves Like Us" (1974), "Nashville" (1975), "Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson" (1976), and to great acclaim in his "3 Women" (1977).

Apart from Altman, she starred in the most iconic film of her career, Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" (1980). As the wife of a writer (Jack Nicholson) experiencing a psychotic break in an isolated hotel, she was on the receiving end of one of cinema's most-quoted lines when her ax-wielding mate peers through a door he's just shredded and gleefully announces: "Heeere's Johnny!"

In 2021, Duvall tearfully recalled, "[W]e filmed that for about three weeks. Every day. It was very hard. Jack was so good — so damn scary. I can only imagine how many women go through this kind of thing.”

She also confirmed that Kubrick never used anything without at least 35 takes and said she had been expected to cry 12 hours a day for nine months of the 13-month shoot.

Duvall followed it up with a return to Altman in "Popeye" (1980). The hit movie was a target for the critics, but her work as Olive Oyl has stood the test of time.

Her other film work included "Annie Hall" (1977), "Time Bandits" (1981), "Roxanne" (1987), "Suburban Commando" (1991), "The Underneath" (1995), "The Portrait of a Lady" (1996), "Changing Habits" (1997), "Twilight of the Ice Nymphs" (1997), "My Teacher Ate My Homework" (1997), "Rocketman" (1997), "Tale of the Mummy" (1998), "Casper Meets Wendy" (1998), "Home Fries" (1998), "The 4th Floor" (1999), "Boltneck" (1999), "Dreams in the Attic" (2000), and "Manna from Heaven" (2002).

Though only occasionally appearing on TV, including in the TV movie "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" (1976) and hosting "SNL" (1977), Duvall received some of the greatest acclaim of her career as the creator and host of "Faerie Tale Theatre" (1982-1987), which earned her the Peabody Award. The whimsical live-action fantasy series featured classic fairy tales re-imagined, and starred a wealth of big names, including Robin Williams, James Earl Jones, Susan Sarandon, Vanessa Redgrave, Pee-wee Herman, Gregory Hines, and Liza Minnelli.

She repeated that success with "Tall Tales & Legends" (1985-1987) and "Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories" (1992-1993). She also, via her Think Entertainment, produced TV fare like "Backfield in Motion" (1991), starring Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold.

In 1981, Duvall released the children's album "Sweet Dreams."

Duvall is survived by Gilroy, a former member of the 1980s pop band the Breakfast Club she met while making Disney Channel's "Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme," as well as by her three brothers.