Shelley Duvall, the wide-eyed actor known for lending her talents to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror classic “The Shining,” passed away on Thursday in Blanco, Texas, which her partner Dan Gilroy confirmed to “Variety.” She was 75. A family spokesperson shared that the cause of death was complications of diabetes, per The New York Times.
Duvall earned the Cannes Film Festival award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Millie Lammoreaux in Robert Altman’s 1977 film, “3 Women.” She collaborated with Altman several times throughout her career, including her first film “Brewster McCloud (1970), “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” (1971) and “Thieves Like Us” (1974).
Filming under Kubrick for “The Shining,” which was adapted from a Stephen King novel, was rumored to be quite rigorous. Variety reported that Duvall filmed some of her scenes more than 100 times — the memorable scene in which her Wendy Torrance wields a baseball bat at Nicholson’s Jack Torrance earned a spot in the Guinness World Record Book for the most takes of a scene with dialogue.
In the 1980s Duvall also founded Platypus Productions, a company that adapted a number of children’s television shows based on classic fairy tales, helmed by directors like Tim Burton, Francis Ford Coppola, and Ivan Passer. Guest stars for the series, which was called “Faerie Tale Theater,” included Robin Williams, Jamie Lee Curtis, Laura Dern, Molly Ringwald and more.