Entertainment
‘Godfather’, ‘Apocalypse Now’ Actor Robert Duvall Dies At 95
Robert Duvall, who played the smooth mafia lawyer in “The Godfather” and stole the show with his depiction of a surfing-crazed colonel in “Apocalypse Now,” has died at the age of 95, his wife said Monday.
His death Sunday was confirmed by his wife Luciana Duvall.
“Yesterday we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time. Bob passed away peacefully at home,” she wrote.
Blunt-talking, prolific and glitz-averse, Duvall won an Oscar for best actor and was nominated six other times. Over his six decades-long career, he shone in both lead and supporting roles, and eventually became a director.
“To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything,” Luciana Duvall said. “His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for characters, a great meal, and holding court.”
Duvall won his Academy Award in 1983 for playing a washed-up country singer in “Tender Mercies.”
But his most memorable characters also included the soft-spoken, loyal mob consigliere Tom Hagen in the first two installments of “The Godfather” and the maniacal Lieutenant Colonel William Kilgore in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 Vietnam War epic “Apocalypse Now.”
The latter, which earned Duvall an Oscar nomination and made him a bona fide star after years playing lesser roles, sees him utter what is now one of cinema’s most famous lines.
“I love the smell of napalm in the morning,” his war-loving character — bare chested, cocky and sporting a big black cowboy hat — muses as low-flying US warplanes bomb a beachfront tree line where he wants to go surfing.
That character was originally created to be even more over the top — his name was at first supposed to be Colonel Carnage — but Duvall had it toned down, demonstrating his meticulous approach to acting.
“I did my homework,” Duvall told veteran talk show host Larry King in 2015. “I did my research.”
Duvall was sort of a late bloomer in Hollywood — he was already 31 when he delivered his breakout performance as the mysterious recluse Boo Radley in the 1962 film adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
He would go on to play myriad roles — a bullying corporate executive in “Network” (1976), a Marine officer who treats his family like soldiers in “The Great Santini” (1979), and then his star turn in “Tender Mercies.”
Duvall often said his favorite role, however, was one he played in a 1989 TV mini-series — the grizzled, wise-cracking Texas Ranger-turned-cowboy Augustus McCrae in “Lonesome Dove,” based on the novel by Larry McMurtry.
Film critic Elaine Mancini once described Duvall as “the most technically proficient, the most versatile, and the most convincing actor on the screen in the United States.”
AFP
A Nigerian human rights lawyer, Ike Obasi, has given actress, politician, and self-proclaimed evangelist, Tonto Dikeh, 72 hours to apologize over a viral video showing her conducting a deliverance session on a school child, describing the act as abusive and a violation of the minor’s rights and dignity.
Obasi said the footage circulating on social media was deeply troubling and highlighted the need to protect children from degrading treatment.
“It is disturbing that an innocent child could be subjected to such abusive and degrading treatment under the guise of religious deliverance,” he said.
He added that such actions, capable of humiliating or traumatizing a minor, should not be tolerated.
“I hereby give Tonto Dikeh 72 hours to tender a public apology to the child involved in the video,” Obasi stated.
The lawyer warned that failure to comply would leave him no choice but to pursue legal action.
“If she fails to apologize within the stipulated period, we will take the necessary legal steps to ensure accountability and protect the rights and dignity of the minor involved,” he said.
In a related development, social media influencer and activist Vincent Otse, popularly known as Very Dark Man (VDM), also condemned Dikeh’s actions.
He described it as a violation of the child’s rights and warned her never to set foot in the school again, recalling that she had been absent when the school was left dilapidated until his non-governmental organization rehabilitated it with 30 million Naira.
VDM joined a growing chorus of influencers and activists criticizing the actress for allegedly pinning the child on a sandy floor, with her long nails pressed on the child’s eyes, under the guise of deliverance.
The incident raises pressing questions: Will relevant authorities intervene, or will it be overlooked? Has any law been broken? Will Dikeh apologize as demanded by the lawyer, and if she refuses, will legal action be taken? Only time will tell.
BBNaija winner, Ilebaye Precious Odiniya, has undergone a facelift procedure.
In a viral video, the Big Brother Naija cast member was seen in a hospital undergoing the procedure.
The reality star notes that she wants to look younger, lifted, and rejuvenated.
“I want to look younger, lifted, and rejuvenated. But I still want to look like me, though, I still want to look like a Gen Z baddie.
And of course we got to work because true elegance is always subtle, balanced, rejuvenated, never giving fake, botched or exaggerated,” she said in the video, seeming to advertise the clinic for anyone else who is interested.
Ilebaye is an entrepreneur, actress, and model who won the Big Brother Naija All Stars season on October 1, 2023.
She took home the 120 million Naira cash prize, securing 30.08 per cent of the final votes.
Known as the “Gen Z Baddie,” the reality star was the youngest contestant at the time and an ex-Season 7 ‘Level Up’ housemate.
The actress joined the 7th Season of Big Brother Naija on 23 July 2022 as the fourth housemate. She, however, was evicted in the third week of the reality show.
Taking another chance, Ilebaye entered the competition’s All-Star Season as the 13th housemate and was announced the winner during the season finale of the reality show.
Meanwhile, recall that Ilebaye is not the first and only BBnaija star to undergo cosmetic surgery.
Last year, Big Brother Naija ‘Double Wahala’ housemate Nina Ivy underwent a breast reduction surgery.
The reality star expressed excitement at finally undergoing the surgery, as she stated that after her two kids, she never really felt comfortable and confident about her breasts and was super excited to make a change.
Big Brother Naija Level Up winner, Phyna, in an interview with Naija 102 FM, admitted that she had worked on her tummy, but clarified that she hasn’t touched her body.
Explaining the difference between the two, Phyna revealed that she was open to undergoing surgery in the future.
Another Big Brother Naija star, Bambam, admitted in an Instagram video that she had undergone liposuction surgery.
She shared her story on the dark side of surgery, as she noted how no one knew she had altered her shape, hence why she decided to come clean about it.
See video below:
BBNaija All Stars winner Ilebaye just got a face and nose rejuvenation lift to give her a more youthful look, and she looks so good 😍 pic.twitter.com/H2uzvxFuG7
— Calissi✨🤍 (@calisssii) March 10, 2026
Jennifer Runyon, an actor known for roles in “Ghostbusters” and the sitcom “Charles in Charge,” has died, according to her friends and family.
She was 65.
“Bewitched” actor Erin Murphy shared on social media that Runyon died “after a brief battle with cancer,” calling Runyon a “special lady.”
A family representative confirmed Runyon died Friday after a “long and arduous journey that ended with her surrounded by her family.”
Runyon’s daughter, Bayley Corman, honored her mother in a tribute carousel of photos and videos on Instagram.
“All of the best parts of me came from you. I would give anything for one more day together,” Corman wrote in the caption of the post.
Corman, who followed in her mother’s footsteps as an actor and has had featured roles in “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and “Jane the Virgin,” also shared a photo of Runyon in a hospital bed with her two dogs. “I wasn’t ready for this,” Corman’s post concluded.
Runyon made her film debut in the 1980 holiday horror movie “To All a Goodnight,” before rising to fame for her roles in “Ghostbusters” and as Gwendolyn Pierce in “Charles in Charge.”
Later, Runyon played Cindy Brady in the film “A Very Brady Christmas” and starred in “The In Crowd.”
The actor married collegiate basketball coach Todd Corman in 1991, and the couple had two children together.
After retiring, Runyon stepped back from the public eye, appearing in a few horror movies since her children were born in the early 1990s.
In a 2023 interview with a horror movie podcaster, Runyon shared that she worked with at-risk youth in high schools for six years after her retirement.
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