Legendary actor and cult tennis star Robert Duvall dies at 95 – Tennis Now

By Richard Pagliaro Monday, February 16, 2026
Photos by Robert Duvall and Tracy Austin: Vinnie Zuffante/Getty

academy award winning actor Robert Duvall He died on Sunday at the age of 95.

Duvall won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the critically acclaimed 1983 film Gentle and compassionate. Robert Duvall’s death was announced today on social media by his wife, Luciana Duvall.

The actor, who was born on January 5, 1931, is perhaps best known for ” “The Godfather”, “The Godfather II”, “Santini the Great”, “Apocalypse Now”, “Lonesome Dove”, “The Sling” and nature He plays acerbic sports reporter Max Mercy, who robert redford’s Baseball star Roy Hobbs. Redford, like Duval, is an excellent tennis player who once Hall of Famer Pancho Gonzalez.

Over the course of a distinguished career, Duvall shaped everyone from Stalin to Eisenhower. Duvall is known for bringing humanity to complex and cantankerous characters. He called his performance as Stalin probably the best performance of his career.

Duvall, who was born in San Diego, found relaxation playing tennis away from movie sets.

Duvall was an avid and accomplished tennis player who competed in Southern California for many years and competed against professional athletes on ABC’s former television show “Superstar.”

In 1976, Duvall played some serve-volley tennis and reached the Superstar finals, losing 6-4 to Kyle Rote, Jr. in the championship match. Here’s an excerpt from that game, followed by Duvall’s comments.

during an interview The Charlie Rose Show, Duval, who is also an accomplished equestrian and tango dancer, explained how he got hooked on tennis. As a young actor, Duvall pursued three things in his downtime between projects: “Hobbies, hobbies and more hobbies that kept you away from drugs,” Duvall said.

As an outstanding tennis player, Duvall told Charlie Rose that he beat most Hollywood actors except Dabney Coleman.

“I can beat everybody except Dabney Coleman,” Duvall told Charlie Rose. “He’s the best. He played in college and played everything. I beat him in doubles.”