Celebrity

Shelley Duvall, Star Of ‘The Shining,’ Dies At 75

Published

6 months ago

2024-07-11

Kiara Grace

Shelley Duvall | AP News Image

Shelley Duvall, the intrepid, Texas-born movie star whose wide-eyed, winsome presence was a staple in Robert Altman’s films and co-starred in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining,” has died. She was 75.

Dan Gilroy, Duvall’s longtime companion, revealed Thursday that she died in her sleep at her Blanco, Texas, home. Her acquaintance, publicist Gary Springer, explained that the cause was diabetic problems.

“My dear, sweet, wonderful life, partner, and friend left us last night,” Gilroy wrote in her statement. “There’s been too much pain lately; she’s finally free. Fly away, sweet Shelley.”

Shelley Duvall | AP News Image

Shelley Duvall, Star Of ‘The Shining,’ ‘Nashville,’ Dies At 75

Duvall was attending junior college in Texas when Altman’s crew, preparing to film “Brewster McCloud,” came across her at a party in Houston in 1970. They presented her to the director, who cast her as “Brewster McCloud” and made her his protégé.

Duvall went on to appear in several Altman films, including “Thieves Like Us,” “Nashville,” “Popeye,” “Three Women,” and “McCabe & Ms Miller.”

“He offers me damn good roles,” Duvall told The New York Times in 1977. “They’ve all been unique. He believes in me, trusts and respects me, and does not limit or frighten me, and I adore him. “I remember the first advice he ever gave me: ‘Don’t take yourself seriously.'”

Duvall, thin and gawky, was not the typical Hollywood starlet. But she had a charmingly candid demeanor and projected a unique authenticity. The film writer Pauline Kael dubbed her the “female Buster Keaton.”

In her prime, Duvall was a regular in some of the most important films of the 1970s and 1980s. In “The Shining,” she played Wendy Torrance, who watches in terror as her husband, Jack (Jack Nicholson), goes insane while their family is sequestered at the Overlook Hotel. Duvall’s screaming face, combined with Jack’s axe coming through the door, comprised half of the film’s most memorable image.

Kubrick, a famed perfectionist, was notoriously hard on Duvall while filming “The Shining.” His methods of subjecting her to multiple takes in the most distressing sequences took a toll on the performer. Some perceived Kubrick’s treatment as bordering on torture; one scene was reportedly shot in 127 takes.

Duvall told People magazine in 1981 that she cried “12 hours a day for weeks on end” while working on the picture.

“I will never give that much again,” Duvall declared. “If you want to get into pain and call it art, go ahead, but not with me.”

Duvall withdrew from films almost as rapidly as she appeared in them. By the 1990s, she was retiring from performing and withdrawing from public life.

“How would you feel if people were really nice, and then, suddenly, on a dime, they turn on you?” Duvall informed the Times earlier this year. “You wouldn’t believe it unless it happened to you. That’s why you’re hurt; you can’t believe it’s true.”

Duvall, the oldest of four children, was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 7, 1949. Her father, Robert, was a lawyer, and her mother, Bobbie, was in real estate.

Duvall returned to Texas in the mid-1990s. After starring in the comedy “Manna from Heaven,” she abruptly left Hollywood in 2002. Her location became a popular issue among online sleuths. One popular but inaccurate idea was that it was lingering stress from the rigorous shoot for “The Shining.” Another claimed that the damage to her home following the Northridge earthquake was the final straw.

To those who lived in the Texas Hill Country for about 30 years, Duvall was neither in “hiding” nor a recluse; yet, her circumstances were unknown to both the media and many of her former Hollywood colleagues. That changed in 2016 when producers from the Dr. Phil program tracked her down and aired a contentious hour-long interview in which she discussed her mental health difficulties. “I’m really unwell. “I need help,” Duvall remarked on the show, which was heavily condemned for being exploitative.

Shelley Duvall | AP News Image

Shelley Duvall, Star Of ‘The Shining,’ ‘Nashville,’ Dies At 75

“I found out the kind of person he is the hard way,” Duvall said to The Hollywood Reporter in 2021.

THR journalist Seth Abramovitch stated at the time that he went on a pilgrimage to find her because “it didn’t feel right for McGraw’s insensitive sideshow to be the final word on her legacy.”

Duvall attempted to revive her career by starring in the modest horror film “The Forest Hills,” was filmed in 2022 and premiered discreetly in early 2023.

SOURCE | AP

Celebrity

Gypsy Rose Christmas Photo Reveals Baby Bump

Published

14 minutes ago

2024-12-28

Geoff Brown

Pregnant Gypsy Rose Blanchard Shows Off Baby Bump in Christmas Photo With Ken Urker

Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who is expecting her first child in January, flaunted her baby bump in a family vacation photo shared on social media.

Gypsy Rose, wearing a white pregnant sweater and blue jeans, posed in front of a Christmas tree with her father, Rod Blanchard, stepmother Kristy Blanchard, and Ken Urker.

While her baby is not due until the new year, Gypsy Rose has already settled on a name: Aurora Raina Urker. Gypsy admits that she had some help coming up with the name.

Ken came up with that. “There’s a whole backstory to it,” she told People in an interview this month, adding that reports she stole the name from her stepmother’s dog, Aurora Grace, are false. “It’s not because of that.”

Gypsy Rose went on to explain how and when she and Ken, who ended their engagement in 2019 before rejoining in 2023, came up with their baby’s name.

“When Ken and I were together seven years ago, we were both fascinated by the Northern Lights, which are officially known as the Aurora Borealis,” she remarked.

I believe it was in 2018 when we scribbled each other’s future children’s names on sheets of paper, and Aurora was the name we both chose without realizing it. Gypsy married teacher Ryan Anderson in 2022 but filed for divorce after less than two years.

She and Ken reconnected in spring 2024.

We are together and in a great place in our relationship; we realize it will be a long road ahead, but we are thrilled about the future,” she said.

Gypsy Rose was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2016 after convincing her then-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn to murder her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, the previous year.

She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was released in December 2023 after serving eight years at Missouri’s Chillicothe Correctional Center.

Nicholas Godejohn, Gypsy’s then-boyfriend, was convicted of murder in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison. The pair planned to kill Dee Dee because Gypsy, a Munchausen by proxy sufferer, wanted to escape her mother’s torture.

Related news:

Gypsy Rose Claims Ex Got Aroused Over Moms Murder

Celebrity

Blake Lively #Metoo Claims Supported By New Lawsuit

Published

1 day ago

2024-12-26

Geoff Brown

Blake Lively’s claims that movie co-star launched smear campaign gets support in publicist’s suit -AP Photo

Blake Lively’s claims that director and co-star Justin Baldoni launched a smear campaign against her have been supported by a new lawsuit filed by Baldoni’s former publicist.

Stephanie Jones, who has been representing Baldoni since 2017, filed the case on Tuesday in New York State Court in Manhattan.

According to the report, the actor and his film production firm, Wayfarer, extended their deal in 2020, agreeing to a $25,000 monthly fee.

The lawsuit said that Baldoni, 40, and Wayfarer teamed up with publicists last August, when the film was released, to try to “bury” and “destroy” Lively, fearing that reports of misogynistic and toxic on-set behavior while filming the love drama would ruin his reputation and career.

Jones requested unspecified damages from the defendants, including Jennifer Abel, a former employee who she claims was behind the campaign to harm Blake Lively and tarnish Jones’ reputation.

The lawsuit claims that Abel was fired after Jones discovered on August 21, 2024, that Abel had “stolen more than 70 proprietary and sensitive business documents and additional client leads” from Jones Works as she prepared to leave the firm to start her own publicity company, with Baldoni and Wayfarer as clients.

The lawsuit also claims that Abel collaborated with Melissa Nathan, a crisis management professional who previously represented actor Johnny Depp, in an attempt to influence and control media information damaging to Blake Lively and Jones.

Numerous text conversations included in the case were recovered from Abel’s corporate phone, which she returned to Jones Works after being fired, the Associated Press reported.

In response to a request for comment on Wednesday, Abel forwarded an email with screenshots of text communications between herself and Jones, as well as a July 26 email she sent to Jones, two weeks after declaring her intention to leave the company on August 23, 2024, during a Zoom call.

In the email, she said, in part: “I know this journey will not be easy, but I wish to keep you in my life as a mentor, friend, and close confidant because I honestly consider you family and would be lost without your support.

I want to assure you that, unlike others who have burnt you in the past, there is no ill will here.

She said further: “I have left a company before with grace and with my relationships intact, and that’s what I fully plan on, and hope for.”

Blake Lively, 37, filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department last week, a step that frequently precedes the filing of a lawsuit, alleging that Baldoni sought to harm her reputation after Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds addressed “repeated sexual harassment” by Baldoni and a film producer.

Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its reps, described the charges in Lively’s filing as “completely false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious.”

He denied Blake Lively’s claims of a planned effort, stating that the studio “proactively” employed a crisis manager “due to the multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production.”

A message addressed to Freedman on Wednesday seeking comment on Jones’ lawsuit was not immediately returned.

“It Ends With Us,” an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s popular 2016 novel, defied box office estimates with a $50 million launch and eventual sales of $350 million.

Baldoni appeared in the telenovela parody “Jane the Virgin,” directed “Five Feet Apart,” and penned “Man Enough,” a book that challenges traditional ideals of masculinity.

Related news:

Blake Lively Accuses Justin Baldoni of Sexual Harassment

Celebrity

Burt the Huge Croc in Crocodile Dundee Dies at Age 90

Published

4 days ago

2024-12-24

Geoff Brown

Burt, the massive crocodile that rose to prominence with an appearance in the film "Crocodile Dundee"

Burt, the massive crocodile that rose to prominence with an appearance in the film “Crocodile Dundee” and continued to impress visitors with his fierce temper, died at the age of ninety. Staff at Darwin’s Crocosaurus Cove, where Burt had lived since 2008, confirmed his death.

The wildlife centre made a statement on Instagram: “It is with great regret that we announce the demise of Burt, the iconic saltwater crocodile and star of the Australian classic Crocodile Dundee.

“Burt passed away peacefully over the weekend, estimated to be over 90 years old, signaling the end of an incredible era,” American Crocodile News stated.

In the film, Mick Dundee (Hogan), wearing his now-famous Crocodile Dundee hat, leaves the Australian outback for the jungle of New York after meeting American reporter Sue Charlton (Kozlowski), who finally falls in love with him.

The crocodile is famously seen in the moment where Kozlowski’s character is assaulted while kneeling next to a creek.

Burt and Paul Hogan in Crocodile Dundee

Crocodile Dundee highest-grossing Australian picture

Crocasourus Cove described Burt, who was taken in the 1980s in the Northern Territory’s Reynolds River, as having a “bold” demeanor.

“Burt was a confirmed bachelor – an attitude he made clear during his earlier years at a crocodile farm,” the center said.

“His fiery temperament earned him the respect of his caretakers and visitors alike, as he embodied the raw and untamed spirit of the saltwater crocodile.”

“Burt was one of a kind.” He was more than simply a crocodile; he was a natural force, a reminder of the great creatures’ power and majesty.

“While his attitude may be tough, it was also what made him so unique and appreciated by those who worked with him and the thousands who came to see him over the years.

The statement ended with the following: “Visitors from around the globe marveled at his impressive size and commanding presence, especially at feeding time.”

Saltwater crocodiles can live for more than 70 years, especially in captivity.

Burt will be honored with a commemorative sign at the site, among some of the Crocodile Dundee 2 cast members.

Crocodile Dundee is the highest-grossing Australian picture of all time, earning $47,707,598 (Australian dollars).

It inspired two sequels, Crocodile Dundee II (1988) and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001).

Hogan and Kozlowski married in 1990 and later divorced.

A documentary about the film’s production is anticipated to be released next year.