(NBC News) – Robert Duvall, the commanding and supremely versatile actor who earned a lasting place in American movie history as a stoic Mafia consigliere in “The Godfather,” a surf-loving Army colonel in “Apocalypse Now” and a washed-up country crooner in “Tender Mercies,” died Sunday at the age of 95.
Duvall died peacefully in his home in Middleburg, Virginia, with his wife at his side, according to a statement from his family. He did not want a formal service, so his family encouraged fans to honor his memory by “watching a great film, telling a good story around a table with friends, or taking a drive in the countryside to appreciate the world’s beauty.”
Robert Seldon Duvall was born Jan. 5, 1931, in San Diego to Mildred Hart, an amateur actress, and William Duvall, a U.S. Navy rear admiral. He grew up on Navy bases around the country — including the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland — and graduated from Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, in 1953…