With the recent loss of Golden Girls legend Betty White aged 99, immediate concern for Duvall, who began his acting career more than seven decades ago, sparked after beady-eyed Twitter users saw that his name was trending. Some had even jumped to the conclusion that the To Kill A Mockingbird star had passed away, but were beyond relieved to find out it was just users flocking to the social media site to instead wish the actor a happy 93 st birthday.
Users held their breath as the Academy Award winning actor appeared in their search feeds. One individual wrote: “Robert Duvall is trending, and everyone got the ‘Betty Whites’, which is the panic people get on Twitter when a beloved person trends for no apparent reason and everyone is afraid that they’re dead (until they actually die, and then it’s just grief).” Whilst another added: “Twitter, don’t scare me with trends anymore. When I saw Robert Duvall, I got worried for a minute.” The immediate concern for the actor was remarkable, with tonnes of fans expressing their love of the acting legend.
A third user said: “Saw Robert Duvall was trending. I thought he died. Turns out it’s just his birthday. Don’t scare me like that. That man is a legend.”
Whilst a fourth added: “I wish Twitter would give some context to the trending list, especially when it comes to very old, very good actors like Robert Duvall. Turns out, he did not pull a Betty White, he’s just trending because he’s old and awesome.” Concern for the star’s health is nothing new, as back in 2016 rumours started to speculate that the star may have suffered a stroke, after a prolonged absence from the public eye.