Letters to the Editor: To this reader, Robert Duvall will always be Boo Radley

To the editor: Despite all the roles he played so brilliantly, Robert Duvall will always be Boo Radley to me (“Robert Duvall, acting legend known for intense roles, dies at 95,” Feb. 16).

I grew up in small-town Alabama and totally related to “To Kill a Mockingbird.” We had a Boo Radley-type person in our town, who walked the streets and mumbled to herself all day. We kids were intensely curious about her and always trying to get a close look at her. I didn’t have the kind of encounter with her that Scout and Jem had with Boo, but I was pretty sure she was harmless, just different.

Without speaking a word, Duvall portrayed Boo perfectly. His sunken eyes, pale skin and fearful manner, trying to make himself small behind the door, reflected Boo’s fear of the outside world. In order to save Jem and Scout’s lives, he had to come out of the shadows. They were not only grateful but relieved. Scout walked him home, back into his seclusion, holding his hand. And Duvall silently launched a legendary career.

Mary Daily, Culver City