Claim: Actor Robert Duvall was killed in a fall from a cliff while filming in New Zealand.
Examples:
[Collected via e-mail, August 2012]
Robert Duvall Falls To His Death In
THIS STORY IS STILL DEVELOPING...
Robert Duvall died while filming a movie in
Preliminary reports from New Zealand Police officials indicate that the actor fell more than
The accident occured at aproximatly 4:30 a.m.
New Zealand, in recent years has grown in populariaty as a backdrop for Hollywood producers because of it's scenic and rugged landscape.
Recent movies filmed in New Zealand include The Lord Of the Rings, King Kong, and The Chronicles Of Narnia.
Origins: Web sites such as mediafetcher.com and swellserver.com allow users to generate phony news stories about celebrities falling to their deaths from cliffs while filming their latest movies. Simply plugging the name of a celebrity into the URL used to access one of these sites will generate an article about that person's tragic demise in either Austria or
Every few months another one of these faux user-generated articles is circulated on the Internet to fool the unwary, generating a brief but intense death hoax for the named actor. In August 2012, the latest "victim" of this form of hoax was actor Robert Duvall, who remains alive and well.
Last updated: 27 August 2012
 | Sources: |
Sheridan, Michael. "Jeff Goldblum, Harrison Ford Dead? Fake News Stories Make Dire Claims." [New York] Daily News. 26 June 2009. Young, Phil. "Jackson Death Sparks Rumours." The [Tasmania] Mercury. 26 June 2009. Reuters. "Tom Cruise Death Report Is 'Erroneous Garbage.'" 16 October 2008. New York Post. "Russell Crowe Alive and Well." 11 June 2010. Stuff.co.nz. "Jeff Goldblum Alive." 26 June 2009.
