“Hello, I’m Shelley Duvall. Welcome to Faerie Tale Theatre.”

That opening line always gave me a thrill as a child getting ready to watch yet another episode of my favorite show. It was Duvall’s prelude to the adventure we were about to experience. I remember always being so excited to watch Duvall as a small boy with a hyperactive imagination.

I’d always loved fairy tales. At one point during my childhood, I owned the full set of “Grimm’s Fairy Tales.”

Most people knew Duvall as Olive Oyl from Robert Altman’s “Popeye,” or for her role in “The Shining.” For me, it was her work on “Faerie Tale Theatre” that earned this beautiful, charming actress with the massive warm eyes a place in my heart.

I was an ‘80s kid raised as an only child by my single mother in Los Angeles, California. At one point, my mom had purchased the series on VHS, and we would watch it together. It remains one of my most pleasant memories as a kid.

The show showed me whole other worlds to which I would escape and imagine myself as the Frog Prince, the Pied Piper of Hamelin, and also Jack, the brave boy who was also an only child being raised by a single mother.

“Fee, fi, fo, fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman! Be he alive or be he dead, I’ll grind up his bones to make my bread!” the giant bellowed whenever he returned home and caught a whiff of Jack, who had been hidden away by the villain’s wife, a gruff but kind-hearted giantess (played masterfully by Katherine Helmond from “Who’s the Boss?”). I think, subconsciously, I saw myself in Jack the Giant Slayer, who ended the monster using only his wits and a sharp axe.

“Faerie Tale Theatre,” which ran from 1982 to 1987, is known for its whimsical and imaginative retellings of everyone’s favorite fairy tales. It featured a slew of famous actors, including Duvall’s “Popeye” co-star Robin Williams as the Frog Prince, James Earl Jones as the Genie in “Aladdin,” Jeff Goldblum as the Big Bad Wolf in “The Three Little Pigs,” Anjelica Huston as the Evil Witch in “Hansel and Gretel,” and several others.

Duvall also played several roles in the series. My favorite was her portrayal of Rapunzel.

The show combined education, humor, and moral lessons wrapped in visually stunning portrayals of the worlds in which the characters had their adventures. I don’t remember it being overly popular, but given its run time, I clearly wasn’t the only one who adored the show and its creator.

When I heard of Duvall’s passing, I felt sadder than I would have expected. In fact, I’m a bit crushed. “Faerie Tale Theatre” was a profound part of my childhood. It appealed to my never-ending need to engage my imagination and gave my mom and me a myriad of quotes that we still reference to this day.

Watching the show was more than just entertainment for me – it was an experience. Through her storytelling, Duvall opened my imagination up to other worlds – places I would go in my head when I was alone.

I understand that Duvall later had her own personal struggles with mental health. She withdrew from Hollywood and became something of a recluse. I don’t know whether she was able to overcome her challenges – but I truly hope she did. Part of me wishes I could tell her how much her series meant to me, but I’m sure others who were impacted by the show told her what she meant to countless people.

I will never forget what Duvall and her work meant to me as a kid – and even later as an adult. I hope she is finally at peace. I’ll end the same way she ended each episode of her show: “And they lived happily ever after. The end.”

Farewell, Shelley Duvall.