- Was almost killed during the train scene in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). He was asked by Sergio Leone to do the scene again, and he then replied: "I'll never do that again!".
- Had appeared with Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable and Steve McQueen in their final completed films: The Misfits (1961) (for both Monroe and Gable) and The Hunter (1980) respectively.
- After failing the New York teachers' exam, Wallach got a scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse and spent two years there before graduating in 1940. Among his classmates were Gregory Peck, Lorne Greene, and Tony Randall.
- He served for five years in the Army's Medical Administrative Corps during World War II, eventually attaining the rank of captain.
- In his later years, he was blind in the left eye due to a stroke.
- He, his wife Anne Jackson and their daughter, Roberta Wallach, all made guest appearances in different episodes of Law & Order (1990).
- He died from natural causes at his home in Manhattan, New York City.
- Had appeared with Steve McQueen in both McQueen's first major successful film (The Magnificent Seven (1960)) and in his last film (The Hunter (1980)).
- There was no official theater department at the University of Texas when he attended, so he joined a student organization called The Curtain Club to put on plays. One of the other students involved was future Governor of Texas John Connally.
- Was the reader of the audio-book of Stephen King's novel "Insomnia".
- Turned down the role in From Here to Eternity (1953) that won Frank Sinatra an Oscar.
- He was friends with Walter Cronkite for over 70 years since they were both students at the University of Texas at Austin. Wallach was acknowledged at the Walter Cronkite memorial tribute at Lincoln Center and was in the audience.
- Received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1936.
- Served five years in the Army Medical Corps during World War II eventually reaching the rank of major.
- Was named as "King of Brooklyn" at the Welcome Back to Brooklyn Festival in 1998. His wife Anne Jackson was named "Queen of Brooklyn" at the same festival.
- He grew up in the only Jewish family in an otherwise all-Italian neighborhood, and gained fame from starring in an Italian Western. Appropriately enough, the name "Wallach" derives from the same Old German root word for which the Polish name for Italy, Wlochy, comes from.
- He had a brother and two sisters, all of whom became teachers.
- Is one of three actors to play the character of Mr. Freeze on Batman (1966) (The other two were George Sanders and Otto Preminger). He once said that he has received more fan mail for that role than for any other role he has ever done.
- One of his fellow students at Parsons New School for Social Research in New York was Marlon Brando.
- As a new officer in the Military, it was customary to pay his first saluting soldier a dollar. One of his fondest memories.
- One of his best known roles was the lead bandit Calvera in The Magnificent Seven (1960). Although his character was eventually defeated in the film, Wallach outlived six of the other seven stars, except Robert Vaughn who passed on November 11, 2016, despite the fact that he was older than all of them.
- While attending the University of Texas, he acted in many student plays. In one, he performed with fellow students Ann Sheridan and Walter Cronkite.
- According to his autobiography, he was a Brooklyn city youth who went to a farm during the summer. When asked if he could ride a horse, he had been riding for many years and would do his own stunts.
- He was known as a warm and personable man who got along very well with cast and crew members.
- Had appeared with his wife Anne Jackson in six films: The Tiger Makes Out (1967), How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968), Zig Zag (1970), The Angel Levine (1970), Nasty Habits (1977) and Sam's Son (1984).
- Although he is best known for playing four Mexican characters in four different westerns, Wallach was actually a Polish Jew in real life and had no Hispanic ancestry.
- Made his Broadway debut in the service-oriented drama "Skydrift" directed by Roy Hargrave, who had coincidently directed Anne Jackson, Wallach's future wife, in her Broadway debut in "Signature" a few months earlier.
- In an interview on "Fresh Air" (at station WHYY in Philadephia, Pennsylvania, broadcast nationally on National Public Radio), he explained to Terry Gross that he learned to ride horses at the University of Texas: He took care of the polo ponies. During the filming of the The Magnificent Seven (1960), each morning he would ride a few hours with his gang.
- Father, with Anne Jackson, of son Peter Wallach, and daughters Katherine Wallach and Roberta Wallach.
- Wallach played Sakini for a year in the London cast of "Teahouse of the August Moon." Among the aspiring young actors from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts who worked backstage with scenery were Alan Bates, Peter O'Toole, and Albert Finney. Wallach later succeeded David Wayne in the part in the Broadway production.
- He had two hip replacements and had arthritis in his back.
- He had an intense dislike of guns.
- Turned down the lead role of Harry Berlin in Luv (1967) that was eventually played by Jack Lemmon. He had originated the role of Harry's friend Milt Manville in 'Luv' on Broadway in 1965.
- He was the last surviving star of John Huston's 1961 film 'The Misfits'.
- He rarely drank alcohol and needed advice on how to portray drunkenness in The Misfits (1961).
- "Time" magazine once referred to Eli Wallach and wife Anne Jackson as "the proletarian Lunts.".
- He had five grandchildren.
- He was a physical man who enjoyed and was very skilled at dancing, swimming and horseback riding.
- As a stage and screen character actor, he had one of the longest-ever careers in show business, spanning 62 years from his Broadway debut to his last two major Hollywood studio movies, released in the same year.
- He has appeared in three films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Magnificent Seven (1960), How the West Was Won (1962) and Girlfriends (1978).
- Was in three Oscar Best Picture nominees: How the West Was Won (1962), The Godfather Part III (1990) and Mystic River (2003).
- The February 6, 1985, issue of Variety announced the film "Ombre sul ponte" (English title "Shadow on the Bridge") would begin filming in March 1985, with director Ruggero Deodato, starring Franco Nero, Patrick Wayne, Lisa Blount, and Eli Wallach. No evidence the film was ever made or released.
- He never retired from acting.
- Despite his many talents and his long career as a star of stage and screen, he freely admitted that he wasn't a good singer at all.
- He was never directly involved in politics but always considered himself liberal and leftist.
- Despite getting top billing for 'The Magnificent Seven', he was a supporting actor in all of his Hollywood Westerns and a leading man in all of his Spaghetti Westerns.
- Had a slight gap in his teeth in his younger days, but was forced to close it.
- Tony winner for the Rose Tattoo.
- There was some controversy over the casting of Wallach in Hispanic roles, especially since his knowledge of the Spanish language was so-so. His portrayal of Tuco in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" was well-received, but has been increasingly criticized in modern times.
- The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on his 26th birthday. A North Pole Christmas (2009) aired on his 94th.
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