Eli Wallach(1915-2014)
- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
One of Hollywood's finest character / "Method" actors, Eli Wallach was in demand for over 60 years (first film/TV role was 1949) on stage
and screen, and has worked alongside the world's biggest stars, including
Clark Gable,
Clint Eastwood,
Steve McQueen,
Marilyn Monroe,
Yul Brynner,
Peter O'Toole, and
Al Pacino, to name but a few.
Wallach was born on 7 December 1915 in Brooklyn, NY, to Jewish parents
who emigrated from Poland, and was one of the few Jewish kids in his
mostly Italian neighborhood. His parents, Bertha (Schorr) and Abraham
Wallach, owned a candy store, Bertha's Candy Store. He went on to
graduate with a B.A. from the University of Texas in Austin, but gained
his dramatic training with the Actors Studio and the Neighborhood
Playhouse. He made his debut on Broadway in 1945, and won a Tony Award
in 1951 for portraying Alvaro Mangiacavallo in the
Tennessee Williams play "The Rose
Tattoo".
Wallach made a strong screen debut in 1956 in the film version of the
Tennessee Williams play
Baby Doll (1956), shined as "Dancer",
the nattily dressed hitman, in director
Don Siegel's film-noir classic
The Lineup (1958), and co-starred in
the heist film
Seven Thieves (1960). Director
John Sturges then cast Wallach as vicious
Mexican bandit Calvera in
The Magnificent Seven (1960),
the western adaptation of the
Akira Kurosawa epic
Seven Samurai (1954).
The Misfits (1961), in the
star-spangled western opus
How the West Was Won (1962),
the underrated WW2 film
The Victors (1963), as a kidnapper in
The Moon-Spinners (1964), in
the sea epic Lord Jim (1965) and in the
romantic comedy
How to Steal a Million (1966).
Looking for a third lead actor in the final episode of the "Dollars
Trilogy", Italian director
Sergio Leone cast the versatile
Wallach as the lying, two-faced, money-hungry (but somehow lovable)
bandit "Tuco" in the spectacular
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
(aka "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly"), arguably his most memorable
performance. Wallach kept busy throughout the remainder of the '60s and
into the '70s with good roles in
Mackenna's Gold (1969),
Cinderella Liberty (1973),
Crazy Joe (1974),
The Deep (1977) and as
Steve McQueen's bail buddy in
The Hunter (1980).
The 1980s was an interesting period for Wallach, as he was regularly
cast as an aging doctor, a Mafia figure or an over-the-hill hitman,
such as in
The Executioner's Song (1982),
Our Family Honor (1985),
Tough Guys (1986),
Nuts (1987),
The Two Jakes (1990) and as the
candy-addicted "Don Altabello" in
The Godfather Part III (1990).
At 75+ years of age, Wallach's quality of work was still first class
and into the 1990s and beyond, he has remained in demand. He lent fine
support to
Vendetta: Secrets of a Mafia Bride (1990),
Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992),
Naked City: Justice with a Bullet (1998)
and Keeping the Faith (2000).
Most recently Wallach showed up as a fast-talking liquor store owner in
Mystic River (2003) and in the
comedic drama
King of the Corner (2004).
In early 2005, Eli Wallach released his much anticipated autobiography,
"The Good, The Bad And Me: In My Anecdotage", an enjoyable reading from
one of the screen's most inventive and enduring actors.
Eli Wallach was very much a family man who remained married to his wife
Anne Jackson for 66 years. When Wallach died at 98, in 2014, in Manhattan, NY, he was survived by
his wife, three children, five grandchildren and several
great-grandchildren.
and screen, and has worked alongside the world's biggest stars, including
Clark Gable,
Clint Eastwood,
Steve McQueen,
Marilyn Monroe,
Yul Brynner,
Peter O'Toole, and
Al Pacino, to name but a few.
Wallach was born on 7 December 1915 in Brooklyn, NY, to Jewish parents
who emigrated from Poland, and was one of the few Jewish kids in his
mostly Italian neighborhood. His parents, Bertha (Schorr) and Abraham
Wallach, owned a candy store, Bertha's Candy Store. He went on to
graduate with a B.A. from the University of Texas in Austin, but gained
his dramatic training with the Actors Studio and the Neighborhood
Playhouse. He made his debut on Broadway in 1945, and won a Tony Award
in 1951 for portraying Alvaro Mangiacavallo in the
Tennessee Williams play "The Rose
Tattoo".
Wallach made a strong screen debut in 1956 in the film version of the
Tennessee Williams play
Baby Doll (1956), shined as "Dancer",
the nattily dressed hitman, in director
Don Siegel's film-noir classic
The Lineup (1958), and co-starred in
the heist film
Seven Thieves (1960). Director
John Sturges then cast Wallach as vicious
Mexican bandit Calvera in
The Magnificent Seven (1960),
the western adaptation of the
Akira Kurosawa epic
Seven Samurai (1954).
The Misfits (1961), in the
star-spangled western opus
How the West Was Won (1962),
the underrated WW2 film
The Victors (1963), as a kidnapper in
The Moon-Spinners (1964), in
the sea epic Lord Jim (1965) and in the
romantic comedy
How to Steal a Million (1966).
Looking for a third lead actor in the final episode of the "Dollars
Trilogy", Italian director
Sergio Leone cast the versatile
Wallach as the lying, two-faced, money-hungry (but somehow lovable)
bandit "Tuco" in the spectacular
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
(aka "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly"), arguably his most memorable
performance. Wallach kept busy throughout the remainder of the '60s and
into the '70s with good roles in
Mackenna's Gold (1969),
Cinderella Liberty (1973),
Crazy Joe (1974),
The Deep (1977) and as
Steve McQueen's bail buddy in
The Hunter (1980).
The 1980s was an interesting period for Wallach, as he was regularly
cast as an aging doctor, a Mafia figure or an over-the-hill hitman,
such as in
The Executioner's Song (1982),
Our Family Honor (1985),
Tough Guys (1986),
Nuts (1987),
The Two Jakes (1990) and as the
candy-addicted "Don Altabello" in
The Godfather Part III (1990).
At 75+ years of age, Wallach's quality of work was still first class
and into the 1990s and beyond, he has remained in demand. He lent fine
support to
Vendetta: Secrets of a Mafia Bride (1990),
Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992),
Naked City: Justice with a Bullet (1998)
and Keeping the Faith (2000).
Most recently Wallach showed up as a fast-talking liquor store owner in
Mystic River (2003) and in the
comedic drama
King of the Corner (2004).
In early 2005, Eli Wallach released his much anticipated autobiography,
"The Good, The Bad And Me: In My Anecdotage", an enjoyable reading from
one of the screen's most inventive and enduring actors.
Eli Wallach was very much a family man who remained married to his wife
Anne Jackson for 66 years. When Wallach died at 98, in 2014, in Manhattan, NY, he was survived by
his wife, three children, five grandchildren and several
great-grandchildren.