Eli Wallach, star of The Magnificent Seven, dies at 98
Courtesy of the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-28012230
Eli Wallach, whose films included The
Magnificent Seven and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, has died aged 98.
Character actor Wallach - who began his film career in 1956 after 10 years on
stage - was admired for his wide range in a career spanning six decades.
His portrayal of bandit chief Calvera in The Magnificent Seven was regarded
by many as his definitive role.
When he received an honorary Oscar in 2011, he was described as a
"quintessential chameleon".
Though he was never nominated for an Oscar during his 60-year career, the
Academy rewarded him in 2011 for "effortlessly inhabiting a wide range of
characters, while putting his inimitable stamp on every role".
His films included the classic westerns How the West Was Won and The
Misfits.
Arguably best known for his villains, he made a lasting impression as Tuco
opposite Clint Eastwood, in Sergio Leone's 1966 spaghetti western The Good, the
Bad and the Ugly.
Years later, Wallach said strangers would recognise him and start whistling
the distinctive theme tune.
As an actor I've played more bandits, thieves, warlords, molesters and mafioso
than you could shake a stick at," the Hollywood Reporter quoted him as
saying.
He was also successful in light comedy and appeared in many TV shows,
including playing Mr Freeze for a spell in the 1960s Batman TV series.
The veteran star continued making films into his 90s, making his last big
screen appearance in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps in 2010.
His death was confirmed by his daughter Katherine in the
New
York Times.
Wallach was born on 7 December 1915 in Brooklyn to Polish Jewish
immigrants.
He graduated from the University of Texas, initially intending to become a
teacher.
But his focus shifted to acting, and after serving in World War II he studied
at the Actors' Studio, where he became a practitioner of method acting.
Wallach, with his wife Anne Jackson at the premiere
of The Holiday in 2006
He first appeared on the New York stage in 1945, where he met his wife Anne
Jackson, to whom he was married for 65 years.
Wallach made his London debut in 1954 with The Teahouse of the August
Moon.
His screen debut came two years later, playing an unscrupulous seducer in
Baby Doll.
The role earned him a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor and a
Bafta award for most promising newcomer.
But the theatre remained Wallach's first love. "For actors, movies are a
means to an end,'' he told the New York Times in 1973.
''I go and get on a horse in Spain for 10 weeks, and I have enough cushion to
come back and do a play.''
He became a household name as Calvera in 1960's The Magnificent Seven,
alongside Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and James Coburn.
He went on to earn an Emmy in 1967 for his supporting turn in the drama
Poppies Are Also Flowers, and picked up four further nominations - most recently
for his guest turns in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2007) and Nurse Jackie
(2010).
Other notable roles came in How the West Was Won, Mystic River, The Holiday,
Lord Jim, and The Godfather: Part III, playing an ill-fated Mafioso.
Asked about possible retirement, he told the Times in 1997: ''What else am I
going to do? I love to act."
