Eli Wallach (Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA, December 7, 1915 - Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, June 4, 2014)


Eli Wallach was an American film, Television and theatre actor whose career spanned through seven decades. He became worldwide famous for his roles in westerns. He studied at the Texas University and New York College and wanted to be a teacher. However, he became interested in acting and enrolled in acting classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. He was in the army during the WW II and worked in hospitals. When his superiors found out he knew how to act, they asked him to perform sketches for the wounded soldiers. After the war he became one of the founders of the Actors Studio, where acting was taught by Lee Strasberg. He made his debut on Broadway in 1945 and starred in many acclaimed plays. In 1948, he married actress Anne Jackson, with whom he often acted together in the theatre, and somewhat less on the big screen. In 1951, he won the Tony award for his role in the play by Tennessee Williams. In early 1950’s he began to appear in smaller roles on the TV, and finally appeared on the big screen for the first time in the drama Baby Doll (1956) by Elia Kazan. With the exception of the crime film The Lineup (1958) by Don Siegel, in the 1950’s he mostly starred in supporting roles in TV series and films. Nevertheless, the theatre remained his greatest love, while he starred in films more for the pay. In spite of that, during the 1960’s he starred in some of his films. The role in the western classic The Magnificent Seven (1960) by John Sturges, the critics called his best one in the entire career. In John Huston’s The Misfits (1961) he starred together with Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift. His next important role was in the western How the West Was Won (1962). As an already well-known character actor he starred with Peter O'Toole and James Mason in the historical drama Lord Jim (1965) by Richard Brooks. He received the Emmy award for his role in the TV drama Poppies Are Also Flowers (1966). He starred in the romantic comedy with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole How to Steal a Million (1966) by William Wyler. Then he portrayed the bandit Tuco in Sergio Leone’s famous western The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, 1966), as well as starred in the film Mackenna's Gold (1969). He also acted in the historical drama shot in Yugoslav, Italian and French co-production Romance of a Horsethief (1971). During the 1970’s he starred in the drama Cinderella Liberty (1973), thrillers The Deep (1977) by Peter Yates and The Domino Principle (1977) by Stanley Kramer, then in the musical comedy Movie Movie (1978) by Stanley Donen and thriller Winter Kills (1979) by William Richert. In the 1980’s he returned to television. Nevertheless, he made some films such as the thriller The Hunter (1980) with Steve McQueen, comedy Tough Guys (1986) with Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster. Comedy Nuts (1987) with Barbra Streisand and Richard Dreyfuss, crime drama The Two Jakes (1990) with Harvey Keitel and Jack Nicholson (who directed the film), in the famous Godfather: Part III (1990) starring Al Pacino and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and in the comedy The Associate (1996) directed by Donald Petrie and starring Whoopi Goldberg and Dianne Wiest. He remained active on television and on the big screen until 2010. His last role on film was at the age of ninety four in the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) by Oliver Stone. Among his last films are Keeping the Faith (2000), cameo role in Mystic River (2003) by Clint Eastwood and The Holiday (2006). He published his autobiography "The Good, the Bad and Me: In My Anecdotage" in 2005 and received the life-time achievement award from the American Film Academy in 2010.








Filmography:

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

The Ghost Writer (2010)

Tickling Leo (2009)

New York, I Love You (2008)

Vote and Die: Liszt for President (2008)

The Toe Tactic (2008)

Mama's Boy (2007)

The Holiday (2006)

The Hoax (2006)

A Taste of Jupiter (2005)

The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation (2005) (voice)

The Easter Egg Adventure (2004) (voice)

King of the Corner (2004)

Testimony of the Human Spirit (2004) (video)

Mystic River (2003) (uncredited)

The Root (2003)

Advice and Dissent (2002)

Monday Night Mayhem (2002) (TV)

Keeping the Faith (2000)

The Bookfair Murders (2000) (TV)

Uninvited (1999)

Naked City: Justice with a Bullet (1998) (TV)

The Devil's Twilight (1998) (short)

Partnerica (The Associate, 1996)

Larry's Visit (1996)

O. Henry's Christmas (1996) (TV)

Two Much (1995)

Honey Sweet Love (1994)

Vendetta II: The New Mafia (1993) (TV)

Lincoln (1992) (TV, voice)

Night and the City (1992)

Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992) (TV)

Mistress (1992)

Legacy of Lies (1992) (TV)

Article 99 (1992)

Nonesense and Lullabyes: Nursery Rhymes (1992) (video)

Nonesense and Lullabyes: Poems (1992) (video)

Vendetta: Secrets of a Mafia Bride (1991) (TV)

The Godfather: Part III (1990)

The Two Jakes (1990)

Nuts (1987)

The Impossible Spy (1987) (TV)

Something in Common (1986) (TV)

Tough Guys (1986)

Murder: By Reason of Insanity (1985) (TV)

Embassy (1985) (TV)

Sam's Son (1984)

Anatomy of an Illness (1984) (TV)

The Executioner's Song (1982) (TV)

The Wall (1982) (TV)

Skokie (1981) (TV)

The Pride of Jesse Hallam (1981) (TV)

The Salamander (1981)

Fugitive Family (1980) (TV)

The Hunter (1980)

Winter Kills (1979)

Firepower (1979)

Guri (1979)

Movie Movie (1978)

The Pirate (1978) (TV)

Squadra antimafia (1978)

Girlfriends (1978)

Circle of Iron (1978)

The Deep (1977)

The Domino Principle (1977)

Nasty Habits (1977)

The Sentinel (1977)

Independence (1976)

20 Shades of Pink (1976) (TV)

E tanta paura (1976)

Attenti al buffone (1975)

Il bianco il giallo il nero (1975)

L'ultima chance (1975)

Houston, We've Got a Problem (1974) (TV, narrator)

Crazy Joe (1974)

Indict and Convict (1974) (TV)

Cinderella Liberty (1973)

A Cold Night's Death (1973) (TV)

ˇViva la muerte... tua! (1971)

Romansa konjokradice (1971)

The Typists (1971) (TV)

The People Next Door (1970)

The Angel Levine (1970)

The Adventures of Gerard (1970)

Zig Zag (1970)

The Reason Why (1970)

Mackenna's Gold (1969)

Le cerveau (1969)

I quattro dell'Ave Maria (1968)

A Lovely Way to Die (1968)

How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968)

The Tiger Makes Out (1967)

Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (1966)

How to Steal a Million (1966)

Poppies Are Also Flowers (1966) (TV)

Genghis Khan (1965)

Lord Jim (1965)

Kisses for My President (1964)

The Moon-Spinners (1964)

Act One (1963)

The Victors (1963)

How the West Was Won (1962)

Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962)

The Misfits (1961)

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Seven Thieves (1960)

Lullaby (1960) (TV)

The Gift of the Magi (1958) (TV, narrator)

The Lineup (1958)

Where Is Thy Brother? (1958) (TV)

The Lark (1957) (TV)

Baby Doll (1956)