Eli Wallach [1915 -2014]
It’s a sad night for cinema, as iconic actor Eli Wallach has passed away. He was 98 years old.
Wallach served in the Army and started his acting career in the theater. Later, he starred in such movies as Baby Doll, The Magnificent Seven and as the titular ugly in the classic western The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
An interesting profile of the actor by The New York Times’s Robert Berkvist speaks of Wallach’s versatility:
More often than not, his film roles required him to play mustachioed characters who were lawless, evil or just plain nasty, which puzzled and challenged him. “Actually I lead a dual life,” he once said. “In the theater, I’m the little man, or the irritated man, the misunderstood man,” whereas in films “I do seem to keep getting cast as the bad guys.” His villain roles, he said, tended to be “more complex” than some of his stage roles. Even so, the theater remained his home base, and he said that he could never imagine leaving it. “What else am I going to do?” he asked in an interview with The Times in 1997. “I love to act.”
I haven’t seen a lot of his films but I will always remember his scene-stealing turn in one of my favorite movies (and a Christmas must), The Holiday.
Rest in peace.
I’m still in shock over this news. He’s been like family. Made he rest in peace.
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A sad loss.
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∂
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lol, i have NO idea how I typed that. Sorry. Meant to say: this is tragic news. I don’t know how many roles I’ve experienced of his but a few for certain. His absence will be felt. Still, though. 98! What a run!
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Haha, it’s OK! And yeah, definitely tragic news. But yeah, getting to 98 is admirable. Just shy of a century. That’s amazing!
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lolwut
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He seemed to have been around forever. An incredible actor. Very sad news.
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Sad indeed. But, like Tom said, 98 years is a hell of a run!
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This is so sad! I just saw him for the first on The Good The Bad and The Ugly few months back and found him so funny there.
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He was a great talent.
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Its a shame that such a legend has died
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Yeah. he lived a long, successful life, but it never ceases to be heartbreaking when someone goes for good.
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What an actor. What a life. Great obit for a great guy.
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…saw him recently in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and he was still stealing the show well into his 90s. A terrific actor.
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Like you I haven’t seen a lot of his films but my favourite performance from Eli Wallach was as “Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez”, known as ‘The Rat’ (… “and any other aliases he might have”) in The Good the Bad and the Ugly.
Rest in Peace Eli.
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RIP Eli. I need to see him in that film!
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