Eli Wallach, American actor (d. 2014)
Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was a longtime American film, television and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 69 years. Originally trained in stage acting, he became "one of the greatest character actors ever to appear on stage and screen" and ultimately garnered over 90 film credits. He and his wife Anne Jackson often appeared together on stage, eventually becoming a notable acting couple in American theater.
Wallach initially studied method acting under Sanford Meisner, and later became a founding member of the Actors Studio, where he studied under Lee Strasberg. He played a wide variety of roles throughout his career, primarily as a supporting actor.
For his debut screen performance in Baby Doll (1956), he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe Award nomination. Among his other most famous roles are Calvera in The Magnificent Seven (1960), Guido in The Misfits (1961), and Tuco ("The Ugly") in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). Other notable portrayals include outlaw Charlie Gant in How the West Was Won (1962), Hitman Leon B. Little in Tough Guys (1986), Don Altobello in The Godfather Part III, Cotton Weinberger in The Two Jakes (both 1990), Donald Fallon in The Associate (1996), and Arthur Abbott in The Holiday (2006). One of America's most prolific screen actors, Wallach remained active well into his nineties, with roles as late as 2010 in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and The Ghost Writer.
In 1988, Wallach was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. He received BAFTA Awards, Tony Awards and Emmy Awards, and an Academy Honorary Award at the second annual Governors Awards on November 13, 2010.
1915Dec, 7
Eli Wallach
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Events on 1915
- 12Jan
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The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to require states to give women the right to vote. - 28Jan
United States Coast Guard
An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces. - 18Mar
Battle of Gallipoli
World War I: During the Battle of Gallipoli, three battleships are sunk during a failed British and French naval attack on the Dardanelles. - 20Mar
General relativity
Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity. - 17May
Herbert Henry Asquith
The last British Liberal Party government (led by Herbert Henry Asquith) falls.