Eli Wallach is a famous American actor of Jewish descent, who devoted 65 years of his life to cinema and theater. Best known for playing the role of "Evil" Tuco from the cult film Sergio Leone, "Good, Bad, Evil, " as well as the bandit Calvero in the classic western "The Magnificent Seven" and Don Altabello in the third part of Coppola's The Godfather. From this article you can find a biography of Eli Wallach.
early years
Eli Wallach (real name Eli Hershl Wallach) was born on December 7, 1915 in Brooklyn (New York, USA), into the Jewish family of Abram and Berthe Wallah, becoming their fourth child. Eli's father was the owner of a Brooklyn sweets shop called Berta's Chocolates. After elementary school, Eli Wallack studied at New York City College, and then entered the Department of History at the University of Texas at Austin. After graduating from it in 1936, the 21-year-old Eli returned to New York and decided to get an actor education - for this purpose he visited the Manhattan theater studio "Neighborhood Playhouse".
But the beginning of the career of Eli Wallach was prevented by World War II. First, the young man served in Hawaii, in the medical unit, then he underwent qualification courses for junior officers, was sent first to Casablanca, and then to Paris. But creativity accompanied him during the war - in the hospital for the wounded, Eli Walak became the author and director of the satirical production of “Is this the army?” In which he played the role of Hitler.
Actor career
After the demobilization, Wallach was finally able to enter the stage - since 1945 he constantly participated in Broadway performances, simultaneously improving his skills at the Lee Strasberg Actors Studio, where he met such outstanding artists as Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift and Marilyn Monroe - with the latter he connected strong friendship until the death of the actress in 1962.
Already in 1951, Eli Wallach received the Tony Award for his role in Tennessee Williams' Tattoo Rose. Wallach continued to perform in productions of Broadway and after the beginning of a successful career in the cinema, considering the theater the highest form of art.
Eli Wallack's debut film was the painting "Doll" in 1956. After that, films with the participation of the actor began to be released annually, and the first real success was the role of the bandit Calver in the classic American Western John Sturges "The Magnificent Seven." A photo of Eli Wallach in this image is presented below.
In 1961, he played the role of Guido, a lost middle-aged man in the movie The Misfits. Wallac's partners include Hollywood stars Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift and longtime girlfriend Eli Marilyn Monroe. The picture became a sore spot for Eli Wallack - right on the set from a heart attack, Clark Gable died, and a year after the release - Marilyn Monroe. The film was the last in the career of both, as well as one of the last in the career of Montgomery Clift, who also died of a heart attack just five years after the premiere of "The Misfits." Wallach never revised this film.
In 1966, three significant paintings immediately saw the light in Wallak's career. The first is “How to Steal a Million, ” in which the actor played the role of eccentric millionaire Davis Leland, and Hollywood star Audrey Hepburn became his partner on the set. Then Wallack appeared in the role of supervillain Mr. Freeze in the television series "Batman". The actor admitted that real fame came to him precisely after this image - he had never before received so many enthusiastic letters from the audience. And, finally, this year the cult film Sergio Leone “Good, Bad, Evil” was released, in which Eli Wallac played the best role in his entire career - the Mexican bandit Tuco. The actor’s partners were already famous at that time Lee Van Cliff, and only gaining popularity Clint Eastwood.
The image of Tuco became a classic for all subsequent villains in the paintings of the Western genre - eccentric, aggressive, comical, with a peculiar philosophy and morality.
During his career, Eli Wallack has embodied more than eighty roles on the movie and television screens, often changing characters and roles, and remaining in the audience’s memory playing even episodic characters. One of the most famous roles of the late Wallac period was Don Altobello in Francis Ford Coppolla's The Godfather 3.
Personal life
In 1948, Eli Wallack married actress Anne Jackson, whom he met at Lee Strasberg's studio. The couple had three children - Peter (born in 1951), Robert (born in 1955) and Catherine (born in 1958). The couple spent 66 years in marriage, only the death of Eli could separate them. Anne died two years after her husband's death, unable to withstand separation. Eli Wallack and Anne Jackson in the photo below.
