Eli Wallach Has Died, Aged 98

The Magnificent Seven actor and the real star of The Good, The Bad & The Ugly is no longer with us.

Veteran Hollywood actor Eli Wallach has died, aged 98.

One of the stars of The Magnificent Seven and The Good The Bad And The Ugly (quite possibly THE star of that movie), his death was confirmed by his daughter Katherine in the NY Times.

Wallach was well known for his villainous roles in westerns during his 60-year career - also starring in How The West Was Won and The Misfits.

His character in the movie was the bandit leader Calvera, the nemesis of the eponymous 'seven' gunslingers, who were led by Yul Brynner. The movie was a western remake of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, regarded by many as one of the most influential films of all time. Wallach was never nominated for an Oscar but received an honourary statue in 2011 for, "effortlessly inhabiting a wide range of characters, while putting his inimitable stamp on every role". His other iconic role was as Tuco, the villain opposed by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's acclaimed 1966 spaghetti western The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Although best known for his western villains, comic-book fans may recognise Wallach as the man who played Mr Freeze in the 1960s Batman TV series, a role later played by action star Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also starred in The Godfather Part III. In his later years the actor, who was born in 1915, also became known to audiences for his guest roles in the TV shows Studio 60 on Sunset Strip and Nurse Jackie.
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