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Eli Wallach
Birthday:
7 December 1915
Birth Name:
Eli Herschel Wallach
Height:
178 cm
Biography
[on directing in 1983] I simply don't have the temperament or the patience. I once tried to direct a play, and everyone emerged like me. A good director is like a nursemaid, a guide, a psychologist, a friend, one who leaves you room to stretch and grow. I don't have the patience for that, so I don't try. Dustin did it in a movie and directed a play of Murray...
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[on directing in 1983] I simply don't have the temperament or the patience. I once tried to direct a play, and everyone emerged like me. A good director is like a nursemaid, a guide, a psychologist, a friend, one who leaves you room to stretch and grow. I don't have the patience for that, so I don't try. Dustin did it in a movie and directed a play of Murray's -- and did it very well. I find that I simply want to be an actor... not a businessman, not an entrepreneur, not a conglomerate... just an actor.
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John Huston was a superb master. He knew how to make good films. I did three things with him. One is called Independence (1976). It plays in Philadelphia, for free. It's been playing there for 25 years.
John Huston was a superb master. He knew how to make good films. I did three things with him. One is called Independence (1976). It plays in Philadelphia, for free. It's been playing there for 25 years.
I don't act to live. I live to act.
I don't act to live. I live to act.
I'd come out of the Army after five years as a medic. I was a medical administrator and we ran hospitals, and I was a Captain in the Army at the end, in 1945.
I'd come out of the Army after five years as a medic. I was a medical administrator and we ran hospitals, and I was a Captain in the Army at the end, in 1945.
So I wanted to show what I did with the money. So I got red silk shirts, beautiful hats, wonderful saddles, a great horse, and two gold teeth. So that was the way I did it.
So I wanted to show what I did with the money. So I got red silk shirts, beautiful hats, wonderful saddles, a great horse, and two gold teeth. So that was the way I did it.
My wife says that stage acting is like being on a tightrope with no net, and being in the movies, there is a net - because you stop and go over it again. It's very technical and mechanical. On stage you're on your own.
My wife says that stage acting is like being on a tightrope with no net, and being in the movies, there is a net - because you stop and go over it again. It's very technical and mechanical. On stage you're on your own.
Well, I was getting a lot of money then, and I wasn't getting any Hollywood films, so I just did those. I'd always do a play in between. Whenever I ran low on funds, I'd always rush off to do a movie somewhere.
Well, I was getting a lot of money then, and I wasn't getting any Hollywood films, so I just did those. I'd always do a play in between. Whenever I ran low on funds, I'd always rush off to do a movie somewhere.
Yes, I won the BAFTA. I thought the British were very intelligent.
Yes, I won the BAFTA. I thought the British were very intelligent.
Well, I've maybe gotten 200 requests for interviews about Marilyn, and I just decided I'm gonna do my own.
Well, I've maybe gotten 200 requests for interviews about Marilyn, and I just decided I'm gonna do my own.
This country has a complex about age. It's unbelievable. If you're over thirty, you've had it in this country.
This country has a complex about age. It's unbelievable. If you're over thirty, you've had it in this country.
I met my wife and, for the next ten years, we did no films at all. She did the first movie and then I did several after. My first movie was written by Tennessee Williams and directed by [Elia] Kazan and was called Baby Doll (1956).
I met my wife and, for the next ten years, we did no films at all. She did the first movie and then I did several after. My first movie was written by Tennessee Williams and directed by [Elia] Kazan and was called Baby Doll (1956).
What is it in my makeup that makes me grab any offer and fly around the world? Will I ever be satisfied? Can't I ever just rest?
What is it in my makeup that makes me grab any offer and fly around the world? Will I ever be satisfied? Can't I ever just rest?
The trouble with that movie is that you had to see Chinatown (1974) the day before you saw The Two Jakes (1990).
The trouble with that movie is that you had to see Chinatown (1974) the day before you saw The Two Jakes (1990).
One thing changes every evening: It's the audience, and I'm working my magic. I'm always learning from it.
One thing changes every evening: It's the audience, and I'm working my magic. I'm always learning from it.
I've worked with wonderful actors like Marlon Brando and Henry Fonda.
I've worked with wonderful actors like Marlon Brando and Henry Fonda.
The big secret in acting is listening to people.
The big secret in acting is listening to people.
I always wanted to tell stories and act.
I always wanted to tell stories and act.
I was an original member of the Actors' Studio.
I was an original member of the Actors' Studio.
I never dreamed I would do Westerns.
I never dreamed I would do Westerns.
I always end up being the evil one, and I wouldn't hurt a fly.
I always end up being the evil one, and I wouldn't hurt a fly.
I love to tell stories and this is my way of getting them down on paper.
I love to tell stories and this is my way of getting them down on paper.
Everyone thinks acting is easy. It's far from easy, but it's the most gratifying thing I do.
Everyone thinks acting is easy. It's far from easy, but it's the most gratifying thing I do.
And then the first was The Misfits (1961), which I enjoyed very much, with Marilyn and Gable.
And then the first was The Misfits (1961), which I enjoyed very much, with Marilyn and Gable.
But I went to the University of Texas in the 30s, and while there I learned to ride. Mostly polo ponies.
But I went to the University of Texas in the 30s, and while there I learned to ride. Mostly polo ponies.
Even if I don't want to slow down, I'm slowing down.
Even if I don't want to slow down, I'm slowing down.
And I did Batman (1966), too. I did Mr. Freeze. I get more mail for him than anything I've ever done.
And I did Batman (1966), too. I did Mr. Freeze. I get more mail for him than anything I've ever done.
And that movie was underrated - Nuts (1987) - because it deals with a terrible subject, but It's very well done.
And that movie was underrated - Nuts (1987) - because it deals with a terrible subject, but It's very well done.
I've never lost my appetite for acting; it's innovative and challenging.
I've never lost my appetite for acting; it's innovative and challenging.
When I saw the movie, I said, "I wish I had heard the music. I would have ridden the horse differently.".
When I saw the movie, I said, "I wish I had heard the music. I would have ridden the horse differently.".
When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk.
When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk.
But Clint [Eastwood] I love, because Clint was my mentor. I knew nothing about making an Italian movie.
But Clint [Eastwood] I love, because Clint was my mentor. I knew nothing about making an Italian movie.
I've learned that life is very tricky business: Each person needs to find what they want to do in life and not be dissuaded when people question them.
I've learned that life is very tricky business: Each person needs to find what they want to do in life and not be dissuaded when people question them.
Having the critics praise you is like having the hangman say you've got a pretty neck.
Having the critics praise you is like having the hangman say you've got a pretty neck.
I never lost my appetite for acting.
I never lost my appetite for acting.
Well, I go to the theater today, and its curtain - there is no curtain in this play; the lights go down and go up - and we start. And I live this character for two hours. There are only two of us in the play. And It's a complete experience.
Well, I go to the theater today, and its curtain - there is no curtain in this play; the lights go down and go up - and we start. And I live this character for two hours. There are only two of us in the play. And It's a complete experience.
I was at the premiere of The Holiday (2006), a movie I did with Kate Winslet. Surrounded by all these beautiful young women. And after they left, [wife Anne Jackson] comes up and says to me, "Honestly, I don't know what they see in you.".
I was at the premiere of The Holiday (2006), a movie I did with Kate Winslet. Surrounded by all these beautiful young women. And after they left, [wife Anne Jackson] comes up and says to me, "Honestly, I don't know what they see in you.".
The subtitle [of his memoir "The Good, the Bad and Me"] is "In My Anecdotage". Bill Clinton asked me if he could use it, and I said, "You sold two million copies of your book. How dare you try to steal my subtitle!".
The subtitle [of his memoir "The Good, the Bad and Me"] is "In My Anecdotage". Bill Clinton asked me if he could use it, and I said, "You sold two million copies of your book. How dare you try to steal my subtitle!".
Eli Wallach
One of Hollywood's finest character / "Method" actors, Eli Wallach was in demand for over 60 years (first film/TV role was 1949) on stage and screen, and has worked alongside the world's biggest stars, including Clark Gable, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Marilyn Monroe, Yul Brynner, Peter O'Toole, and Al Pacino, to name but a few.Wallach was born on 7 December 1915 in Brooklyn, NY, to Jewish parents who emigrated from Poland, and was one of the few Jewish kids in his mostly Italian neighborhood. His parents, Bertha (Schorr) and Abraham Wallach, owned a candy store, Bertha's Candy Store. He went on to graduate with a B.A. from the University of Texas in Austin, but gained his dramatic training with the Actors Studio and the Neighborhood Playhouse. He made his debut on Broadway in 1945, and won a Tony Award in 1951 for portraying Alvaro Mangiacavallo in the Tennessee Williams play "The Rose Tattoo".Wallach made a strong screen debut in 1956 in the film version of the Tennessee Williams play Baby Doll (1956), shined as "Dancer", the nattily dressed hitman, in director Don Siegel's film-noir classic The Lineup (1958), and co-starred in the heist film Seven Thieves (1960). Director John Sturges then cast Wallach as vicious Mexican bandit Calvera in The Magnificent Seven (1960), the western adaptation of the Akira Kurosawa epic Shichinin no samurai (1954). By all reports, Wallach could not ride a horse prior to making "TMS", but expert tutelage from the film's Mexican stunt riders made it look easy! He next appeared in the superb The Misfits (1961), in the star-spangled western opus How the West Was Won (1962), the underrated WW2 film The Victors (1963), as a kidnapper in The Moon-Spinners (1964), in the sea epic Lord Jim (1965) and in the romantic comedy How to Steal a Million (1966).Looking for a third lead actor in the final episode of the "Dollars Trilogy", Italian director Sergio Leone cast the versatile Wallach as the lying, two-faced, money-hungry (but somehow lovable) bandit "Tuco" in the spectacular Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (1966) (aka "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly"), arguably his most memorable performance. Wallach kept busy throughout the remainder of the '60s and into the '70s with good roles in Mackenna's Gold (1969), Cinderella Liberty (1973), Crazy Joe (1974), The Deep (1977) and as Steve McQueen's bail buddy in The Hunter (1980).The 1980s was an interesting period for Wallach, as he was regularly cast as an aging doctor, a Mafia figure or an over-the-hill hitman, such as in The Executioner's Song (1982), Our Family Honor (1985), Tough Guys (1986), Nuts (1987), The Two Jakes (1990) and as the candy-addicted "Don Altabello" in The Godfather: Part III (1990). At 75+ years of age, Wallach's quality of work was still first class and into the 1990s and beyond, he has remained in demand. He lent fine support to Vendetta: Secrets of a Mafia Bride (1990), Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992), Naked City: Justice with a Bullet (1998) and Keeping the Faith (2000). Most recently Wallach showed up as a fast-talking liquor store owner in Mystic River (2003) and in the comedic drama King of the Corner (2004).In early 2005, Eli Wallach released his much anticipated autobiography, "The Good, The Bad And Me: In My Anecdotage", an enjoyable reading from one of the screen's most inventive and enduring actors.Eli Wallach was very much a family man who remained married to his wife Anne Jackson for 66 years. When Wallach died at 98, in 2014, in Manhattan, NY, he was survived by his wife, three children, five grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
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