Eli Wallach
Biography
Eli Wallach was an American film, television, and stage actor. Born on December 7, 1915, in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA, he gained fame in the late 1950s. Wallach's acting credits include roles such as Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Don Altobello in The Godfather Part III, Calvera in The Magnificent Seven, and Arthur Abbott in The Holiday. He also appeared in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River. Wallach has received recognition for his work, including BAFTA Awards, Tony Awards, and Emmy Awards. He passed away on June 24, 2014, at the age of 98.
Career overview
Eli Wallach gained fame in the late 1950s as an American film, television, and stage actor. His early success was marked by a notable performance in the film Baby Doll, for which he received a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. This breakthrough role led to a range of notable appearances throughout his career.
Wallach is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Tuco in the 1966 film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. He also appeared in other notable films, including The Magnificent Seven, where he played the role of Calvera, and The Godfather Part III, in which he played Don Altobello. Additionally, he had a cameo in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River, as a liquor store owner.
Throughout his career, Wallach accumulated numerous awards and accolades, including BAFTA Awards, Tony Awards, and Emmy Awards. His extensive body of work includes over 216 credits, spanning film, television, and stage productions. Wallach's contributions to the entertainment industry have been recognized, with an Honorary Academy Award being bestowed upon him.
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Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full filmography
- Rat Pack (2022) as Self (archive footage)
- The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (2020) as Osvaldo Altobello
- The Train (2015) as Andre
- Showing Up (2014) as Self
- Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) as Julie Steinhardt
- The Ghost Writer (2010) as Old man
- Ahead of Time: The Extraordinary Journey of Ruth Gruber (2010) as Mordechai Rossman (voice)
- Nurse Jackie (2009) as Bernard Zimberg
- The Toe Tactic (2009) as Maestro
- In the Name of Democracy (2009) as Narrator
- New York, I Love You (2008) as Abe
- Il falso bugiardo (2008) as Self (archive footage)
- Vote and Die: Liszt for President (2008) as Joe Nightingale
- The War (2007) as Narrator (voice)
- Mama's Boy (2007) as Seymour Warburton
- Brando (2007) as Self
- The Holiday (2006) as Arthur
- Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006) as Eli Weinraub
- The Hoax (2006) as Noah Dietrich
- The Real James Dean (2006) as Self
- Baby Doll: See No Evil (2006) as Self
- Sergio Leone: The Way I See Things (2006) as Self
- The Linen Book: Lost Images From 'The Magnificent Seven' (2006) as Self
- James Dean: Sense Memories (2005) as Self
- Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool (2005) as Self
- A Taste Of Jupiter (2005) as Arturo
- The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation (2005) as Father
- Stroker and Hoop (2004) as Narrator (voice)
- King of the Corner (2004) as Sol Spivak
- The Easter Egg Adventure (2004) as Narrator (voice)
- Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004) as Other Voices (voice)
- Por un puñado de sueños (2004) as Self - Interviewee
- Leone's West (2004) as Self
- Reconstructing 'The Good, The Bad And The Ugly' (2004) as Self
- Mystic River (2003) as Mr. Loonie (uncredited)
- Whoopi (2003) as Norman
- Veritas: The Quest (2003) as Rabbi
- Rita (2003) as Self
- Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003) as Self
- Time Machine: When Cowboys Were King (2003) as Self / Narrator
- The Education of Gore Vidal (2003) as Self
- Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip (2003) as Other Voices (voice)
- Monday Night Mayhem (2002) as Leonard Goldenson
- Cinerama Adventure (2002) as Self
- Making 'The Misfits' (2002) as Self
- The Job (2001) as Mr. Weiss
- Keeping the Faith (2000) as Rabbi Ben Lewis
- The Bookfair Murders (2000) as Erich Schmidt
- Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows (2000) as Self
- Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven' (2000) as Self
- Uninvited (2000) as Alan Strasser
- Naked City: Justice with a Bullet (1998) as Deluca
- The Trial of Adolf Eichmann (1997) as Pinchas Freudiger / David Ben-Gurion (voices)
- Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years (1997) as Self
- The West (1996) as Self
- The Associate (1996) as Donald Fallon
- O. Henry's Christmas (1996) as Behrman ("The Last Leaf")
- Honey Sweet Love (1996) as Don Siro
- The Search for Dracula (1996) as Narrator
- Clark Gable: Tall, Dark, and Handsome (1996) as Self
- Two Much (1995) as Sheldon
- James Dean: A Portrait (1995) as Self
- Yul Brynner: The Man Who Was King (1995) as Self
- Elia Kazan: A Director's Journey (1995) as Narrator
- ER (1994) as Mr. Langston
- Baseball (1994) as Various (voice)
- Baseball (1994) as (voice)
- Inside the Actors Studio (1994) as Self
- The Man Who Drew Bug-Eyed Monsters (1994) as Self - Narrator (voice)
- It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein (1994) as Narrator
- Marilyn Monroe: The Mortal Goddess (1994) as Self
- Martha Graham: The Dancer Revealed (1994) as Self
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993) as Self - Guest
- Vendetta II: The New Mafia (1993) as Frank Latella
- Mistress (1992) as George Lieberhof
- Article 99 (1992) as Sam Abrams
- Nonsense and Lullabyes: Nursery Rhymes (1992) as (voice)
- Nonsense and Lullabyes: Poems (1992) as (voice)
- Night and the City (1992) as Peck
- The Donner Party (1992) as voice
- The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980 (1992) as Don Altobello
- Lincoln (1992) as William Crook (voice)
- Legacy of Lies (1992) as Moses Resnick
- Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992) as Bill Presser
- Coney Island (1991) as Self - Actor
- Terezin Diary (1991) as Narrator
- Law & Order (1990) as Simon Vilanis
- The Godfather Part III (1990) as Don Altobello
- The Two Jakes (1990) as Cotton Weinberger
- The Godfather Family: A Look Inside (1990) as Self / Don Altobello
- Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret (1990) as Self
- Hello Actors Studio (1988) as Self
- An Empire of Reason (1988) as Anti-Federalist Spokesman
- Funny (1988) as Self
- Hollywood Uncensored (1987) as Self
- Nuts (1987) as Dr. Herbert A. Morrison
- The Impossible Spy (1987) as Yacov
- Hollywood's Favorite Heavy: Businessmen on Prime Time TV (1987) as Self - Host
- Spark Among the Ashes: A Bar Mitzvah in Poland (1987) as Narrator (voice)
- Worlds Beyond (1986) as Charles Burgess
- Rocket to the Moon (1986) as Mr. Prince
- Tough Guys (1986) as Leon B. Little
- Something in Common (1986) as Norman Voss
- Screen Two (1985) as Yacov
- The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985) as Yosef Kandinsky
- Christopher Columbus (1985) as Padre Fernando De Talavera
- Our Family Honor (1985) as Vincent Danzig
- Murder: By Reason of Insanity (1985) as Dr. Huffman
- Embassy (1985) as Joe Verga
- Murder, She Wrote (1984) as Salvatore Gambini
- Highway to Heaven (1984) as Timothy Charles
- Highway to Heaven (1984) as Gene Malloy
- Anatomy of an Illness (1984) as Dr. William Hitzig
- Sam's Son (1984) as Sam Orowitz
- Reading Rainbow (1983) as Self - Narrator (voice)
- Wogan (1982) as Self
- American Playhouse (1982) as Mr. Prince
- The Executioner's Song (1982) as Vern Damico
- The Executioner's Song (1982) as Vern Damico
- The Wall (1982) as Mauritzi Apt
- The Salamander (1981) as General Leporello
- The Pride of Jesse Hallam (1981) as Sal Galucci
- Skokie (1981) as Bert Silverman
- The Hunter (1980) as Ritchie Blumenthal
- Guri (1980)
- Fugitive Family (1980) as Olan Vacio
- Memoirs of a Movie Palace: The Kings of Flatbush (1980) as Self - Narrator (voice)
- Tales of the Unexpected (1979) as Gerry Williams
- Winter Kills (1979) as Joe Diamond
- Firepower (1979) as Sal Hyman
- The Pirate (1978) as Ben Ezra
- Girlfriends (1978) as Rabbi Gold
- Movie Movie (1978) as Vince Marlow / Pop
- Circle of Iron (1978) as Man-in-Oil
- Little Italy (1978) as Don Gerolamo Giarra
- The Domino Principle (1977) as Gen. Reser
- The Hollywood Greats (1977) as Self
- The Pirate (1977) as Ben Ezra
- The Deep (1977) as Adam Coffin
- The Sentinel (1977) as Detective Gatz
- Nasty Habits (1977) as Monsignor
- Seventh Avenue (1977) as Gus Farber
- Plot of Fear (1976) as Peter Struwwel
- Independence (1976) as Benjamin Franklin
- Eye of the Cat (1975) as Cesare
- The White, The Yellow, and The Black (1975) as Sheriff Edward Gideon / aka Black Jack
- Crazy Joe (1974) as Don Vittorio
- Indict and Convict (1974) as DeWitt Foster
- Houston, We've Got a Problem (1974) as Narrator (voice)
- Kojak (1973) as Lee Curtin
- Orson Welles' Great Mysteries (1973) as Fuzzy
- Cinderella Liberty (1973) as Lynn Forshay
- Stateline Motel (1973) as Joe
- A Cold Night's Death (1973) as Frank Enari
- Great Performances (1971) as Self
- Don't Turn the Other Cheek (1971) as Maz Lozoya
- The Typists (1971) as Paul Cunningham
- Romance of a Horsethief (1971) as Kifke
- Paradise Lost (1971) as Leo Gordon
- The People Next Door (1970) as Arthur Mason
- The Angel Levine (1970) as Delicatessen Clerk
- Zig Zag (1970) as Mario Gambretti
- The Adventures of Gerard (1970) as Napoleon Bonaparte
- The Reason Why (1970) as Charles
- Mackenna's Gold (1969) as Ben Baker
- The Brain (1969) as Frankie Scannapieco, Godfather of the Italian Mafia
- Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1968) as Self
- Ace High (1968) as Cacopoulos
- A Lovely Way to Die (1968) as Tennessee Fredericks
- How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968) as Harry Hunter
- The Tiger Makes Out (1967) as Ben Harris
- The Tiger Makes Out (1967) Producer
- The Owl Who Gave a Hoot (1967) as Mr. Owl (voice)
- Batman (1966) as Mister Freeze
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) as Tuco Ramirez
- CBS Playhouse (1966) as Douglas Lambert
- How to Steal a Million (1966) as Davis Leland
- The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966) as 'Happy' Locarno
- Lord Jim (1965) as The General
- Genghis Khan (1965) as Shah of Khwarezm
- The Moon-Spinners (1964) as Stratos
- Kisses for My President (1964) as Raphael Valdez Jr.
- Act One (1963) as Warren Stone
- The Victors (1963) as Sgt. Craig
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) as Self
- The Merv Griffin Show (1962) as Self
- How the West Was Won (1962) as Charlie Gant
- Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man (1962) as John
- The Mike Douglas Show (1961) as Self
- The Dick Powell Show (1961) as Manny Jacobs
- The Misfits (1961) as Guido
- The Magnificent Seven (1960) as Calvera
- Outlaws (1960)
- Seven Thieves (1960) as Poncho
- Lullaby (1960) as Johnny Horton
- The David Susskind Show (1959) as Self
- I, Don Quixote (1959) as Sancho Panza / Cervantes' Manservant
- For Whom the Bell Tolls (1959) as Rafael
- Naked City (1958) as Det. Peter Bane
- Naked City (1958) as Georgie
- Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958) as Simon
- Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958) as Raymond Perez
- The Lineup (1958) as Dancer
- The Gift of the Magi (1958) as Narrator
- The Plot to Kill Stalin (1958) as Poskrebyshev
- Tonight Starring Jack Paar (1957) as Self
- Suspicion (1957)
- The Lark (1957) as Dauphin
- Tony Awards (1956) as Self - Presenter
- Playhouse 90 (1956) as Rafael
- Baby Doll (1956) as Silva Vacarro
- Climax! (1954) as Albert Anastasia
- Omnibus (1952)
- Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951) as Dauphin
- What's My Line? (1950) as Self - Mystery Guest
- Lights Out (1949) as Giovanni
- The Philco Television Playhouse (1948)
- The Philco Television Playhouse (1948) as Nacho
- The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) as Self
- Studio One (1948) as Ozep
- Studio One (1948) as Peter Hendon
- The Yidishe Gauchos as Narrator