The greatest character actor there was
"I should have guessed. When my men didn't come back I should have guessed. How many of you did they hire?"
- Calvera ("The Magnificent Seven", 1960)
Only a few remember a character actor. Eli Wallach is an exception.
Wallach, a native of Brooklyn, New York, passed away on June 24. On the big screen, he was renowned as a character actor, a part he played one too many. Not that he was typecasted, but he was good at it. He was multifaceted, playing roles of different nationalities during the time when casting doesn't have to be politically correct. He was among the first students of the Method acting, under the guidance of Sanford Meisner.
It was the late 1950s when Hollywood decided to remake "The Seven Samurai", Akira Kurosawa's medieval samurai epic on courage and responsibility. The Japanese film cemented Toshiro Mifune's A-list status, and he happened to be the auteur's muse. The producers thought of the same thing, a Western flick starring upcoming actors alongside Yul Brynner. John Sturges's "The Magnificent Seven" launched Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson into stardom, with Elmer Bernstein's musical score becoming influential. But for the pivotal role of Calvera, the leader of the bandits who would face off the gunslingers, they turned to Wallach.
Wallach had only three films to his credit prior to Sturges's Western saga, but he was impressive in Elia Kazan's "Baby Doll" (1956), his film debut. (His performance won him the British Academy Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer.) Theater fans knew him too well, as he starred in countless productions with Anne Jackson, his wife of sixty six years. They were Broadway's power couple, working on various plays by Tennessee Williams. They have a hard time making ends meet, but Wallach didn't regret taking some time before launching his movie career. In fact, he won a Tony Award in 1951 for "The Rose Tattoo".
"What do I need a movie for? The stage is on a higher level in every way, and a more satisfying medium. Movies, by comparison, are like calendar art next to great paintings. You can't really do very much in movies or in television, but the stage is such an anarchistic medium," he said.
Wallach had a prolific career in both film and television, managing to find the time to act on stage. After "The Magnificent Seven" (1960), he appeared in some of the most notable films of that decade; next was John Huston's "The Misfits" (1961), which would be the final picture for its lead stars, Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. Then his stint in Spaghetti westerns, appearing in Sergio Leone's "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" (1966). Wallach became friends with the young Clint Eastwood. (Wallach acted in "Mystic River" in 2003, which was directed by Eastwood.) Wallach's career spanned more than six decades, which the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences considered a great achievement. He was honored with an Academy Honorary Award in 2010.
