Eli Wallach, 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' Actor, Dies At 98

by Chelsea ReganJune 25, 2014, 12:00 amNews >

Iconic stage and screen star Eli Wallach, known for performances in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and The Magnificent Seven, died Tuesday. He was 98.

Eli Wallach Dies

Wallach’s death was confirmed by a family member to CNN.

Over the course of his storied career, Wallach accumulated more that 150 film credits. In addition to 60s Westerns The Magnificent Seven and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, he starred in The Misfits, Lord Jim, Tour Guys, The Two Jakes, The Godfather: Part III and The Holiday. His last major motion picture was 2013’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Among the Hollywood elite Wallach starred alongside were Clint Eastwood, Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Kirk Douglas, Jack Nicholson and Kate Winslet.

Though film paid the bills, Wallach’s passion was the theatre. “For actors, movies are a means to an end," Wallach told The New York Times in 1973. "I go and get on a horse in Spain for 10 weeks, and I have enough cushion to come back and do a play."

Wallach originated parts in Tennessee Williams’ The Rose Tattoo – for which he earned a Tony – and Eugene Ionesco’s Rhinoceros. He also appeared in Mister Roberts, The Teahouse of the August Moon and Major Barbara.

Wallach is survived by his wife of 66 years, actress Anne Jackson; three children and a number of grandchildren.