Eli Wallach Dies at 98

Eli Herschel Wallach has been a celebrated character actor in the game since the late 1940s. However, the news broke Wednesday morning that Eli Wallach has died at age 98. According to the New York Times, his death was confirmed by his daughter, Katherine, but the circumstances are currently unknown.

Even at the start of his six decades long career, Wallach was such a talented character actor that he won a Tony Award in 1951 for his role in The Rose Tattoo. His first film role was in the controversial Elia Kazan movie Baby Doll, which won him a BAFTA for "Most Promising Newcomer". Wallach worked steadily up until 2010, when he appeared in The Ghost and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Wallach was known for his amazing method acting, which he studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre after graduating from the University of Texas. He was Marilyn Monroe's first new friend when she became a student at the Actors Studio in Manhattan New York and has worked with everyone from Clark Gable to Steve McQueen to Al Pacino. His most prolific role was as the smart-mouthed Tuco alongside Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef in the spaghetti Western known as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. He was also known for his memorable role as Calvera, a bandito chieftan in The Magnificent Seven.

"One thing changes every evening," Wallach once said in an interview. "It's the audience, and I'm working my magic. I'm always learning from it."

Wallach leaves behind his wife of 66 years, Anne Jackson, and three children, Peter, Roberta, and Katherine.