Eli Wallach dies at 98

Magnificent Seven star worked in cinema for over 60 years.

by Jennie Kermode

Eli Wallach in The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
Eli Wallach in The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

He was known for his roles in The Magnificent Seven, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, The Misfits and How The West Was Won, but Eli Wallach was an actor who could turn his hand to anything, a true Hollywood great who became known as 'the chameleon' over the course of his 64 year career. Now he has died at the age of 98 and tributes are pouring in from those who knew him.

The versatile star initially studied education but found his way into acting through the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York, and soon got the bug. Theatre remained his first love but he starred in over a hundred films and also found time to appear in many of the most popular television dramas of the 20th century, from Murder, She Wrote to Law & Order. He was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2011, a year after his last film, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Wallach is survived by his actress wife, Anne Jackson, and their three children, Peter, Roberta and Katherine.

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