A SPECIAL FAREWELL TO THE LEGENDARY ELI WALLACH W/ DEBORAH WINTERS

Eli Wallach Tribute

Eli Wallach, who died yesterday, was one of the great character-actors. Although in THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, his particular character, bandito/con-artist Tuco Ramirez, was hardly supporting...

Tuco was really the pivotal centerpiece of the entire movie... Through him we learn so much, and scenes with his priest brother are actually quite moving...

In this Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western classic, mostly remembered and revered as a Clint Eastwood vehicle, Eli Wallach brought ugly to the forefront, and it was beautiful!

as Tuco Ramirez

Among a string of eclectic projects spanning many decades, including THE MISFITS with Marilyn Monroe and THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, Wallach was brilliantly cast as a hit man named Dancer in Don Siegel's 1958 Film Noir THE LINEUP, in which he played a sinister yet subtle marauder, described as a "wonderful, pure, pathological study," learning etiquette while he kills...

Whether playing a villain, hero, or someone lurking in-between, he always brought a unique quality to his roles: that being Wallach himself... Through his expressions alone, something was always going on... Leading to an obscure counter-culture flick from 1970, and actress DEBORAH WINTERS, who played Eli's troubled daughter in THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR, bids an exclusive farewell to the legendary actor:

Harris, Winters and Wallach

"Eli was a dear man... I remember the night he invited Julie Harris and I to his apartment for dinner. It was just the three of us. I think his wife was working and his son had moved away already. He was young, but grown already. He spoke so fondly of his son. He was very proud if him...

"He cooked us dinner and we had such a nice evening. He drove a Fiat and loved it. He spoke of how great the car was... that you could raise it up in high water situations. He was always jovial and helpful on the set, too...

"With his passing, another great talent is lost. Not many character actors like Eli Wallach around today. He had a good marriage and didn't have a drug or alcohol problem. I respected him and was very fortunate to have worked with him." 

In THE LINEUP... With Monroe in THE MISFITS... With Steve McQueen in THE HUNTER