ELI WALLACH BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
 
Eli Herschel Wallace was born on December 7th, 1915 in Brooklyn, New York.  His parents were Bertha and Abraham and they were the only Jewish family in a predominantly Itslian American neighborhood.  While still in high School he got his first taste at acting, making a debut in an amateur production. 

He went on to attend University at the University of Texas in Austin earning a bachelor of Arts.  He then went to pursue his masters at the City College of New York in Education and worked as a radio actor for employment.  Upon completion Wallach earned a scholarship to New Yorks prestigious Neighborhood PlayHouse.  When he completed his schooling in acting in 1940, he received a couple small stage roles until World War II occured.

Wallach joined the US army in 1941 and served as a medical administratibe officer working all over the Globe.  When he was over in France, his superiors heard about his acting expereince and requested he put together a production to entertain the troups.  Wallach wrote and performed the production, "This is the Army" in which he portrayed Hitler.  

Upon discharge from the service, Wallach returned straight back to pursuing his acting career.  He made his Broadway debut in 1945 in, "Skydrift" which only ran for one week.  He also joined the Actor's Studio for two seasons with the American Repertory Theater. 

In the early 50's, Wallach was cast in two Tennessee William plays, "The Rose Tattoo" and "Camino Real" for which he won a Tony Award.  He continued to work on stage productions but also was determined to work in film.  He met his wife, actress Anne Jackson and they married on March 5th, 1948.  He had his first feature acting debit on 1952 on, "Danger". 

1956 marked the beginning of Wallach's real film career with a role on, "Baby Doll" a controversial film banned by the Catholic Legion of Decency and several international markets.  The talk over his film increased Wallach's popularity in Hollywood and overseas.  He had finally reached where he wanted to be with his film career.  He began getting cast in a variety of films often portraying dangerous characters such as hit men.  Wallach appeared in, "Lineup" (1958), "Seven Thieves" (1960), and "The Victors" (1963).

Wallach was sharing top billing with some of the high profile actors such as Steve McQueen, Yul Brynner and Clark Gable.  Eli was also a guest star on television series such as, "Playhouse 90" (1956-1961), "The Hallmark Hall of Fame" (1951) and on two episodes of "Batman" (1966-1968).   He was also first featured on screen with his wife in, "The Tiger Makes Out" (1967). 

"Poppies are Also Flowers" (1966) was an all star drama about the international drug trade which Wallach won an Emmy for.  He also appeared in, "The Tiger Makes Out Gable" (1967) a comedy where he got to work with his wife.  He was an amazing actor that could portray a variety of characters such as a Latin Dictator in "Kisses for My President" (1964), and Arab Shah in, "Genghis Khan" (1965) and a Greek kidnapper in, "The Moon-Spinners" (1965).

Moving into the 70's and 80's, Wallach did not allow his film career to slow down.  Among his better films from the period were, "Cinderella Liberty" (1973), "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1978) and "Movie Movie" (1978).  He also appeared in numerous TV movies, including, "A Cold Night's Death" (1973), the drama "Skokie" (1981) and the thriller "The Executioner's Song" (1982). 

Entering the 90's when many of Wallach's fellow actors had passed on, he was continuing to take on character parts.  He worked on the Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster comedy, "Tough Guys" (1986), "Nuts" (1987) and "The Godfather III" (1990). 
 
Back in the Emmy Awards earning a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his appearance on, "Studio 60" and then again at the age of 94, Wallach earned another Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of a dying elderly man on an episode of "Nurse Jackie" (2009).

He has two daughters, Katherine and Roberta and one son, Peter.  In 1999, alongside his wife, Anne, together they compiled and performed in Tennessee Williams Remembered, a tribute to playwright.   Now past his 95th birthday, he is still acting and can be seen in, "The Ghost Writer" and "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" (both 2010).
 
 
Filmography
 
1956  Baby Doll
1958  The Lineup
1960  Seven Thieves
1960  The Magnificent Seven
1961  The Misfits
1962  Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man
1962  How the West Was Won
1963  The Victors
1963  Act One
1964  The Moon-Spinners
1964  Kisses for My President
1965  Lord Jim
1965  Genghis Khan
1966  The Poppy Is Also a Flower
1966  How to Steal a Million
1966  The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1967  The Tiger Makes Out
1968  Ace High
1968  How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life
1968  A Lovely Way to Die
1969  The Brain
1969  Mackenna's Gold
1970  The Adventures of Gerard
1970  The Angel Levine
1970  The People Next Door
1970  Zigzag
1971  Romance of a Horsethief
1971  Long Live Your Death
1972  A Cold Night's Death
1972  Stateline Motel
1973  Cinderella Liberty
1974  Crazy Joe
1975  The Dream Factory
1975  Eye of the Cat
1975  Shoot First... Ask Questions Later
1975  L'chaim: To Life
1976  Plot of Fear
1976  Independence
1976  The Domino Principle
1977  The Sentinel
1977  The Deep
1977  Winter Kills
1977  Nasty Habits
1977  Movie Movie
1978  Girlfriends
1978  Little Italy
1978  Circle of Iron
1979  Firepower
1980  The Hunter
1981  The Salamander
1984  Sam's Son
1985  Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret
1986  Tough Guys
1987  The Impossible Spy
1987  Hollywood Uncensored
1987  Nuts
1989  Funny
1990  The Two Jakes
1990  The Godfather: Part III Don Altobello
1992  Article 99
1992  Mistress
1992  Night and the City
1994  Honey Sweet Love
1995  Elia Kazan: A Director's Journey
1996  Two Much
1996  The Associate
1996  Larry's Visit
1998  The Devil's Twilight
1999  Uninvited
2000  Keeping the Faith
2002  Cinerama Adventure
2002  Advice and Dissent
2003  The Root
2003  Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
2003  Mystic River
2004  King of the Corner
2005  A Taste of Jupiter
2005  The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation
2005  The Easter Egg Adventure
2006  The Holiday
2006  The Hoax
2006  Pola Negri: Life is a Dream in Cinema
2007  Constantine's Sword
2007  The War
2007  Mama's Boy
2008  Liszt For President
2008  The Toe Tactic
2009  Tickling Leo
2009  New York, I Love You
2010  The Ghost Writer
2010  Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps