Acclaimed character actor Eli Wallach dies

Veteran character actor Eli Wallach, known for his role in the classic spaghetti Western “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” has died of natural causes, his family said Wednesday. He was 98.

Wallach, the New Yorkborn son of Jewish immigrants from Poland, debuted on Broadway after serving in the U.S. Army medical corps during World War II.

His reputation grew thanks to performances in several Tennessee Williams plays, including “The Rose Tattoo” and “Camino Real.”

Wallach and his wife, Anne Jackson, were among the founding members of the Actors Studio, a group that included future stars Marlon Brando and Karl Malden.

Wallach’s first film was “Baby Doll,” in 1956, and he went on to portray a Mexican bandit chief in the 1960 film “The Magnificent Seven,” Hollywood’s take on “Seven Samurai.”

He appeared alongside Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe in “The Misfits” and with Peter O’Toole in “Lord Jim.”

Filmed in Spain, the film that made Wallach an icon came out in 1966.

The Sergio Leone epic featured Wallach as Tuco (the Ugly), a ruthless but appealing desperado vying with Clint Eastwood (the Good) and Lee Van Cleef (the Bad) to grab a hoard of gold buried in a Civil War cemetery.

Wallach embraced the public’s identification of him with Tuco, titling his 2005 memoir, “The Good, the Bad, and Me: In My Anecdotage.”

His last film role was in the 2010 release “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.”

While he never received an Oscar, Wallach accepted an honorary Academy Award in 2010.

Eli Wallach is survived by his wife, three children and five grandchildren.