Eli Wallach passed away yesterday from being too awesome to remain on this planet. He was 98 at the time of his passing so we can’ t say he didn’t try. Wallach littered film and television with more than a hundred characters over the course of a 61 year career. He was one of the first actors to study Lee Strasberg’s adaptation of the Stanislavski method at the Actors Studio with the likes of Marlon Brando and Sydney Lumet. It was at the Actors Studio that he also met his future wife Anne Jackson. They would marry in 1948 and remain so until his passing.
I’ve always had a major interest in early television and I believe Wallach was involved at one of the most interesting times in the history of tv. He starred in episodes of shows that influenced not only television, but film for years to come. These included three major anthology series: Playhouse 90 (CBS), Studio One (CBS), and The Philco Television Playhouse (NBC – also known under other titles). Many major actors, writers, and directors worked on episodes of these series including: John Frankenheimer, George Roy Hill, Rod Serling, Lillian Gish, Cloris Leachman, Sumner Locke Elliott, Arthur Hiller, Tad Mosel, and Walter Mathau.
The anthology teleplay concept has always amazed me. A lot of the earlier shows were actually aired live, with a mixture of episodes on film. Eventually most shows moved to film or live on tape. I’d love to see someone bring a show to air nowadays, that could bring us a new hour-long live story every week. It would be fantastic.
When I heard of Wallach’s death I had three specific roles come to mind. I’ll start with the obvious first.
#1 Tuco
Who you calling Ugly?
The name Tuco might mean something different to audiences now thanks to the success and pop culture infiltration of Breaking Bad, but to me it means one of the greatest entrances on film ever. Three bounty hunters enter a building and four shots are fired. A figure bursts through the window and upon landing the frame freezes. There’s Eli Wallach in all his glory, holding a leg of beast, meat hanging from his gritted teeth as “the ugly” is scrawled in a red cursive next to him on-screen.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is obviously an iconic masterwork in the genre of the Western, albeit of the Italian Spaghetti type. Wallach was no stranger to the Western in his career starring in How the West was Won, Ace High, and Mackenna’s Gold.
Here he stars alongside Clint Eastwood (the Good) and Lee Van Cleef (the Bad), both of which are known as powerhouses in the Western genre. The point of Eastwood’s Man with No Name character is his mysteriousness; a trait that brings us back to watching him repeat this theme in his characters again and again . Van Cleef’s Angel Eyes is the consummate villain, hiding a scorpion sting behind a smile that you can trust.
Wallach’s character of Tuco is the only character of the trio that we really get to know. He has a past and a reason for what he does. Wallach’s ability to mix a comedic talent with dramatic flair pays off well.
Best Line: If you work for a living, why do you kill yourself working?
#2 Mr. Freeze
He’s cool and he’s cruel.
It’s amazing how much I’ve talked about Batman ’66 recently and here I go again. Yes, it’s campy. Yes, you might think it’s silly and stupid, but damn if it ain’t cool. The William Dozier created tv show was one my first introductions to the Batman. It was definitely my first introduction to numerous members of Batman’s rogue gallery. Including Mr. Freeze.
Mr. Freeze was originally known as Mr. Zero in the comics, but when the Batman tv show changed his name as well as giving him an identity of Dr. Schivell, the comics followed suit. Years later when the Batman animated series began airing they changed his name to Dr. Victor Fries and gave him a new backstory. Again the comics were altered and this is the Mr. Freeze we know today.
Wallach was the third and last actor to portray Mr. Freeze on the Batman show. He was in good company. The first actor was George Sanders and the second was Otto Preminger. George Sanders is probably most well-known nowadays as the voice of Shere Khan in the Jungle Book. If you don’t know who Otto Preminger is then shame on you.
Wallach’s costume had the same look as Preminger’s costume which thankfully dropped the helmet of George Sanders’ Mr. Freeze and also got rid of the fire extinguisher looking backpack. The addition of the blue make up took the character to new heights of joy. I’ve always loved that Wallach’s Mr. Freeze kept his hair. It gave him a more maniacal look. Wallach knew exactly what he was doing here. He used his comedy skills to bring just the right level of top, then go over it.
One of the most memorable scenes in the Batman tv show for me occurrs in Wallach’s first episode. Commissioner Gordon gets both Bruce Wayne and Batman on separate phones. He turns one phone upside down so that Bruce and Batman can speak to each other. Bruce, on his end, then has to switch phones and voices to carry on a conversation with himself. I know Eli Wallach isn’t in that scene, but I just had to mention it.
Best Line: Hurry up, toss them into the vaporizing compound pipe pump!
#3 Eli Weinraub
left to right: Matthew Perry, Timothy Busfield, Eli Wallach, and Bradley Whitford
I am a major Aaron Sorkin fan, so most people won’t be shocked about this. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip’s sixth episode is one of my all time favorites of the show and I probably can’t count on both hands the amount of times I’ve seen it.
The synopsis on IMDB sums up the story better than I can: Tom gets a visit from his uptight conservative parents, Matt and Simon go out to find new African-American writers for the show, and Cal tries to find the identity of a confused elderly man who wanders into the wrap party.
Wallach plays the confused elderly man who we find out near the end of the show was a former writer on a show called The Philco Comedy Hour in the 50s. He got one sketch on the air before being blacklisted. The Philco Comedy Hour was shot in Studio 60 and in his state of confusion he has found his way back to where one time he got a sketch on the air trying to impress a girl.
What I love about this episode is it explores the importance of remembering where comedy and television come from while looking forward to the next steps. We have a rich history of comedy in this country and it shows as Tom takes his parents on a tour of Studio 60 while giving them the history of the studio and comedy itself. Matt and Simon discuss bringing African-American blood to the writing of the show and this brings up lots of great discussion about what is good and what is bad in comedy.
Wallach’s character on the other hand is a reminder of a different type of history. The insanity of the red scare and the communist witch hunts that this country allowed to happen. His story of being blacklisted is all the more heartbreaking when paired with the fact that he is a war hero of WWII. His character bridges the tragic and the entertainment, the comedy and the drama.
Best Line (monologue): I only had the one sketch get on the air before…Clifford Odets, I met him once, but no one believes me now. It was at a dinner at Musso and Franks before he was going to Washington to testify and he…he…he slammed his fist down on the table…and he said, “By God, I’ll show them the face of a radical.” The next day he named names. That’s what killed him you know. He died from that.
There’s a crazy story about Wallach that has been oft-repeated in biographies and stories about Hollywood. Considering it’s the stuff of legend I think I’ll end on it. I’m sure it’ll be put in every other story about Wallach coming out in the next day or two, but I’ll throw it in here because it’s interesting.
Wallach was up for the role that Sinatra scored in From Here to Eternity. The story is that Sinatra used his mob ties to get the role. Wallach always denied this. Of course that role won Sinatra an Oscar and gave his music career a second wind and helped him continue a film career that would lead to some pretty fantastic roles. This incident and other facts of Sinatra’s life are allegedly the basis for the Johnny Fontane character in The Godfather novel and subsequent film.
Goodbye, you crazy actor!
The Husky Idler 