Jack Palance

[Noj]

Just saw this at JC...

Oscar-Winning Actor Jack Palance Dies

Friday, November 10, 2006 5:29 PM EST

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jack Palance, the craggy-faced menace in "Shane," "Sudden Fear" and other films who turned to comedy at 70 with his Oscar-winning self-parody in "City Slickers," died Friday.

Palance died of natural causes at his home in Montecito, Calif., surrounded by family, said spokesman Dick Guttman. Palance was 85 according to Associated Press records, but his family gave his age as 87.

When Palance accepted his Oscar for best supporting actor he delighted viewers of the 1992 Academy Awards by dropping to the stage and performing one-armed push-ups to demonstrate his physical prowess.

"That's nothing, really," he said slyly. "As far as two-handed push-ups, you can do that all night, and it doesn't make a difference whether she's there or not."

That year's Oscar host, Billy Crystal, turned the moment into a running joke, making increasingly outlandish remarks about Palance's accomplishments throughout the night's awards presentations.

[GA Russell]

RIP. My favorite performance of his was the original television drama Requiem for a Heavyweight.

[Alexander]

I remember thinking that Palance had died shortly after completing his role in "Batman" (1989). For years, I thought that "Batman" had been his last role, and was surprised to find out otherwise (I still don't know where I got the impression that he was dead). Although many people of my generation primarily know him as the host of "Believe It or Not," he was the last of the Hollywood tough-guys. He will be missed. For real, this time...

[Herb]

RIP, Jack....

[robviti]

palance in his 1953 role as jack wilson in shane

[Larry Kart]

He was great in Robert Aldrich's "Attack!" as the tough sergeant who pulls his crushed arm from under the tread of German tank in order to seek out and kill his unit's cowardly commanding officer, Eddie Albert. No U.S. Army cooperation on that film.

[Jim R]

One of his roles/performances that is highly memorable for me was a 1960's Canadian production of the Jeckyll & Hyde story made for tv, which I remember seeing on PBS in the 70's. I haven't seen it since, but I never forgot it... chilling stuff. I need to get the DVD.

RIP, Jack.

[Teasing the Korean]

Upon hearing this sad news my wife and I watched the famous scene in "Contempt," in which his character (an asshole amerikan investor) is watching an edit of a film he's financing with director Fritz Lang. The scene ends with our hero hurling a reel of film like a discus, using his assistant's back as a desk to write a check, and trying to pick up Brigitte Bardot (who is married to the protagonist, Michel Piccoli). What a great scene.

His portrayal of "Dracula" in the Dan Curtis adaptation is one of the definitive readings of that character.

I hope some of this makes sense, as it's nearly midnight and I've had several glasses of wine...

[BERIGAN]

Sad news. I couldn't find the info in any of the news stories, but I had heard years ago his face was disfigured from a plane crash. Here is some info from Wikipedia(Saw similar info at imdb.com bio as well)

With the outbreak of World War II, Palance's boxing career ended and his military career began. Palance's rugged face, which took many beatings in the boxing ring, was disfigured when he bailed out of his burning B-24 Liberator while on a training flight over southern Arizona, where he was a student pilot. Plastic surgeons repaired as much of the damage that they could, but he was left with a distinctive, somewhat gaunt, look. After much reconstructive surgery, he was discharged in 1944.

[Jim R]

  Teasing the Korean said:

His portrayal of "Dracula" in the Dan Curtis adaptation is one of the definitive readings of that character.

Curtis also directed the earlier (aforementioned) Jeckyll & Hyde film. Can't recall if I ever saw the Dracula... I'll have to keep my eyes open ... for that.

[brownie]

  Teasing the Korean said:

Upon hearing this sad news my wife and I watched the famous scene in "Contempt," in which his character (an asshole amerikan investor) is watching an edit of a film he's financing with director Fritz Lang. The scene ends with our hero hurling a reel of film like a discus, using his assistant's back as a desk to write a check, and trying to pick up Brigitte Bardot (who is married to the protagonist, Michel Piccoli). What a great scene.

One of the few films (besides the Robert Aldrich ones) where his talent was fully displayed.

Palance and Godard (plus Fritz Lang) made a surprisingly working collaboration!

[Kalo]

He was amazing in his very first film, Panic in the Streets, alongside fellow actors Zero Mostel, Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas, and Barbara Bel Geddes, directed by Elia Kazan. An overlooked but key Film Noir.

Oy, what a punim he had! The result of burns they say.

And of course, he'll always be remembered for his indelible villain in Shane, facing up against a nervous Elisha Cook, Jr. (for all his putative wimpiness, a hard actor to face up against).

"Pick up the gun..."

Sad to see him go.

[JSngry]

What the france?

[brownie]

  JSngry said:

What the france?

Palance and Bardot in Godard's 'Le Mépris' (Contempt)

[JSngry]

I was thinking Van Dyke Parks, but that works too.

[BruceH]

  Kalo said:

He was amazing in his very first film, Panic in the Streets, alongside fellow actors Zero Mostel, Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas, and Barbara Bel Geddes, directed by Elia Kazan. An overlooked but key Film Noir.

Indeed.

He played a lot of villiain roles for the very good and sufficiant reason that he was a big man with a scary face. Here's to you, Jack.