 | PearlyShells (1)
12/29/2007 | A phenomenal actor, but as he is dead, I don't think he is CURRENTLY acting in any new projects.
(1 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
 | GenghisTheHun (168)
12/07/2007 | This great actor is gone, but not forgotten. I suppose his listing should be transferred to a different category. I first saw him, when I was ten years old, watching Shane in 1952. He played the villain, Jack Wilson, and what a part that was.
I only learned recently that he was Ukrainian or Ruthenian, his parents were immigrants, and came from a coal-mining background in Pennsylvania. He worked his way up along classic blue collar lines, having been a boxer, laborer and a disabled war veteran.
After World War II, he graduated from Stanford University and worked in many Hollywood odd jobs as he developed his career.
His kind will not be seen that much again.
(1 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
 | edt4 (99)
10/11/2005 |  Had a tendency to "ham" it up, but with the right director, he could be an actor of great strength and presence. He was one of the most unforgettable elements of the classic Western "Shane" and one of my favorite roles was his commendable turn as "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" in the 1960's on TV. Interesting personal story...a friend and I had stopped to get gas in Wayne, NJ in 1983 or 84 and were sitting at the pump when a man came out of the men's room. My friend said, "Isn't that Jack Palance?" Unbelieving (who would expect to see the great Jack Palance at a gas station in Wayne?), I glanced over, but there was no mistaking that distinctive mug. I would have loved to have run over and gotten an autograph, but I didn't want to ambush the poor man as he emerged from the toilet, so we simply waved from our car and said, "Hey, Jack, how are you?" He waved back, looking weary, and I figured the thought must have been passing through his mind, "Please, please, don't bother me. Can't I even take a pee in peace?" Later, I learned that Jack lived in the Delware Water Gap region and often passed through the area on his way to NY.
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