Actor Henry Silva, known for playing gangsters, goons and henchmen in hundreds of films including ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ and ‘The Manchurian Candidate’, died Wednesday. He was 95 years old.
Silva died of natural causes in Woodland Hills, Calif., twenty years after retiring from an epic career that spanned five decades, his son told Variety Friday.
The prolific actor often shared the screen with Frank Sinatra, playing a communist agent who got into a fight with the singer in “Candidate” and one of the 11 crooks in the classic 1960 film The Casino Robbery.
The Spanish Harlem native’s death was reportedly first reported by Dean Martin’s daughter, who appeared alongside him in the iconic Rat Pack hug.
“Our hearts are broken by the loss of our dear friend Henry Silva, one of the kindest, kindest and most talented men I have ever had the pleasure of calling my friend,” Deana Martin tweeted Friday afternoon.
“He was the last surviving star of the original Ocean’s 11 movie. We love you Henry, we will miss you.
Silva got his start as a heavyweight in westerns like ‘The Tall T’ and ‘The Law and Jake Wade’ before playing the lead in 1963’s ‘Johnny Cool’ and ‘The Return of Mr. Moto’. 1965.
Later in his career, Silva appeared in pictures like “Sharky’s Machine”, “Above the Law”, “Dick Tracy” and “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai”. He made his last brief on-screen appearance in the 2001 remake of “Ocean’s Eleven”.
Silva was of Italian and Puerto Rican descent, but was often asked to portray other ethnicities, playing Korean, Venezuelan, Native American, and Japanese men in some of his best-known roles.
Silva reportedly dropped out of school at age 13 and took acting classes while earning money as a dishwasher and waiter. He was one of five students selected for the Actors Studio in 1955 out of 2,500 applicants, Variety reported, citing the 2000 book “Hispanics in Hollywood.”
In 1985, Silva reportedly told Knight-Ridder reporter Diane Haithman that his upbringing in Manhattan informed his badass persona.
“I saw a lot of things in Harlem. It was the kind of place where if you lived a block away and wanted to go a few blocks away, you had to take a few guys with you or you’d get your ass kicked,” he said. said at the time, according to Variety.
“I think the reason I haven’t disappeared is because the heavyweights I play are all leaders. I never play anything bland. They’re interesting roles, because when you leave the theater, you remember those kind of guys.
The late, thrice-divorced actor is reportedly survived by his two sons, Michael and Scott.
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