Actor Eli Wallach, who has had a longtime affiliation with Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, died on June 24. He was 98.
Although Mr. Wallach appeared in dozens of films, many with his wife, Anne Jackson, he never won an Academy Award. He was presented with an honorary Oscar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in November 2010.
Born in Brooklyn, Mr. Wallach’s first love was the stage, making his Broadway debut in 1945. He appeared in his first film, “Baby Doll” in 1956.
He graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn and attended the University of Texas at Austin. After graduation he returned to New York and earned a master’s degree in education at City College; he had planned to be a teacher like his brother and two sisters.
Instead he pursued acting until World War II, during which he served in the U.S. Army’s Medical Corps, rising to captain. After the war he became a founding member of the Actors Studio and studied method acting with Lee Strasberg.
It was during his first stint on Broadway, in a play titled “Skydrift,” that he met his wife.
No information is available for services.