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Jack Palance dead at 87
From IMDb.com:
Oscar-Winning Actor Jack Palance Dies at 87
Jack Palance, the legendary character actor who received Oscar nominations for his villainous roles in Sudden Fear and Shane, and won an Oscar for his comedy role in City Slickers, died Friday of natural causes in California; he was 87. Notorious for playing heavies throughout his career, Palance did a 180-degree career turn at the age of 72 by playing (for laughs) the crusty, menacing trail boss Curly in the Billy Crystal comedy City Slickers. The role won him an Oscar and a place in Hollywood history books when, after accepting his Best Supporting Actor award, he dropped to the stage for a series of one-armed push-ups; the stunt became a running gag for show host Crystal that year. Born Volodymyr Palanyuk in Pennsylvania, Palance was the son of a coal miner, and embarked on a boxing career in the 1930s under the name Jack Brazzo. Enlisting in World War II, Palance suffered extensive facial damage when he was pulled from the burning wreckage of a B-24, and the resulting surgery left him with his distinctive facial features, chiseled and gaunt and, as would prove throughout his career, sometimes extremely menacing. After being discharged, Palance embarked on his acting career, starting on Broadway (where he studied Method acting and was understudy to Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire) and moving to films in 1950, making his screen debut as Walter Jack Palance in Panic in the Streets.
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