ELI WALLACH - AUTOGRAPHED INSCRIBED PHOTOGRAPH - HFSID 315538

ELI WALLACH
A vintage signed 3x5 candid photograph of the stage and screen actor standing on a busy street, donning a casual suit
Inscribed photograph signed: "To Violet/ Best Wishes/ Eli Wallach". B/w, 3x5 image, 3½x5½ overall.  Candid photo. Eli Wallach (1915-2014) was an American actor who made his presence felt on stage and on the screen. He made his Broadway debut in 1945, making his television debut six years later in an episode of Lights Out (1946-1952). After proving his acting chops in various other guest appearances on television, he made his film debut in Baby Doll (1956), a film written by Tennessee Williams and directed by Elia Kazan. Wallach notched a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Silva Vacarro. The actor racked up over 150 acting credits, including major roles in films like The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Misfits (1961), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), The Godfather: Part III (1990), and Mystic River (2003). Wallach spent most of his career playing mobsters and other exotic outlaws. He also maintained a stage career, appearing in dozens of stage productions on Broadway and Off-Broadway until 2000. Perhaps his most famous stage work came in the 1951 production The Rose Tattoo, another piece written by Tennessee Williams. He earned his only Tony Award for this role. After marrying Anne Jackson in 1948, the two often appeared on stage together in Williams plays. Despite his numerous iconic screen credits, Wallach always insisted that the live theater stage was a higher plane of art. Over the course of his 60-year acting career, Wallach won a Tony Award (1951), an Emmy Award (1967), and an Obie Award (1963). This photograph is from the collection of Francis and Violet Zane, Hawaii natives who moved to California in the 1920's. Francis Zane had a job at the historic Curran Theater and the San Francisco Opera House, which is where he began his massive collection, with photographs and materials ranging from the 1920's to 1960's. The location and luck of his occupation would land him smack dab in the middle of the celebrity world, allowing him to capture some of the most unique and interesting pieces of Hollywood History. Lightly toned. Lightly bowed. Otherwise, fine condition.