Day 8 - Eli Wallach

After a Sunday afternoon of frantically writing about three amazing actresses, I'm now facing this blank screen a bit too warn out to type.  And I thought, maybe there's an actor who played a writer that could inspire me to throw some words together.  My first thought was of William Holden sitting in his white terry-cloth bathrobe, pencil clenched in his teeth, hands hammering out short stories on a typewriter in that amazing opening sequence of Sunset Boulevard.  But let's face it, my post about Holden would take far too long to type.  Then I thought of another writer I loved on screen - the octogenarian screenwriter Arthur Abbott, played charmingly by Eli Wallach in the 2006 romantic comedy The Holiday.

Eli Wallach as Arthur Abbott listening to Kate Winslet's troubles (The Holiday, Columbia Pictures 2006)

Eli Wallach is one of those guys who seems to have been around in Hollywood since the very beginning, but the truth is he didn't make his first film until 1956, when he played Silva in Baby Doll.  He actually started in television and then made his way to film, much like his later co-star Clint Eastwood (yup, that's Rowdy Yates in Rawhide).  Wallach is one of those character actors that you always see and go "oh, that's the GUY!"  Instant recognition (much like how Ben Johnson's voice is a dead giveaway).  But I digress.  Wallach is a fine actor in his own right and if his name doesn't really bring any films to your mind, here's a list you might enjoy: The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Misfits (1962), How the West was Won (1962), How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968), The Godfather Part III (1990).  And of course there's his most famous role - he played Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966).  He's considered a legend of the film industry and someone that everyone wants to talk to about the old days. 

Now I love the film The Holiday for Kate Winslet's character's storyline - a newspaperwoman trying to get away from an unrequited love turned broken heart by going to L.A.  There she meets Abbott, who tells her all about the glory days of old Hollywood.  He's a lonely old widower, but has parts of his life he doesn't talk about, like the neglected Oscar statuettes in his house.  Their friendship is wonderful and makes me wish I had someone like Arthur to consul me when I get my heart broken.  He adds a great deal of charm to the film and a sense of timelessness - Arthur's own life story is proof that there is such a thing as true love.  He also manages to give Iris (Kate Winslet) the best advice ever - "there are two kinds of women.  There are the best friends and the leading ladies.  Now you, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some reason, you're acting like the best friend."  Which lets Iris realize, "I have to be the leading lady of my own life!"  Ah, the power of films to help us deal with all of life's heartaches.

Which brings me back to the beginning.  All these classic film stars - even the lesser known character actors - all have a great story to tell.  I just read a line in a book by Robert Randisi about an elderly man who gets referred to as a legend.  He says he only got that title because he's been around so damned long.  Maybe part of Eli Wallach's longevity has aided his status in the film industry the same way that those who've died young (like James Dean) have their early deaths to build their iconic status.  It leaves me to close with this questions to you, you people out there in the dark - just what does it take to make someone a legend?