Jack Palance

Walter Jack Palance (/ˈpæləns/ PAL-əns; born Volodymyr Palahniuk; February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his masculine portrayals of men in neo-noirs, crime dramas and westerns. He acted on stage and screen earning an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

Born in Lattimer Mines, Pennsylvania, the son of Ukrainian immigrants, Palance served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He attended Stanford University before pursuing a career in the theater, winning a Theatre World Award in 1951. He made his film acting debut in Elia Kazan's Panic in the Streets (1950). He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, for his roles in Sudden Fear (1952) and Shane (1953), and winning almost 40 years later for City Slickers (1991).

Beginning in the late 1950s, he would work extensively in Europe, notably in a memorable turn as a charismatic-but-corrupting Hollywood mogul in Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt (1963). Palance is also known for his roles in The Big Knife (1955), Attack (1956), Barabbas (1961), The Professionals (1966) and Monte Walsh (1970) with later roles in Young Guns (1988), Tango & Cash (1989), and Batman (1989).

On television, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Single Performance by an Actor for the Playhouse 90 teleplay Requiem for a Heavyweight (1957). He also portrayed the title character in the TV movie Bram Stoker's Dracula (1973). He hosted Ripley's Believe It or Not! (1982–86). Off-screen, he was involved in the Ukrainian American community and served as a chairman of the Hollywood Trident Foundation.