Jack Palance, a memorable character from such films as “City Slickers,” “Shane,” and “Batman” has died at age 87. Palance passed away Friday, November 10 at his home in Montecito, California. Spokesman Dick Guttman said the actor died of natural causes and was surrounded by his family members in his final hours. For many, Palance will be remembered as the rough, but comical Curly from “City Slickers.” The role won Palance an Oscar in 1992 for best supporting actor. He delighted audiences by dropping and doing several one-armed push-ups to demonstrate that he may have been old (he was 73 at the time) but he was still strong. What resulted were several quips by host Billy Crystal, his “City Slickers co-star.” Crystal released a statement on Friday saying, “I am deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of my dear friend Jack Palance, a true movie icon. Winning the Oscar for that movie and the one-arm push-ups he did on the show will link us together forever and for that I am grateful.”
Palance made his feature film debut in 1950 in the film “Panic in the Streets.” He played a murderer named Blackie. His next film was a war movie called “Halls of Montezuma,” followed soon after in 1952 by “Sudden Fear” which co-starred Joan Crawford. The role earned him his first Oscar nomination. In 1953, he earned a second Oscar nomination for his role in “Shane,” where he played Jack Wilson, a swaggering gunslinger. Many consider “Shane” the role that cemented Palance’s image as Hollywood’s favorite menace. He went to appear in such films as “Arrowhead” (playing a maniac Apache), “Man in the Attic” (playing Jack the Ripper), “Sign of Pagan” (playing Attila the Hun), and “The Silver Chalice” (playing a fictional challenger to Jesus).
It was not until forty-one years after his film debut that he played the role of Curly in “City Slickers.” While still playing a menacing figure, Curly was a character that was different from the type of characters that Palance usually played. He was still menacing to co-stars Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby, but he had a lovable comic twist.
In 1994, Palance returned to the “City Slickers” world in the sequel “City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold.” This time around, though, he was not playing Curly, but his twin brother Duke.”He was one scary, intimidating, big hulking guy with a huge heart,” said Ron Underwood, who directed Palance in “City Slickers” and in the actor’s last role, as a man celebrating his 100th birthday in the 2004 TV movie “Back When We Were Grownups.” “It was a joy working with him,” Underwood told The Associated Press.
Palance embodied many other memorable villains such as Boss Carl Grissom in “Batman” and Long John Silver in “Treasure Island.” However memorable his characters were, Palance felt he was being typecast and moved his family to Switzerland at the height of his career in the 1960s. He found that he was getting the same roles there as he was in America. Despite returning home, he attempted to distance himself from the Hollywood scene, living between a ranch north of Los Angeles and a farm in Pennsylvania.
While many of his characters were primitive, Palance was actually an articulate, well-spoken individual. He was also an intellectual of sorts, dabbling in such hobbies as writing poetry and painting. Palance is survived by two daughters, a son, two grandchildren and his second wife Elaine Rogers Palance.