Volodymyr Ivanovich Palahniuk, better known as Jack Palance (February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006), was an American actor of Ukrainian descent.
Palance made a career out of playing heavies, usually without a heart of a gold. As one Time magazine critic put it, while reviewing his performance in Shane: "His face alone, as thin and cruel as a rust-pitted spade, is enough to frighten a strong man; and to make matters worse, he seems to emit hostile energy, like something left overnight in a plutonium pile."
He received Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nominations for Sudden Fear (1952), Shane (1953), and City Slickers (1991), finally winning for the latter. During his acceptance speech, the 73-year-old actor memorably performed a series of one-handed pushups on stage to the delight of the audience.
If you're wondering about his birth surname, writer Chuck Palahniuk is indeed a (distant) relative.
Selected filmography:
- Panic in the Streets (1950) as Blackie — film debut
- Shane (1953) as Jack Wilson
- The Silver Chalice (1954) as Simon the Magician
- Contempt (1963) as Jerry Prokosch
- Once a Thief (1965) as Walter Pedak
- The Professionals (1965) as Raza
- Torture Garden (1967) as Ronald Wyatt
- Compañeros (1970) as John
- Dracula (1973) as Dracula
- God's Gun (1976) as Sam Clayton
- Angels Revenge (1979) as Mike Farrell
- The Shape of Things to Come (1979) as Omus
- Without Warning (1980) as Joe Taylor
- Hawk the Slayer (1980) as Voltan
- Alone in the Dark (1982) as Frank Hawkes
- Ripley's Believe It or Not! (1982–86) as Himself (host)
- Gor (1987) as Xenos
- Young Guns (1988) as Lawrence J. Murphy
- Bagdad Cafe (1988) as Rudy Cox
- Outlaw of Gor (1988) as Xenos
- Batman (1989) as Carl Grissom
- Tango & Cash (1989) as Yves Perret
- Solar Crisis (1990) as Travis
- City Slickers (1991) as Curly Washburn
- Cyborg 2 (1993) as Mercy
- City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (1994) as Duke Washburn
- The Swan Princess (1994) as Sir Rothbart (voice)
- Ebenezer (1998) as Ebenezer Scrooge
- Treasure Island (1999) as Long John Silver
