Actor Henry Silva died September 14, 2022 at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California just one day before his 96th birthday. Son Scott Silva said that his father died of natural causes.
Silva began his acting career while still in his teens on the stage at the Actor’s Studio. By the time he had retired from acting in 2001, Silva had appeared in over 100 productions beginning in 1950 when television was still a new medium.
One of his early roles was in the original “Ocean’s Eleven” film starring Rat Packers Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin; some 50 years later Silva appeared in the remake with George Clooney. Silva was the last surviving member of the 1950 “Ocean’s Eleven”. He and Angie Dickinson were the only two actors to appear in both versions of the film.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 15, 1926. He left school at the age of 13 and began taking drama classes while supporting himself as a dishwasher. After being one of just five people selected out of 2,500 applicants, his first production at the Actor’s Studio was in “A Hatful of Rain”. He also acted in the Broadway production of the play; as well as, in Camino Real”.
After “an offer he couldn’t refuse” Silva spent some time acting in Europe before returning to the United States and Hollywood.
After making his screen debut in 1950 in the television series “Armstrong Circle Theatre”, Silva went on to appear in nearly 150 film and television productions including “A Hatful of Rain”, “Ocean’s Eleven”, “Cinderella”, “The Untouchables”, “The Manchuria Candidate”, “The Outer Limits”, “Wagon Train”, “Mission Impossible”, “Hawaii Five-O”, “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century”, “Cannonball Run II”, “Code of Silence”, “Allan Quartermain and the Lost City of Gold”, “Above the Law”, and his final role in 2001 in the remake of “Ocean’s Eleven”.
Married and divorced three times, Silva is survived by children Scott, Henry, and Michael.
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