Henry Silva (born September 15, 1928) is a retired American film and
television actor. A prolific character actor, Silva has been a regular
staple of international genre cinema often as a criminal or gangster.
Notable film appearances include Ocean's 11 (1960), The Manchurian
Candidate (1962), Johnny Cool (1963), Sharky's Machine (1981), and
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999).Silva was born in Brooklyn,
New York City, of Sicilian and Spanish descent.[note 1] He grew up in
Harlem and quit school when he was 13 years old to attend drama
classes, supporting himself as a dishwasher and waiter at a Manhattan
hotel.By 1955, Silva felt ready to audition for the Actors Studio. He
was accepted. When the Studio staged Michael V. Gazzo's play A Hatful
of Rain as a classroom project (which itself grew out of an earlier
improvisation by Silva, Paul Richards and Anthony Franciosa, based on
a scene written by Gazzo, entitled "Pot"), it proved so successful
that it was presented on Broadway, with students Ben Gazzara, Shelley
Winters, Harry Guardino, along with Franciosa, Richards and Silva, in
key roles. Silva also appeared in the play's film version.In
Hollywood, he played a succession of villains in films including The
Tall T (1957) with Randolph Scott, The Bravados (1958) with Gregory
Peck and The Law and Jake Wade (1958). In the 1959 adventure film
Green Mansions, he played a forest-dwelling Venezuela native known as
Kua-Ko who tries to murder a young woman played by Audrey Hepburn.
television actor. A prolific character actor, Silva has been a regular
staple of international genre cinema often as a criminal or gangster.
Notable film appearances include Ocean's 11 (1960), The Manchurian
Candidate (1962), Johnny Cool (1963), Sharky's Machine (1981), and
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999).Silva was born in Brooklyn,
New York City, of Sicilian and Spanish descent.[note 1] He grew up in
Harlem and quit school when he was 13 years old to attend drama
classes, supporting himself as a dishwasher and waiter at a Manhattan
hotel.By 1955, Silva felt ready to audition for the Actors Studio. He
was accepted. When the Studio staged Michael V. Gazzo's play A Hatful
of Rain as a classroom project (which itself grew out of an earlier
improvisation by Silva, Paul Richards and Anthony Franciosa, based on
a scene written by Gazzo, entitled "Pot"), it proved so successful
that it was presented on Broadway, with students Ben Gazzara, Shelley
Winters, Harry Guardino, along with Franciosa, Richards and Silva, in
key roles. Silva also appeared in the play's film version.In
Hollywood, he played a succession of villains in films including The
Tall T (1957) with Randolph Scott, The Bravados (1958) with Gregory
Peck and The Law and Jake Wade (1958). In the 1959 adventure film
Green Mansions, he played a forest-dwelling Venezuela native known as
Kua-Ko who tries to murder a young woman played by Audrey Hepburn.
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