Henry Silva facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Henry Silva
Born	(1926-09-23)September 23, 1926 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	September 14, 2022(2022-09-14) (aged 95) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Actors Studio
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1952–2001
Spouse(s)	Mary Ramus ​ ​ (m. 1949; div. 1955)​ Cindy Conroy ​ ​ (m. 1959, divorced)​ Ruth Earl ​ ​ (m. 1966; div. 1987)​
Partner(s)	Wendy Christenfeld (1990–2022; his death)
Children	2

Henry Silva (born September 23, 1926 – died September 14, 2022) was an American actor. He was known for playing tough guys, often criminals or gangsters, in many movies. He appeared in famous films like Ocean's 11 (1960), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999).

Henry Silva's Early Life and Acting Career

Antonia Santilli and Henry Silva in Il Boss (1973)

Henry Silva was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on September 23, 1926. His parents were Jesus Silva and Angelina Martinez. He had roots from Sicily (Italy) and Spain. When he was young, his father left the family. Henry grew up in Spanish Harlem with his mother.

He stopped going to school at age 13 to take drama classes. To pay for these classes, he worked as a dishwasher and waiter in a hotel in Manhattan.

By 1955, Henry Silva felt ready to try out for the Actors Studio. This was a famous place where actors learned their craft. He was accepted! The Studio put on a play called A Hatful of Rain. It was so good that it moved to Broadway, which is the highest level of theater in New York City. Henry Silva acted in this play, and later in its movie version.

Playing Villains and Other Roles

In Hollywood, Henry Silva often played bad guys. He was a villain in movies like The Tall T (1957), The Bravados (1958), and The Law and Jake Wade (1958). In the 1959 adventure film Green Mansions, he played a character named Kua-Ko, who lived in the forest.

Henry Silva was one of the eleven robbers in the 1960 movie Ocean's 11. This film starred famous actors like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. He also played a spy named Chunjin in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), again with Frank Sinatra. In the same year, he played a Native American in the Western film Sergeants 3.

Over time, Henry Silva became known for playing mobsters, robbers, and other criminals. This is called being "typecast." In 1956, he was a hitman in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1963, he played a mobster in The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. But he also showed his funny side! He played a comic role in the 1960 Jerry Lewis film Cinderfella, which was a funny version of the Cinderella story.

He also appeared in many TV shows. These included The Outer Limits, The Untouchables, Night Gallery, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Mission Impossible. He was also in The Streets of San Francisco and Dr. Kildare.

In 1963, Henry Silva played the main role in the gangster film Johnny Cool. He played Salvatore "Johnny Cool" Giordano, a hitman sent to get rid of criminals who had betrayed a mob boss. The movie was very popular, and critics praised Henry Silva's acting.

In 1965, an Italian film producer asked Henry Silva to play a hero for a change. So, he moved his family to Europe. His movie The Hills Run Red (1966), a Spaghetti Western (a Western movie made in Europe), made him very popular in Europe. Between 1966 and 1977, he starred in about 25 movies, mostly Italian crime films. In these, he often played the bad guy, a dark hero, or a mix of both. Some of these films include Manhunt (1972) and Il Boss (1973).

He also played different kinds of roles, like the Japanese detective Mr. Moto in The Return of Mr. Moto (1965). He was also an Apache in the 1970 Western Five Savage Men.

In the mid-1970s, he came back to the United States. He acted with Frank Sinatra in Contract on Cherry Street (1977) and Charles Bronson in Love and Bullets (1979). He then played the evil character Killer Kane in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979).

Later Career: 1980s to 2000s

In the 1980s and 1990s, Henry Silva continued to act in many films. He played Colonel Brock, an arrogant hunter, in Alligator (1980). He was a hitman in Sharky's Machine (1981) with Burt Reynolds. He also played a former prison warden in Escape from the Bronx (1983).

He appeared as a funny gangster in Cannonball Run II (1984), acting alongside some of his old friends from the Rat Pack. He was the bad guy Kurt Zagon in Steven Seagal's first movie, Above the Law (1988). He also played the sneaky mob hitman "Influence" in Dick Tracy (1990).

Henry Silva also used his voice for acting! He was the voice of the supervillain Bane in Batman: The Animated Series (1994) and The New Batman Adventures (1998). In Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), he played the crime boss Ray Vargo.

He even played himself in a funny movie called Amazon Women on the Moon (1987). In the 2001 version of Ocean's Eleven, he had a small role as a boxing spectator.

In 2012, he helped with a documentary called Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films that ruled the 70s.

Death

Henry Silva passed away on September 14, 2022. He was 95 years old, just nine days before his 96th birthday. He died at the Motion Picture & Television Fund home in Los Angeles.

Selected Filmography

Television

See also

In Spanish: Henry Silva para niños