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The world was shocked to recently learn that Mark Margolis has passed away. He was 83 years old.
A journeyman actor, he had a long and successful career in film and television.
His most memorable performance is probably his portrayal of Hector Salamanca on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Margolis died Thursday at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City following a short illness, his son Morgan announced.
Margolis had humble beginnings growing up in Philadelphia as the son of Fanya, a decorator for a wallpaper company who did lots of painting, and Isidore, a factory worker.
After taking his first acting class at 14 he moved to New York to study with Stella Adler at The Actors Studio where he became a lifetime member.
In addition to studying under Adler, Margolis also studied with Lee Strasberg for about a year before drifting away from acting due to difficulty making ends meet.
He eventually made his debut onscreen in 1976 film The Opening of Misty Beethoven before going on to feature in movies such as Going in Style (1979), Dressed to Kill (1980) Arthur (1981) Scarface (1983) Pi (1998), Requiem For A Dream (2000), The Fountain (2006), The Wrestler (2008), Black Swan (2010) Noah(2014).
Later still from 1985-89 Margolis played surveillance expert Jimmy on CBS crime drama The Equalizer starring Edward Woodward, while also appearing equally memorably as Mr Shickadance looking for the rent in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective(1994) and HIV infected mob boss Antonio Nappa on HBO’s Oz from 1998-2003.
It was however perhaps his role as Tio Salamanca – Don Eladio’s enforcer –on Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad that really sealed him into stardom after being brought back for its prequel Better Call Saul starting from 2016 season 2 onwards.
Mark will be missed by many including those closest him.
