Henry Silva, 'Ocean's Eleven' Actor, Dead at 95

By Allison Schonter

Henry Silva, the prolific character actor best known for his villain roles in films including Ocean's Eleven and The Manchurian Candidate, has died. Silva passed away of natural causes on Sept. 14 at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, his son Scott Silva confirmed to The New York Times. He was 95.

Born in Brooklyn, New York in September 1926 and raised in Harlem, Silva knew he wanted to be an actor by the time he was 8. He quit high school and worked as a dishwasher, a longshoreman, and several other odd jobs before auditioning for The Actors Studio. He was reportedly one of five applicants out of more than 2,500 to be accepted, and he went on to land a small role for Elia Kazan in 1952's Viva Zapata! He went on to make his Broadway debut in 1953 in Tennessee Williams' Camino Real and later A Hatful of Rain, both of which originated in an Actors Studio workshop. He reprised his role in A Hatful of Rain in the 1957 film version.

With A Hatful of Rain marking his final Boadway appearance, Silva quickly moved into the world of TV and film. Throughout the '50s, he appeared in Westerns including The Tall T alongside Randolph Scott, The Bravados with Gregory Peck, The Law and Jake Wade (1958) with Robert Taylor, Ride a Crooked Trail (1958) with Audie Murphy, and The Jayhawkers! (1959) opposite Jeff Chandler.

One of Silva's most notable roles, however, was in 1960's Ocean's 11, a role he landed after Frank Sinatra saw him in a convertible at a stop light on Doheny Drive. Silva ended up landing the role of one of the 11 thieves. Silva's final screen appearance was a cameo in the Ocean's Eleven remake in 2001 starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

Fluent in Italian and Spanish, Silva also appeared in numerous European titles, including Il Boss, The Italian Connection (1972), Cry of a Prostitute (1974), Almost Human (1974), The Manhunt (1975), Poliziotti violenti (1976), Weapons of Death (1977), and Escape From the Bronx (1983). His other credits include Green Mansions (1959), Cinderfella (1960), The Animals (1970), Love and Bullets (1979), Chained Heat (1983), Lust in the Dust (1984), Chuck Norris' Code of Silence (1985), Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), and The End of Violence (1997). He also voiced Bane in a pair of animated Batman series.

A member of the Rat Pack, Sinatra's circle of friends, Deana Martin, daughter of the Rat Pack's Dean Martin, paid tribute to Silva on social media, where she remembered the late actor as "one of the nicest, kindest and most talented men I've had the pleasure of calling my friend.' Silva is survived by his two sons, Michael and Scott. A memorial service for the actor is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 at Church of the Good Shepherd, 504 North Roxbury Dr., Beverly Hills.

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