Eli Wallach's death was confirmed on Tuesday by his daughter Katherine, the New York Times reported. The circumstances of his death were not immediately known.

Wallach had a successful stage and film career, and was an early practitioner of Method acting. The New York native started out working in the theater in the 1940s, then branching into film in 1956.

He is perhaps best known for playing the character Tuco opposite Clint Eastwood in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (1966), as well as roles in "How the West Was Won" (1962), "Mystic River" (2003), "The Holiday" (2006), "Lord Jim" (1965), "The Godfather, Part 3" (1990) and "The Misfits" (1961). In "The Misfits," he starred with Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe - both died before they could complete another movie.

Wallach never won an Oscar, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded him an honorary one in 2010. The academy described him as "the quintessential chameleon, effortlessly inhabiting a wide range of characters, while putting his inimitable stamp on every role," the New York Times reported.

Accepting the award in Brooklyn, the actor said: "As an actor I've played more bandits, thieves, warlords, molesters and mafioso than you could shake a stick at."

Wallach was born in Brooklyn to Polish Jewish parents, and grew up in an Italian-dominated neighborhood of New York. He graduated from the University of Texas, where he learned the riding skills he would later use in cowboy roles.

Wallach was married to actress Anne Jackson.

nm/jr (Reuters, AFP)