Jack Palance

Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk; February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, for his roles in Sudden Fear (1952) and Shane (1953), and winning almost 40 years later for City Slickers (1991). Born in Lattimer Mines, Pennsylvania, the son of Ukrainian immigrants, Palance served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He briefly attended Stanford University before pursuing a career in the theatre. He made his film acting debut in Panic in the Streets (1950). Following his roles in Sudden Fear and Shane, he starred as Count Dracula in the 1974 television film Bram Stoker's Dracula, and played crime lord Yves Perret in Tango & Cash (1989). He was also the host of the ABC television series Ripley's Believe It or Not! (1982–1986). Early life Palance was born Volodymyr Palahniuk on February 18, 1919, in Lattimer Mines, Pennsylvania, the son of Anna (née Gramiak) and Ivan Palahniuk, an anthracite coal miner. His parents were Ukrainian immigrants, his father a native of Ivane-Zolote in southwestern Ukraine (modern Ternopil Oblast) and his mother from the Lviv Oblast. One of six children, the young Volodymyr Palahniuk worked in coal mines during his youth before becoming a professional boxer in the late 1930s. Boxing under the name Jack Brazzo, Palahniuk lost his only recorded match, in a four-round decision on points, to future heavyweight contender Joe Baksi in a Pier-6 brawl rough fight. Years later he recounted: "Then I thought, 'You must be nuts to get your head beat in for $200.' The theater seemed a lot more appealing."