Henry Silva Cause of Death: Fans Pay Tribute to 'Ocean's Eleven' Actor Found Dead at 95
Veteran actor Henry Silva, known as a regular staple of crime genre cinema, reportedly died at the age of 95 on Wednesday.
Henry Silva's acting career dates back to as early as 1955. The veteran actor was known for playing a succession of villains in the crime genre, including "The Tall T" (1957), "The Bravados" (1958), and "The Law and Jake Wade" (1958).
According to Deadline, the late actor died at 95 years old due to natural causes at the Motion Picture and Television Fund Hospital on Wednesday. One of his friends, singer Deana Martin, took to Twitter to announce the news and pay tribute to the late actor.
Our hearts are broken at the loss of our dear friend Henry Silva, one of the nicest, kindest and most talented men I've had the pleasure of calling my friend. He was the last surviving star of the original Oceans 11 Movie. We love you Henry, you will be missed 🥲 pic.twitter.com/sFOFqRVuU7
— Deana Martin (@DeanaMartin_) September 16, 2022
According to the singer, Silva was the "last surviving star" of the original "Ocean's Eleven" film cast.
Infamous Villain Roles
Silva rose to fame as one of the eleven casino robbers in the 1960 film "Ocean's 11", starring alongside Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford. The film inspired the 2001 remake of the heist comedy film, which led to one of Warner Bros. Pictures' biggest film franchises.
In an interview way back 1971, Silva reflected on his iconic roles and noticed an interesting pattern.
"Funny thing over here [America] they see me as a bad guy; in Europe they see me as a hero."
In the original "The Manchurian Candidate" in 1962, Silva plays the role of the antagonist agent Chunjin and is reunited with lead protagonist Frank Sinatra. The two actors, later on, starred against each other in "Sergeants 3".
However, contrary to his recurring antagonist roles, Silva was able to play the lead role in the 1963 neo-noir crime film "Johnny Cool" directed by William Asher, which was based on the novel The Kingdom of Johnny Cool by John McPartland. Silva starred alongside actress Elizabeth Montgomery.
In 2012, the infamous on-screen villain was included in a feature-length documentary "Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films that ruled the 70s", directed by Mike Malloy.
Fans Pay Tribute on Social Media
Following the news of his death, many fans took to Twitter to express their condolences and pay tribute to the 90s actor. Some netizens referenced his iconic role as Johnny Cool.
R.I.P. the king Henry Silva, Johnny Cool himself, magnificent in The Manchurian Candidate and Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai, and dozens of b-movie westerns and exploitation films, Italian and otherwise. pic.twitter.com/IAxwKUwl04
— Friedkin February (@LazlosGhost) September 16, 2022
Meanwhile, a netizen on Twitter recalls an encounter they had with the late actor in a bookstore.
Long ago when I was working in a Brentwood bookstore Henry Silva came in one day & asked about a recent Marlene Dietrich bio, then proceeded to tell me the story of the time back in the 50s he met Dietrich in New York, clearly still in total awe of her. 1/ https://t.co/JucyEQuxPi
— Peter Avellino (@PeterAPeel) September 16, 2022
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