23 Facts About Henry Silva

Henry Silva was an American actor, with a film and television career which spanned fifty years.

Henry Silva was the voice of supervillain Bane in the DC Animated Universe.

Henry Silva was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on September 23,1926.

Henry Silva was the son of Jesus Silva and Angelina Martinez, and was of Sicilian and Spanish descent.

Henry Silva did not learn to speak English until he was 8 years old.

Henry Silva quit school when he was 13 years old to attend drama classes, supporting himself as a dishwasher and waiter at a Manhattan hotel.

Henry Silva's career focused on the portrayal of "ethnic" villains, including East Asians, Native Americans, Mexicans, and Italians.

Henry Silva then went on to play a succession of villains in films including The Tall T with Randolph Scott, The Bravados with Gregory Peck, and The Law and Jake Wade.

Henry Silva landed the role after Sinatra spotted him in a convertible at a stop light on Doheny Drive and asked him to come to the studio the next day.

Henry Silva played the Korean communist agent Chunjin in the original The Manchurian Candidate, again opposite Sinatra, and portrayed a Native American in Sinatra's and Martin's Rat Pack Western Sergeants 3 that same year.

Henry Silva gradually became typecast playing mobsters, robbers, and other criminals.

Henry Silva appeared in many television series in both guest starring and recurring roles.

Henry Silva appeared in The Streets of San Francisco, Dr Kildare, and many more shows.

In 1963, Henry Silva played the lead role in the gangster film Johnny Cool, which was produced by United Artists and Chrislaw.

Henry Silva's character Salvatore "Johnny Cool" Giordano was a hitman sent on a mission by exiled mobster Johnny Colini to kill the underworld figures who had plotted against the mobster.

Variety praised Silva's performance, writing "Henry Silva, as a Sicilian-born assassin, is at home as the 'delivery boy of death'".

In 1965, an Italian film producer made Henry Silva an offer to star as a hero for a change and he moved his family overseas.

Henry Silva's turning-point picture was a Spaghetti Western, The Hills Run Red, which made him a hot box-office commodity in Spain, Italy, Germany, and France.

Henry Silva then signed on as the evil adversary Killer Kane in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

Henry Silva plays the crime boss Ray Vargo in Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai who puts out a hit on the titular character.

Henry Silva's second was on 16 March 1959 to Cindy Conroy.

Henry Silva was married to Ruth Earl from September 4,1966, until it ended in divorce in November 1987.

Silva and Earl had two children, both of whom were born in Los Angeles: Michael Henry Silva, who was born on September 3,1969, and Scott Stevens Silva, who was born July 14,1976.