Margolis, a veteran actor with hundreds of roles dating back to the 1970s but best known to the general public for his Emmy-nominated portrayal of cartel donor Hector "Tio" Salamanca in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, died Thursday at Mount Sinai Hospital. in New York City after a short illness. He was 83 years old.
His death was announced by son Morgan Margolis, the CEO of Knitting Factory Entertainment. Morgan Margolis said he and Mark's wife Jacqueline were at his bedside at the time of his death.
"He was one of a kind," Red Letter Entertainment manager Robert Kolker said. "We won't see his ilk again. He was a dear client and a lifelong friend. I was lucky enough to know him."
Margolis (pictured) was born on November 26, 1939 in Philadelphia. He briefly attended Temple University before moving to New York City to take acting classes, first with Stella Adler at the Actors Studio and then with Lee Strasberg and Barbara Loden.
Margolis, whom Adler described as a "larger than life" influence on his work, launched his stage career, including the 1962 Broadway production of Infidel Caesar, a Broadway show based on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
Later in his career he focused on television and film, but he also remained committed to the theatre. In addition to Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, Margolis also has The Equalizer (1985), Oz, Kings, and FX's American Horror Story: Asylum series-wise to his credit. He also played guest roles in Crossing Jordan, Californication, Person of Interest, Gotham and Showtime's The Affair, among others. Margolis recently appeared in the second season of the Showtime series Your Honor (US), playing mob king Carmine Conti and starring his Breaking Bad colleague Bryan Cranston (Walter White).
In film, Margolis is perhaps best remembered for his role as Alberto "The Shadow" in Scarface (1983), alongside Al Pacino, and for his appearances in many of Darren Aronofsky's films, including The Wrestler (2008) and Black Swan (2010). ). He also appeared in the comedy Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), with Hugh Grant, John McTiernan's The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), opposite Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone (2007), opposite Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris and the romantic comedy film My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016).
Margolis was recently seen in Matthew Coppola's Broken Soldier opposite Sophie Turner, Ray Liotta and Ivana Milicevic.
He is survived by his wife Jacqueline Margolis, son Morgan Margolis and his wife Heide Margolis, grandchildren Ben, Aidan and Henry Margolis, brother Jerome and his wife Ann Margolis.
The family is planning a private memorial and burial.