Mark Margolis dead at 83: Scarface and Breaking Bad star dies in New York City after short illness

Mark Margolis passed away Thursday at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City at age 83, his son Morgan Margolis, CEO of Knitting Factory Entertainment, reported.

The actor suffered from a short illness.

The star had his wife Jacqueline and Morgan at his bedside.

He had hundreds of roles in film, television and stage dating back to the 1970s, best known for his breakout role of Alberto The Shadow in Scarface.

And he played the character Hector ‘Tio’ Salamanca in the TV series Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

Margolis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 26, 1939.

He was the son of Fanya (née Fried) and Isidore Margolis.

Margolis briefly attended Temple University before moving to New York City to study acting, first with Stella Adler at the Actors Studio and then with Lee Strasberg and Barbara Loden.

He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline Margolis (83) of Far Rockway, New York – married in New York City, they were married for 61 years – and only child Morgan Margolis (56), his wife Heide Margolis, and their three sons. Ben, Aidan and Henry Margolis, all from Los Angeles, CA. He is also survived by his brother and his wife, Jerome and Ann Margolis.

The family plans to hold a private memorial and funeral.

Robert Kolker of Red Letter Entertainment, his manager since 2007, said: ‘He was one of a kind. We will not see his likes again. He was a valued customer and a friend for life. I was lucky to know him.’

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests making donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

One of his top roles: He was seen (left) with Tony Dalton in Better Call Saul

A ubiquitous presence in television, film, and on stage, Emmy-nominated actor Mark Margolis was best known for playing Hector “Tio” Salamanca, a former drug kingpin unable to speak or walk due to the lingering effects of a stroke which originally appeared on AMC’s hit Breaking Bad and for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2012. In 2016, he reprized that role as a younger version of the character, guest starring until 2022 on seasons 2 through 6 of AMC’s multiple Emmy and Golden Globes nominated Better Call Saul.

Born in November 1939 in Philadelphia, Margolis moved to New York City at a young age to pursue an acting career.

Under the tutelage of famed acting teacher Stella Adler, who saw Margolis as a “larger than life” influence on his work, he began his career with an early focus on theater, earning major roles in large-scale productions including Infidel Caesar, a Broadway show based on Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Shortly thereafter, Margolis founded Blue Dome, a touring theater company that performed avant-garde productions, including Antonin Artaud’s The Conquest of Mexico, at colleges and universities across the United States, funded largely by the New York State Council on the Arts.

Margolis then returned to New York theater and appeared in over fifty off-Broadway plays, including Uncle Sam and The Golem. Although he later became more focused on film and television, “played when he couldn’t live without them,” which led him to the role of Bernie Madoff in a 2010 New York State production titled Imagining Madoff. He also performed in Tony Kushner’s The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to The Scriptures at Berkeley Repertory Theater in 2014 and A Bright Room Called Day at The Public Theater in New York in 2019.

His wife: He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline Margolis (83) of Far Rockway, New York – married in New York City, they were married for 61 years. Seen in 2012

Margolis had many recurring roles on television besides Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, including The Equalizer, Oz, Kings, and FX’s American Horror Story: Asylum, as well as guest appearances on a number of popular shows, including Crossing Jordan, Californication, Person of Interest, Fox’s Gotham and Showtime’s The Affair. Margolis was last seen in Season 2 of the Showtime series Your Honor playing the Mafia Kingpin Carmine Conti.

Margolis had an equally illustrious film career that spanned more than forty years and included more than seventy films, many of which received critical acclaim. He is best known for playing Alberto “The Shadow” in Scarface and for appearances in many of Darren Aronofsky’s films, including Noah, Black Swan, The Wrestler, and Pi, a film Margolis considered a favorite. He appeared in John McTiernan’s The Thomas Crown Affair opposite Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo; Ben Affleck’s Gone Baby Gone, opposite Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris; Stand Up Guys by Fisher Stevens, opposite Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin; Dan Glaser’s Valley Of Bones, opposite Autumn Reeser; Tony Vidal’s Baja, opposite Cynthia Stevenson; and ABE by Fernando Grostein Andrade, opposite Noah Schanpp and Seu Jorge. Margolis was last seen in Matthew Coppola’s Broken Soldier opposite Sophie Turner, Ray Liotta and Ivana Milicevic.

In addition to the Emmy nomination, he was also nominated for Saturn, Gold Derby, and Online Film & Television Association Awards, all for his work on Breaking Bad. He credited his ability to play the acclaimed Tio Salamanca in part to a family member he observed and cared for after suffering a paralyzing stroke, a fate similar to Tio’s.

Margolis lived in New York City with his wife Jacqueline. They have a son, Morgan Margolis, the CEO of Knitting Factory Entertainment. He was a lifelong member of the Actors Studio and occasionally taught acting workshops for young actors in New York City.