Actor Mark Margolis from “Breaking Bad” passes away at 83

According to a statement, Margolis passed away on Thursday in a New York hospital after a brief illness, with his wife and son by his bedside.
(FILES) On September 21, 2012, American actor Mark Margolis makes his way to the Variety and Women in Film Pre-Emmy Event in Beverly Hills, California. Margolis, who starred as the shady, wheelchair-bound cartel don Hector Salamanca in the critically acclaimed television shows “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” passed away on August 4, 2023, according to his representative. He was 83 years old. (Image courtesy of Valerie MACON/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP)

In the well-liked television series “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” Mark Margolis played the shady, wheelchair-bound cartel don Hector Salamanca. His family announced his death on Friday. He was 83 years old.
According to a statement, Margolis passed away on Thursday in a New York hospital after a brief illness, with his wife and son by his bedside.

A “Breaking Bad” official social media account applauded “the immensely talented Mark Margolis, who — with his eyes, a bell, and very few words — turned Hector Salamanca into one of the most unforgettable characters in the history of television.”

The father of the drug-smuggling Salamanca family, played by Margolis, has a stroke after being poisoned by a rival and can only speak by tapping a bell with his finger.

Margolis, a 1939 Philadelphia native who wanted to become an actor, relocated to New York.

With supporting parts in films like “Scarface,” “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” and “Black Swan,” as well as the HBO series “Oz,” he established a solid career as a character actor.

Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad” fame led the tributes, saying on Instagram: “I am deeply heartbroken today to learn of a friend’s demise.

“Mark Margolis was a wonderful person and a really fine actor. While daunting and frightening on set (as in the cases of “Breaking Bad” and “Your Honour”), fun and entertaining off-set.

The star of the spin-off series “Better Call Saul,” Bob Odenkirk, described Margolis as having a “powerful screen presence.”
He received an Emmy nomination in 2012 for “Breaking Bad.”

His 61-year-old wife Jacqueline, his only child Morgan, and their three grandsons all live on.