Jack Palance died on Friday in his home of natural causes at the ripe old age of 87

Jack was not only a giant of a man, but he was a gigantic talent; that rare breed of actor who could make you fear him, love him, hate him and pity him all in the space of a few precious moments in a scene.

He broke onto the entertainment scene in 1950 in a small role in the new medium of television, but quickly broke out as a major force to be reckoned with that same year in Elia Kazan’s acclaimed film “Panic In the Streets,” playing the plague infected killer Blackie. He was so convincing in the part that for years Palance was typecast as the baddie in both TV appearances and motion pictures. His most famous bad guy, the role that turned him into a major sought after celeb by both directors and fans was Jack Wilson opposite Alan Ladd in the award winning western epic “Shane.”

His bad boy image was forever changed, however, when at the age of 70, Billy Crystal sought him out to play the wiley old cowboy working on a dude-range in “City Slickers.” It garnered Palance an Oscar, and the night he received it, he brought the house down when he delighted the crowd with a series of one-armed push-ups.

Jack did his fair share of scifi, fantasy and horror films including, “Batman” with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, “Solar Crisis,” “Cyborg 2,” and “Living With the Dead” in 2002. His last appearance was in 2004 on the television movie “Back When We Were Grown Ups” playing the pivotal role of Paul ‘Poppy’ Davitch.

Jack Palance was a very unique man and there will never be another like him. So long Jack.