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135-454: Michael Morbius is depicted as a famous biochemist who contracts a rare blood disease which he then tries to cure by using a combination of experimental chemicals, electroshock therapy, and genetic samples of vampire bats. The experiment mutates him into a "pseudo-vampire" or "living vampire", a life form with abilities and traits resembling, but not identical to, those of truly supernatural and " undead " creatures such as vampires (which exist in

270-410: A ban on comic book stories depicting vampires and certain other supernatural characters. The issue of Amazing Spider-Man featuring the introduction of Morbius was the first issue of Marvel Comics ' flagship Spider-Man series written by someone other than character co-creator and then editor-in-chief Stan Lee , who was busy writing a screenplay for an unproduced science fiction movie. Lee bequeathed

405-577: A career in the theatre, winning a Theatre World Award in 1951. He made his film acting debut in Elia Kazan 's Panic in the Streets (1950), and earned Oscar nominations for Sudden Fear and Shane , his third and fourth-ever film roles. He also won an Emmy Award for a 1957 teleplay Requiem for a Heavyweight . Subsequently, Palance played a variety of both supporting and leading film roles, often appearing in crime dramas and Westerns. Beginning in

540-483: A career in the theatre. During his university years, he worked as a short order cook , waiter, soda jerk , lifeguard at Jones Beach State Park , and a photographer's model. It was around this time that he changed his name to Walter Jack Palance , reasoning that most people couldn't pronounce his birth name. His last name was actually a derivative of his original name. In an episode of What's My Line? , he described how no one could pronounce his last name, and how it

675-503: A casual romantic relationship with Jack Russell. Lena Ivana's influence leads Morbius to reconsider his vow to only feed on the guilty, realizing he does not investigate his criminal victims enough to fully realize if they are in need of help or can be reformed. He decides it is better to abstain from feeding and simply allow himself to die rather than continue to justify murder. Realizing his friend intends to commit suicide, Jack Russell confronts Morbius and they fight each other. Weakened by

810-530: A certain amount from a victim, the infection of his bite is actually more powerful than before. Vic Slaughter rises from near-death as a new living vampire, his abilities equal to Morbius. Despite not being trusted by many of them, Morbius continues to join the Midnight Sons in battles against evil whenever they need his help. He also aids Spider-Man, Venom , the Black Cat and other superheroes against

945-601: A consultant to others. He becomes a closer friend to the Werewolf (Jack Russell) and offers information to the Avengers that helps them on a case. Eventually, despite all of his efforts, Morbius reverts to being a living vampire again. Working alongside several allies, the sorcerer Doctor Strange is able to use the "Montesi Formula" (a spell found in the Darkhold ) to banish all undead vampires from Earth's dimension. Morbius

1080-508: A corrupted version of himself called Switchblade. He kills several allies, including Morbius. Soon afterward, Blade is cured of his possession and his victims are magically restored, including Morbius. From Dr. Paine, Morbius learns that his blood disease is not in full remission and will eventually still kill him despite constantly feeding on fresh blood and his otherwise impressive regenerative abilities. With help from Jacob Weisenthal, Morbius researches how to at least alleviate his condition if

1215-528: A country music album in Nashville , released on Warner Bros. Records . It featured his self-penned song "The Meanest Guy that Ever Lived". The album was re-released on CD in 2003 by the Water label (Water 119). His films were often international co-productions by this time: They Came to Rob Las Vegas , The Mercenary (both 1968), The Desperados , and Marquis de Sade: Justine (both 1969). Palance had

1350-619: A cure for his pseudo-vampirism from his old friend Ronson Slade, a scientist. Slade, however, becomes a werewolf and Morbius is forced to kill him. During another battle with Spider-Man, Morbius succeeds in feeding on a sample of the hero's radioactive blood. By chance, Morbius is then hit by a lightning bolt at the same time. Morbius survives the lightning strike and discovers he is seemingly human again, his appearance, sanity, and normal human traits restored, though his blood disease has returned and he now requires frequent treatment and blood transfusions. While continuing to research how to stabilize

1485-475: A cure is impossible. With newly obtained samples of Spider-Man's radioactive blood, Morbius and Weisenthal create an "anti-viral" serum that restores his human form for several hours at a time. Now able to operate for part of the day as a normal man, Morbius creates the cover identity of Dr. Morgan Michaels and attains a job as a hematologist at St. Jude's Memorial Hospital in New York. As a hematologist, Morbius

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1620-462: A decent script when it is offered, and the script to City Slickers made sense. Curly (his character in the film) is the kind of man I would like to be. He is in control of himself, except for deciding the moment of his own death. Besides all that, I got paid pretty good money to make it. Four decades after his film debut, Palance won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on March 30, 1992, for his performance as Curly. Stepping onstage to accept

1755-433: A fugitive again. The character has appeared in several media adaptations outside of comics. In the 1990s animated series Spider-Man , Morbius is a recurring character voiced by Nick Jameson . In contrast to the comics, the cartoon depicted Morbius both as a regular ally of the character Blade and as a being who feeds on human plasma through his hands rather than with his fangs. Jared Leto portrayed Michael Morbius in

1890-429: A fugitive, Morbius escapes detection for some time while occasionally clashing with Spider-Man. An encounter with the mutant Nate Grey leads Morbius' hunger to temporarily increase. Frightened that his condition is worsening, Morbius seeks out help from hematologist Dr. Andrea Janson. Before he can be helped, he is captured and tortured by HYDRA agent Loxias Crown . He then assists both Spider-Man and S.H.O.C. against

2025-624: A full cure, Dr. Michael Morbius agrees to stand trial for his several crimes over the years and hires attorney Jennifer Walters (whose identity as the She-Hulk is not publicly known at the time). Later, Morbius learns of Walters' status as the She-Hulk and that she suffers from sometimes erratic transformations. He gives her a serum based on research regarding his own condition and Walters finds herself now able to change form at will (though with effort). In court, Walters' argues that Morbius' crimes as

2160-460: A gang of supervillains led by spree killers Carnage and Shriek during the crossover event called Maximum Carnage . During a battle with the dream-empowered villain Nightmare, Morbius learns that his new mutation due to demon blood has made him immortal in the traditional sense, meaning he can die from injury but no longer ages. Soon afterward, Blade is influenced by outside forces and becomes

2295-559: A journey to Barcelona , Morbius is captured by local vampires. He then joins forces with Domino , Diamondback and Outlaw to defeat them before Domino helps him escape a vampire hunter. Morbius later becomes involved in a Vampire Civil War and is rescued from Dracula's disciples by the Wasp and the Man-Wolf. When the spree killer Carnage and the Cult of Knull threaten humanity, Morbius joins

2430-450: A lack of emotions because she clearly feels anger, resentment, hope, frustration, and envy. Though he promises to continue searching for a way to cure her of being undead, he says that he and Martine cannot resume a relationship due to their feelings for each other changing. After fighting Morbius and then hurling herself through a window, Martine leaves but rents a nearby apartment so she can continue spying on her former lover. She then begins

2565-670: A late-career revival, and he played high-profile villain roles in the blockbusters Young Guns (1988) and Tango & Cash (1989), and culminating in his Oscar and Golden Globe -winning turn as Curly in City Slickers . Off-screen, he was involved in efforts in support of the Ukrainian American community and served as a chairman of the Hollywood Trident Foundation . He continued to act in films until his death from natural causes in 2006, at

2700-559: A living vampire as well. Thanks to Morbius' efforts, Martine is cured and the other pseudo-vampires destroyed. Morbius then flees, believing he is still a danger to Martine. After this, he befriends desperate landowner Alicia Twain (later avenging her murder) and battles Morgana St. Clair, an enigmatic vampire expert living in England who is a member of a Satanic cult known as the Brotherhood of Judas. Morbius later enlists help in finding

2835-429: A living vampire both into remission. With his ability to reason restored and his newfound purpose as a vigilante rather than a villain, Morbius is seen creating a new cover identity for himself, that of human hematologist Dr. Morgan Michaels . Rather than only pitting Morbius against Marvel heroes or previously established villains as had been done in the past, new enemies were introduced and created specifically to fight

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2970-416: A living vampire were due in large part to his "medical condition" affecting his ability to reason, while adding that most of Morbius' victims survived and were cured of pseudo-vampirism by the biochemist himself. Taking this into account, the court finds Morbius guilty of involuntary manslaughter rather than murder. For the next few years of his life, Morbius continues to research his disease while acting as

3105-632: A lot more appealing." Palance enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II , and was trained as the pilot of a B-24 Liberator bomber. He suffered head injuries and burns during a 1943 crash, with various sources citing it as a patrol off the coast of California , or a training flight near Tucson, Arizona (at what is now Davis–Monthan Air Force Base ). He was discharged in 1944 after undergoing reconstructive surgery , which contributed to his distinctively gaunt appearance. According to some sources he

3240-464: A medical degree in hematology . As an adult, Morbius researches a means to cure his own fatal condition, hiring Emil Nikos as his research partner and a woman named Martine Bancroft as his office assistant. Martine and Michael fall in love and become engaged to be married. After years of research, Michael Morbius attempts a radical cure on himself involving chemical treatments, samples of vampire bat DNA, and electroshock therapy . The experiment puts

3375-628: A monster, in this case as a result of trying to cure his own rare but fatal blood disease. The story also introduced Morbius' lover Martine Bancroft and revealed that his first victim had been his scientific colleague and best friend Emil Nikos. Later on, Giant-Size Spider-Man #1 (July 1974) did depict Spider-Man and Dracula together in a story, but the two characters only briefly cross paths while unaware of each other's true nature. After their initial meeting, Morbius collided again with Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up #3–4 (July – September 1972) and

3510-562: A mutation or "curse" they did not choose. This continued when Morbius is seen researching the condition of the Werewolf (Jack Russell) in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #5. Following sporadic appearances as a villain throughout the next 16 years, Morbius was retooled as part of the 1992 "Rise of the Midnight Sons" crossover event, the purpose of which was to launch a new line of horror- and supernatural-themed comics following

3645-572: A new comic book series by writer Joe Keatinge and artist Richard Elson . Morbius the Living Vampire (vol. 2) began publication in January 2013. Unlike the 1990s series that featured Morbius as a violent anti-hero, this series referred to him as a "hunted, haunted fugitive", who was now dealing with weakened abilities and mental depression following his escape from the Raft. The series featured

3780-583: A new version of the Midnight Sons with Jennifer Kale , Daimon Hellstrom , Jack Russell and the Man-Thing. Together, they contain a zombie outbreak on an isolated island, briefly encountering the Hood in the process. Morbius also helps the Man-Thing revive the Punisher (Frank Castle) into the monster called Franken-Castle. When Morbius concludes that Spider-Man's blood cells may help cure Jack Russell of being

3915-479: A normal life, Morbius creates a new cover identity of Dr. Morgan Michaels, while at night secretly acting as a lethal vigilante who only feeds on "the blood of the guilty." Later on, another mutagenic serum saves his life but results in Morbius once again being vulnerable to temporary madness and a loss of his faculties when his bloodlust is too strong. As a result, he abandons his Morgan Michaels identity and becomes

4050-604: A part in the Hollywood blockbuster Che! (1969) playing Fidel Castro opposite Omar Sharif in the title role, but the film flopped. Palance went back to action films and Westerns: Battle of the Commandos (1970), The McMasters (1970) and Compañeros (1970). Palance had another role in Monte Walsh (1970), from the author of Shane , opposite Lee Marvin , but the film was a box-office disappointment. So too

4185-445: A professional boxer in the late 1930s. Boxing under the name Jack Brazzo , Palahniuk lost his only recorded match, in a four-round decision on points, to future heavyweight contender Joe Baksi in a Pier-6 brawl rough fight. Other sources record cite him winning 15 consecutive club fights , with 12 knockouts. Years later he recounted: "Then I thought, 'You must be nuts to get your head beat in for $ 200.' The theater seemed

Morbius - Misplaced Pages Continue

4320-464: A pseudo-vampire. During the "Rise of the Midnight Sons", a mixture of poison and genuine demon blood alters Morbius' physiology slightly while also restoring his mental capacity, allowing him greater control and awareness even while experiencing bloodlust. A new "anti-viral" serum involving Spider-Man's blood also allows him to regain humanity for hours at a time. Concluding he now has greater control over his condition and wishing to regain some semblance of

4455-408: A researcher at Horizon Labs, given access to advanced equipment in exchange for sharing his research with company head Max Modell. To keep his identity hidden from the other researchers who may not approve of this, Morbius stays hidden and is referred to only as Number Six , since he occupies Lab 6. Peter Parker later learns the truth of Number Six's identity during the " Spider-Island " affair. Morbius

4590-410: A result of Jacob's serum, Morbius seems to lose his bloodlust and only temporarily achieves a partial vampiric appearance every night at midnight. Jacob becomes alarmed that Morbius is experiencing blackouts again and may be feeding without realizing it, but Michael insists he is cured and continues pursuing Lena romantically. Enraged with jealousy, Martine meets with Lena and tells her Dr. Morgan Michaels

4725-607: A running gag. At various points in the broadcast, Crystal announced that Palance was "backstage on the StairMaster ", had bungee-jumped off the Hollywood sign, had rendezvoused with the space shuttle in orbit, had fathered all the children in a production number, had been named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive", and had won the New York primary election. At the end of the broadcast Crystal said he wished he could be back next year, but "I've just been informed Jack Palance will be hosting." Years later, Crystal appeared on Inside

4860-425: A series about a violent vampire who hunted evil people needed to have more action and bloodshed. According to Kaminski, he was willing to discuss the story and series direction further but Wagner ignored his attempts at contact. Marvel Comics sided with Wagner, replacing Kaminski with issue #9 by asking series colorist Gregory Wright to step in as writer. A one-shot special, tentatively titled Spider-Man/Venom/Morbius

4995-541: A stake through her heart and then scattering her ashes. In 2011, the Marvel Comics series Legion of Monsters (vol. 2) featured Morbius, Jack Russell, and other supernatural-themed characters as a loose-knit team hunting more dangerous monsters. Morbius then appeared in the 2011 crossover event " Spider-Island ", after which he was seen being incarcerated at the Raft, a prison made for supervillains. On October 17, 2012, Marvel announced that Morbius would appear in

5130-612: A television revival of Ripley's Believe It or Not! . The weekly series ran from 1982 to 1986 on the American ABC network. The series also starred three different co-hosts from season to season, including Palance's daughter Holly Palance , actress Catherine Shirriff and singer Marie Osmond . Ripley's Believe It or Not! was in rerun syndication on the Sci-fi Channel (U.K.) and the Sci-fi Channel (U.S.) during

5265-474: A tragic anti-hero, one subject to blackouts and violence but who could also act altruistically towards allies and those he saw as victims of unjust circumstances. After his first two Vampire Tales stories, Morbius concurrently became the star of his own feature in Marvel's bimonthly Adventure into Fear anthology series, beginning with issue #20 (February 1974) and continuing through issue #31 (December 1975),

5400-666: A trope since at least the 19th century. Frankenstein (1818) used unspecified technological means, the influential I Am Legend (1954) blamed a germ, Night of the Living Dead (1968) proposed radiation from a downed space probe, The Return of the Living Dead (1985) depicted a toxic gas, and Resident Evil (1996) featured a bioweapon. The undead have become popular adversaries in fantasy and horror settings, featuring prominently in many role-playing games , role-playing video games , MMORPGs and strategy games . In Bram Stoker 's novel Dracula , Van Helsing describes

5535-498: A villainous scientist named Dr. Thaddeus Paine who intends to kill Morbius and then conduct research on his mutated body; Langford's "cure" will actually simply kill. Not knowing this, and wishing to sabotage the effort to help Morbius, Lilith sends one of her Lilin to use their own demonic blood to poison Langford's serum. After a brief battle with the Ghost Rider and Blaze, Morbius is subdued and taken to Langford's lab, where he

Morbius - Misplaced Pages Continue

5670-413: Is "lifeless." At the hospital, Morbius meets and is romantically pursued by Mandy Tyler, the executive administrative assistant of the hospital's hematology department. Mandy later learns of Morbius' true nature and tells him she accepts it. On a date, Mandy reveals she is part of a private fetish club whose members emulate vampires by drinking blood. Morbius meets the club's leader, Brian DeWolff. Formerly

5805-449: Is able to steal collected blood donations to briefly alleviate his bloodlust in between feeding on living people, although the preservatives and anti-coagulants used with donated blood means it will poison Morbius if he ingests too much of it. He also attains a hyperbolic chamber and dialysis equipment, allowing him to oxygenate his blood and cleanse his system as he sleeps. Jack Russell tracks Morbius to St. Jude's Hospital, offering to help

5940-491: Is actually the Living Vampire, Michael Morbius. Feeling betrayed, Lena leaves Michael. Morbius then realizes he is experiencing bloodlust again and losing his reason as he regains his full vampiric appearance. After blacking out, Morbius realizes he has attacked and fed on a random person. Jacob's latest "cure" has only made him once again a monster who loses all reason and sanity when he feels the need to feed, no longer able to maintain any kind of morality or any vow to only feed on

6075-489: Is born and raised in Greece by his single mother, and experiences a largely isolated childhood due to a rare and fatal blood condition. His only true friend during this time is a boy named Emil Nikos who, like him, is interested in medicine and science. Intellectually gifted, Morbius spends much of his isolation reading and studying. In time, he becomes a highly respected and Nobel Prize -winning biochemist and biologist with

6210-456: Is given as an "Eastern European" synonym for "un-dead". Stoker's use of the term "undead" refers only to vampires; the extension to other types of supernatural beings arose later. Most commonly, it is now taken to refer to supernatural beings which had at one point been alive and continue to display some aspects of life after death, but the usage is highly variable. Reanimation or the creation of zombies through non-supernatural means has become

6345-515: Is given the false cure. The result of Langford's serum mixed with demon blood creates a new mutagenic agent, altering the Living Vampire's abilities and appearance while also largely restoring his sanity and true personality. Confused by his new state, Morbius seeks out his old friend and colleague, Dr. Jacob Weisenthal, a general practitioner. Meanwhile, Martine discovers Langford's treachery and he kills her. Morbius arrives moments later, feeding on Langford and then realizing he feels no guilt over ending

6480-502: Is immediately resurrected in Spirits of Vengeance #13. During the 1993 Marvel Comics crossover event Maximum Carnage , Morbius and his longtime adversary Spider-Man temporarily become uneasy allies to stop a New York City murder spree led by the spree killer Carnage . In Peter Parker: Spider-Man #77–80 (1997), Morbius again teams up with Spider-Man to stop HYDRA agent Loxias Crown , who then becomes another pseudo-vampire called

6615-494: Is later confronted by the authorities and taken to the supervillain prison known as the Raft, but escapes during a large-scale breakout. Taking refuge in the neighborhood of Brownsville, he becomes a local protector, leading to confrontations with the newest criminal to call himself the Rose (Phillip Hayes). During this time, he develops a friendship with Bucky Barnes and encounters his long-estranged father, Makarioa Morbius. During

6750-648: Is never revealed. Years later, the Superhuman Registration Act is passed, obligating anyone with superhuman abilities to register with S.H.I.E.L.D. and comply with its authority. For a time, Morbius submits to the SRA and joins an effort to capture Blade. Later, during an invasion from the Marvel Zombies universe of Earth-2149, Morbius is seen as a member of A.R.M.O.R. and fights a zombie version of himself. Shortly afterward, Morbius forms

6885-577: Is only a longing for completion because her soul has not been intact since her resurrection. Seeing that Spider-Man cannot bring himself to kill even a vampire, Morbius takes action himself and kills Martine with wood driven through the heart, causing her body to disintegrate to ashes that are then scattered. Despite their history as enemies, the Web-Slinger voluntarily donates more blood samples to Morbius to aid in his research. After briefly working with Doctor Octopus , Morbius accepts an offer to become

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7020-438: Is the living vampire who frightens her, Lena finds herself drawn to Dr. Michaels. Lena then takes a job at St. Jude's Memorial Hospital as well, working in the morgue and seeing Dr. Michaels often. Martine becomes obsessed with having her humanity restored, accusing her former lover of stealing her emotions and dismissing her from his life. Morbius points out that Martine's changed attitude and lack of love for him cannot be due to

7155-480: Is unaffected since he is a scientific mutation and not a supernatural creature. The only other vampire to be unaffected is Hannibal King , a vampire detective who refused to ever feed on living people and so was spared from the spell's effects. Years later, alongside the sorcerers Doctor Strange and Brother Voodoo , Morbius battles Marie Laveau and witnesses the return of true vampires to Earth. Frustrated by his repeated failures to cure himself, Morbius takes refuge in

7290-507: Is used to help create Creature Z, a "binary clone" of Morbius himself and a genetic duplicate of the Lizard. Morbius helps Misty Knight and Colleen Wing fight Creature Z and is able to destroy it with his own blood. During the " Blood Hunt " storyline, Morbius was working on a vampire cure for Misty Knight when he and Colleen Wing were captured by vampires who were operating a Beyond Foods truck. After breaking out, Morbius and Colleen explore

7425-702: The Man-Thing (Ted Sallis), and superhuman adventurers such as Blade , the original X-Men and the Human Torch and the Thing , both members of the Fantastic Four . During this time, he continues to frequently clash with Spider-Man. Later, Morbius meets rogue CIA agent Simon Stroud and together they fight a group of new pseudo-vampires created by Morbius's bites and resulting infection. One of these pseudo-vampires bites and infects Martine, turning her into

7560-587: The Marvel Universe ). To keep his blood disease in remission, Morbius must now regularly feed on fresh human blood or face rapid illness followed by death. Initially, Morbius's mutation affects his ability to reason while experiencing hunger. This leads to blackouts and acts of violence that result in murder and villainy , occasionally followed by lucid periods during which he regrets causing harm. A mixture of electricity and Spider-Man's blood restores his humanity for several years, but he later reverts to being

7695-781: The Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) live-action feature film Morbius (2022), with Matt Smith co-starring as Milo , a composite character also based on Morbius and several other characters. Morbius debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 (published in August 1971 and cover dated October 1971). His creation followed the comic book industry's self- censorship board, the Comics Code Authority , updating its policies in February 1971, which included lifting

7830-491: The Undead become themselves Undead, and prey on their kind. And so the circle goes on ever widening, like as the ripples from a stone thrown in the water... But of the most blessed of all, when this now UnDead be made to rest as true dead , then the soul of the poor lady whom we love shall again be free. Instead of working wickedness by night and growing more debased in the assimilating of it by day, she shall take her place with

7965-616: The one-shot Giant-Size Super-Heroes #1 (June 1974). Morbius went on to star in Vampire Tales , a black-and-white horror comics magazine published by Marvel's sister company, Curtis Magazines , appearing in all but two of the mature audience title's 11 issues (August 1973 – June 1975). The first Morbius solo story was written by Steve Gerber , while the rest of the stories, save for the last three, were written by Don McGregor , with penciling by Rich Buckler and by Tom Sutton , primarily. These stories focused on Morbius as more of

8100-402: The "blood of the guilty." Driven by his bloodlust and once again a danger to anyone around him, Morbius abandons his Morgan Michaels identity and leaves behind both Jacob and St. Jude's Memorial Hospital. Although Jacob's serum did not cure his pseudo-vampirism, it evidently put his blood disease back into remission, as it is never mentioned again that the disease is still killing him. Once again

8235-416: The 1957 film The Vampire , a science fiction film he saw in his youth that depicted a man turned into a vampire by radiation rather than magic. Thomas and penciller Gil Kane then discussed and created the character together, deciding it was more appropriate for the science-fiction based Spider-Man to fight a villain given pseudo- vampiric traits via scientific rather than supernatural means. Kane based

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8370-640: The 1990s. He appeared in the films Gor and Bagdad Café (both 1987). Palance had never been out of work since his career began, but his success on Ripley's Believe It or Not! and the international popularity of Bagdad Cafe (1987) created a new demand for his services in big-budget Hollywood films. He made memorable appearances as villains in Young Guns (1988) as Lawrence Murphy , Tango & Cash (1989) and Tim Burton 's Batman (1989). He also performed on Roger Waters ' first solo album release, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking (1984), and

8505-501: The 1994 animated film The Swan Princess . Palance's final films included Ebenezer (1998), a TV Western version of Charles Dickens's classic A Christmas Carol , with Palance as Scrooge; Treasure Island (1999); Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End (2000); and Prancer Returns (2001). Palance, at the time chairman of the Hollywood Trident Foundation , walked out of a Russian Film Festival in Hollywood in 2004. After being introduced, Palance said, "I feel like I walked into

8640-563: The 2019 crossover event Absolute Carnage , Morbius was seen as one of several characters opposing the mass murderer Carnage and the Cult of Knull. In late 2019, Morbius starred in a new series, now simply titled Morbius , written by Vita Ayala with art by Marcelo Ferreira, Francisco Mobili, and Roberto Poggi. The series featured several appearances by Spider-Man, as well as new character Elizabeth Nikos, sister of Morbius' friend, scientific collaborator, and then victim Emil Nikos. Although plans and promotions were released for at least eight issues,

8775-669: The Actors Studio and fondly recalled that, after the Oscar ceremony, Palance approached him during the reception: "He stopped me and put his arms out and went, 'Billy Crystal, who thought it would be you?' It was his really funny way of saying thank you to a little New York Jewy guy who got him the Oscars." In 1993, during the opening of the Oscars, a spoof of that Oscar highlight featured Palance appearing to drag in an enormous Academy Award statuette with Crystal again hosting, riding on

8910-546: The Ancient World epic The Silver Chalice (both 1954) with Paul Newman . He had the star part in I Died a Thousand Times (1955), a remake of High Sierra , and was cast by Robert Aldrich in two star parts: The Big Knife (1955), from the play by Clifford Odets , as a Hollywood star; and Attack (1956), as a tough soldier in World War II. In 1955, he had an operation for appendicitis. Palance

9045-482: The Ghost Rider and the Nightstalkers , a group which included Blade as well as Hannibal King , a "quasi-vampire" who was similar to Morbius in that he tried to curb his bloodlust so as not to compromise his morals but, unlike Morbius, was a truly supernatural vampire rather than a scientific mutation. In Morbius the Living Vampire #12, Blade is possessed by a demon and, against his will, kills Morbius. Morbius

9180-483: The Hunger. Morbius the Living Vampire series writer Len Kaminski had regular conflicts with series penciller Ron Wagner . The two were collaborators who used the " Marvel method " of comic book scripting, meaning Kaminski would plot out the stories, Wagner would then determine more of the narrative details by illustrating the scenes (potentially adding ones) and creating the narrative pace, after which Kaminski would see

9315-478: The Lilin spirit out of her so it can be destroyed. Later, Martine's true spirit is revived and restored to her body, but the resurrection process leaves her a true undead vampire, unable to feel touch. She also claims to lack her full ability to experience emotions, including the love she used to have for Michael. Martine moves into Morbius' home, but becomes frustrated by her new condition. Soon afterward, Morbius expels

9450-513: The Lilin. The Ghost Rider experiences a vision of several individuals who together can oppose Lilith, an alliance known as "the Nine" or "the Midnight Sons ." Seeing that Morbius is one of the Midnight Sons, the Ghost Rider and Blaze track him down with the aid of Martine Bancroft and her ally Dr. David Langford, a biochemist she hopes can cure Michael at last. Secretly, Langford is working with

9585-531: The Living Vampire #2 retroactively explained much of the Living Vampire's villainy in the past as the result of his initial mutation altering his brain and making him "insane", a condition now alleviated with his latest mutation. Morbius also discovers that his blood disease is no longer in remission and is slowly killing him. This introduces an ongoing series sub-plot wherein Morbius and his trusted friend Dr. Jacob Weisenthal regularly research treatments and anti-viral serums that may put his disease and his condition as

9720-440: The Living Vampire , which would run for 32 issues (September 1992 – April 1995). Morbius the Living Vampire #1 showed the title character being mutated further, which altered his abilities slightly, revealed he had untapped "psionic" power, and gave him a more rational, introspective nature. Morbius takes on the role of a lethal vigilante, vowing only to feed on killers who are truly evil and beyond remorse. The next month, Morbius

9855-596: The Living Vampire's mind. Bloodthirst influences Morbius to use the Darkhold, a book of corrupt magic, to resurrect Martine Bancroft. Morbius then realizes this was a scheme by the Lilin, who use Martine's body so that one of their own, a being called Parasite, may now have a body. Bloodthirst then takes full possession of Morbius' body and attacks the Midnight Sons with the help of Martine/Parasite. With help from Dr. Strange, Morbius reasserts control over his own body. To defeat Parasite, Morbius then kills Martine's body, forcing

9990-708: The Living Vampire. These included Dr. Thaddeus Paine, the Basilisk II (Wayne Gifford), Vic Slaughter, Bloodthirst (a demonic presence in Morbius' mind and body who later manifests his own body in issue #20), and Bloodbath. Along with these foes, Morbius the Living Vampire featured recurring appearances by Simon Stroud . Introduced as a rogue CIA agent hunting the Man-Wolf in Creatures on the Loose #37, Stroud had first encountered Morbius in Adventure into Fear #27 and

10125-578: The Marvel Universe. Undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if they were alive. A common example of an undead being is a corpse reanimated by supernatural forces, by the application of either the deceased's own life force or that of a supernatural being (such as a demon , or other evil spirits). The undead may be incorporeal ( ghosts ) or corporeal ( mummies , vampires , skeletons , and zombies ). The undead are featured in

10260-960: The TV films The Hatfields and the McCoys (1975) and The Four Deuces (1976). In the late 1970s, Palance was mostly based in Italy. He supported Ursula Andress in Africa Express and L'Infermiera , Lee Van Cleef in God's Gun , and Thomas Milian in The Cop in Blue Jeans (all 1976). He was in Black Cobra Woman ; Safari Express , a sequel to Africa Express ; Mister Scarface ; and Blood and Bullets (all 1976). He travelled to Canada to make Welcome to Blood City (1977) and

10395-508: The US for The One Man Jury (1978), Portrait of a Hitman and Angels Revenge (both 1979). Palance later said his Italian sojourn was the most enjoyable of his career. "In Italy, everyone on the set has a drinking cubicle, and no one is ever interested in working after lunch", he said. "That's a highly civilized way to make a movie." He went back to Canada for H. G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come (1979). In 1980, Jack Palance narrated

10530-517: The Un-Dead as the following: ‘Before we do anything, let me tell you this. It is out of the lore and experience of the ancients and of all those who have studied the powers of the UnDead. When they become such, there comes with the change the curse of immortality. They cannot die but must go on age after age adding new victims and multiplying the evils of the world. For all that die from the preying of

10665-612: The Werewolf (Jack Russell) have made him an authority on superhuman mutation, including those influenced by supernatural or magical forces. Experimental procedures have turned Michael Morbius into a pseudo-vampire or living vampire. As opposed to a true undead vampire who is reanimated by supernatural forces, Morbius is still a living being with no inherent supernatural or magical energies (though he has at times been temporarily affected or tainted by demonic forces). As such, his abilities, traits and weaknesses are similar to, but do not exactly align with, those of true undead vampires that inhabit

10800-447: The Werewolf, he steals samples of the Web-Slinger's blood. Spider-Man learns Morbius is behind the theft from Martine Bancroft, who has allowed herself to become a true undead vampire. The hero finds Morbius and Martine arrives, declaring once more her desire to reunite with her former lover and offering to kill his frequent enemy Spider-Man as proof of her love. Morbius refuses to endanger Spider-Man and argues that Martine's feeling for him

10935-476: The acclaimed Marvel Comics comic book series The Tomb of Dracula on Palance, explaining, "He had that cadaverous look, a serpentine look on his face. I knew that Jack Palance would do the perfect Dracula." Palance went back to Hollywood for Oklahoma Crude (1973) then to England to star in Craze (1974). He starred in the television series Bronk between 1975 and 1976 for MGM Television , and starred in

11070-576: The age of 87. Palance was born Volodymyr Palahniuk on February 18, 1919, in Lattimer Mines, Pennsylvania , the son of Anna ( née Gramiak) and Ivan Palahniuk, an anthracite coal miner. His parents were Ukrainian Catholic immigrants , his father a native of Ivane-Zolote in southwestern Ukraine (modern Ternopil Oblast ) and his mother from the Lviv Oblast . One of six children, he worked in coal mines during his youth before becoming

11205-429: The art and any notes Wagner had, then either ask for changes or accept the art and fill in the final dialogue and captions. As time went on, Kaminski claimed Wagner often complained about his stories to the editorial staff and left "snide margin notes [in the art] in which he made his personal opinion of my plots clear." Wagner alleged he expressed concerns Kaminski's stories were too introspective and character-focused when

11340-409: The award, the 6' 4" (1.93 m) actor looked down at 5' 7" (1.70 m) Oscar host Billy Crystal (who was also his co-star in the movie) and joked, mimicking one of his lines from the film, "Billy Crystal ... I crap bigger than him." He then dropped to the floor and demonstrated his ability, at the age of 73, to perform one-armed push-ups . The audience loved the moment and host Crystal turned it into

11475-499: The belief systems of most cultures, and appear in many works of fantasy and horror fiction . The term is also occasionally used for real-life attempts to resurrect the dead with science and technology , from early experiments like Robert E. Cornish 's to future sciences such as "chemical brain preservation" and " cryonics ." While the term usually refers to corporeal entities, in some cases (for example, in Dungeons & Dragons ),

11610-532: The blood disease into remission, but radically mutates Morbius into a "living vampire" with enhanced abilities. To keep his disease in remission, Morbius must now feed on fresh blood regularly or risk death. His appearance and personality also shift, making him now prone to bouts of rage, paranoia, and bloodlust. During one of these early bouts of bloodlust and madness, Morbius' first victim is his friend Emil. Horrified by his actions and mutation, Morbius leaves for New York to conduct more research in secret. He encounters

11745-452: The character's look on that of actor Jack Palance . Thomas said the name "Morbius" was not deliberately taken from the antagonist Doctor Morbius in the 1956 film Forbidden Planet . The initial two-story arc emphasized that Morbius, like other Spider-Man villains such as the Lizard , was not truly a malicious villain but a tragic and sympathetic character who had unwittingly been changed into

11880-426: The disease of pseudo-vampirism, Michael Morbius already possessed a genius-level intellect. He is an M.D. with a Ph.D in biochemistry. A biologist specializing in hematology , Michael Morbius is an expert radiologist and a Nobel laureate . His own condition as a "living vampire" and his frequent studies of superhumans such as Spider-Man, the She-Hulk, Martine Bancroft (when she was resurrected as an undead vampire), and

12015-726: The documentary The Strongest Man in the World by Canadian filmmaker Halya Kuchmij, about Mike Swistun, a circus strongman who had been a student of Houdini . Palance attended the premiere of the film on June 6, 1980, at the Winnipeg Art Gallery . He appeared in The Ivory Ape (1980), Without Warning (1980), Hawk the Slayer (1980), and the slasher film , Alone in the Dark (1982). In 1982, Palance began hosting

12150-413: The efforts to oppose them. Later, Morbius finds himself hunted by Elizabeth Nikos, the sister of his longtime friend, scientific collaborator and first victim Emil Nikos. Not long after that, Morbius also meets Emil's son, Christos Nikos, who hopes the Living Vampire's genetics may cure him of his own fatal illness. These efforts fail and Christos dies. During the "Beyond" story line, Morbius briefly fights

12285-574: The episodes were released as a film, The Spy in the Green Hat (1967). He went to England to make Torture Garden (1967), and made Kill a Dragon (1968) in Hong Kong. Palance provided narration for the 1967 documentary And Still Champion! The Story of Archie Moore . He was in the TV film The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde produced by Dan Curtis , during the making of which he fell and injured himself. In 1969, Palance recorded

12420-458: The facility and take an elevator to Floor Z4 where they find a floor filled with vampires. There is a fight among them until their leader Theocratis breaks it up and subdues Colleen Wing. As Colleen Wing is taken to the pens, Morbius is told by Theocratis that he in his start-up company Hemoglobin Inc. where Theocratis wants Morbius to work on the vampire cure once and for all. Even before he contracted

12555-473: The fight and a lack of blood for several days, Morbius is then exposed to the rising sun and quickly burns. Jacob Weisenthal arrives and administers his latest attempt at a cure for Morbius' mutation, but the pseudo-vampire seemingly dies. Jacob and Jack Russell arrange for a midnight burial attended by the Midnight Sons, Martine, and Lena. Possibly thanks to Jacob's latest anti-viral serum, Morbius suddenly heals and regains consciousness, rising from his grave. As

12690-481: The last issue of the series. These were written, successively, by Mike Friedrich , Steve Gerber, Doug Moench and Bill Mantlo , working with a wide variety of pencillers. Morbius was then seen as a tragic figure lamenting his past and willing to stand trial for his actions in The Savage She-Hulk #9–12 and 25. These stories also showed him willing to lend his expertise to help others who suffered from

12825-610: The late 1950s, he would work extensively in Europe, notably in a memorable turn as a charismatic-but-corrupting Hollywood mogul in Jean-Luc Godard 's 1963 film Contempt . He played the title character in the 1973 television film Bram Stoker's Dracula , which influenced future depictions of the character. During the 1980s, he became familiar to a new generation of audiences by hosting the television series Ripley's Believe It or Not! (1982–86). His newfound popularity spurred

12960-400: The life of a corrupt and remorseless killer. When the Ghost Rider and Blaze arrive on the scene, Morbius explains the situation and vows he is not an enemy of the innocent. From now on, if he must feed on living people, it will be "the blood of the guilty," villains "who deserve to die." The Ghost Rider accepts this, warning Morbius that this vow may not be easy to follow. Days later, Morbius and

13095-552: The man learn how to live with his newest mutation rather than attempt to fight it. Morbius refuses this viewpoint, arguing that being a living vampire is a curse he should not accept. Later, fearing his condition is worsening, Morbius attempts to cure himself with "necro-technology" used by the Nightstalkers, but this fails. Morbius also attempts feeding on the blood of the vampire Hannibal King to see if it affects him, only to discover his body simply rejects vampire blood since it

13230-469: The new Spider-Man ( Ben Reilly , a clone of Peter Parker) before fleeing. After taking a sample of Reilly's blood, which is identical to Parker's on a cellular level, Morbius realizes Spider-Man's radioactive blood will no longer work in creating even a temporary cure for his pseudo-vampirism. Upon being taken to the Beyond Corporation's secret facility on Staten Island, Morbius' genetic template

13365-518: The next several years, Morbius once again made sporadic appearances as an uneasy ally or outright villain who encountered other superheroes, particularly Spider-Man. In 2010, Morbius and Martine both appear in The Amazing Spider-Man #622, written by Fred Van Lente and illustrated by Joe Quinones. The story features Martine, having now become a true, undead vampire, fighting Morbius and Spider-Man. Morbius ends Martine's life by driving

13500-592: The next year, Morbius confronts several new foes, including Dr. Paine, the Basilisk II (Wayne Gifford), Vic Slaughter, and Bloodbath. During the initial battle with Vic Slaughter and his team the Hardcases, Martine Bancroft's tombstone is damaged by gunfire. Enraged, Morbius kills the Hardcases and drains Slaughter of some blood, but then buries the villain alive rather than killing him outright. Morbius leaves, believing his bite no longer infects people with partial pseudo-vampirism. Morbius later discovers that if he drains

13635-406: The one-shot Strange Tales : Dark Corners #1 (May 1998), Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #17 (March 2006), and the one-shot Legion of Monsters: Morbius #1 (September 2007). As he was now a vigilante and part of the Midnight Sons, Morbius engaged in several team-ups with heroes and anti-heroes throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. He frequently crossed paths with the sorcerer Dr. Strange as well as

13770-671: The opportunity to tour the play.) Palance appeared in two plays in 1948 with short runs, A Temporary Island and The Vigil . He made his television debut in 1949. Palance made his big-screen debut in Panic in the Streets (1950), directed by Elia Kazan , who had directed Streetcar on Broadway. He played a gangster, and was credited as "Walter (Jack) Palance". That year he was featured in Halls of Montezuma (1951), about United States Marines during World War II. He returned to Broadway for Darkness at Noon (1951) by Sidney Kingsley , which

13905-577: The other Angels. So that, my friend, it will be a blessed hand for her that shall strike the blow that sets her free. Other notable 19th-century stories about the avenging undead included Ambrose Bierce 's The Death of Halpin Frayser , and various Gothic Romanticism tales by Edgar Allan Poe . Though their works could not be properly considered zombie fiction, the supernatural tales of Bierce and Poe would prove influential on later writers such as H. P. Lovecraft , by Lovecraft's own admission. In Russia,

14040-443: The other Midnight Sons hold their first official alliance meeting and join forces against Lilith. Despite his agreement to fight Lilith, Morbius is immediately looked on with suspicion by the Midnight Sons known as the Nightstalkers , a trio of vampire hunters and occult investigators that includes Hannibal King (whose vampirism has returned), the half-vampire Blade , and Frank Drake, the last living mortal descendant of Dracula. Over

14175-558: The rear end of it. Halfway across the stage, Palance dropped to the ground as if exhausted, but then performed several one-armed push-ups before regaining his feet and dragging the giant Oscar the rest of the way across the stage. He appeared in Cyborg 2 (1993); Cops & Robbersons (1994) with Chevy Chase ; City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (1994); and on TV in Buffalo Girls (1995). He also voiced Rothbart in

14310-477: The rest of the series, Martine shifts from supporting character to occasional antagonist as she sometimes clashes with Morbius due to resentment over the circumstances of her resurrection and the pursuit of restoring her emotions sometimes placing other in danger. Wright stayed as writer on Morbius the Living Vampire until issue #23. Pat Mills wrote issue #24 in 1994, after which Lisa Trusiani took over as series writer. She remained in this role until issue #32, when

14445-547: The role of Hollywood producer Jeremy Prokosch in the nouvelle vague movie Le Mépris (1963) with Brigitte Bardot . Although the main dialogue was in French , Palance spoke mostly English. Palance returned to the U.S. to star in the TV series The Greatest Show on Earth (1963–64). In 1964, his presence at a recently integrated movie theatre in Tuscaloosa, Alabama , prompted a riot from segregationists who assumed Palance

14580-413: The role of series writer to his right-hand editor Roy Thomas . In 2009, Roy Thomas said there was interest in having the company's flagship character Spider-Man fight a vampire, possibly even the famous Count Dracula. "We were talking about doing Dracula , but Stan wanted a costumed villain. Other than that, he didn't specify what we should do." Thomas added that part of the character conception came from

14715-556: The scientist-turned-monster known as the Lizard and the hero Spider-Man , who at the time is dealing with a mutation that has left him with four extra arms. Samples of Morbius' blood leads the Lizard to revert to his human form of Curt Connors and allows Spider-Man to lose his extra limbs. It is discovered that a few of Morbius' victims did not die and are now infected with a form of his own mutation, giving them increased strength and bloodlust but no further superhuman abilities. Morbius and Martine synthesize an antidote for these victims, but

14850-561: The series does not resolve whether or not Morbius' blood disease is still killing him, despite his vampiric regenerative abilities, or if the newest anti-viral system finally put the disease back into remission. It also does not resolve the fact that Martine is left a true undead vampire who is obsessed with Morbius (though this is finally resolved in 2010; see below). Since the series' cancellation, there has been no further depiction of Morbius' 1990s supporting cast of his friend Jacob Weisenthal or his love interests Mandy Tyler and Lena Ivana. For

14985-530: The series was abruptly put on hiatus after issue #5 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced Marvel Comics to halt or slow down several operations. Rather than continue the series, it was later officially cancelled. In 2021, Marvel published a one-shot entitled Morbius: Bond of Blood , written by Ralph Macchio, with art by Tom Reilly and Chris O'Halloran. The one-shot featured the first appearance and death of Christos Nikos, son of Emil Nikos. Michael Alexander Morbius

15120-410: The series was cancelled due to declining sales and waning fan interest. The series ends with Morbius being mutated once again by an anti-viral serum that saves his life, but results in his now once again losing his ability to reason and experiencing blackouts when his bloodlust is too strong. This leads him to abandon his vigilante life and the double identity of Dr. Morgan Michaels. The final story arc of

15255-434: The serum does not work on Morbius' own condition. Overtaken by bloodlust, Morbius attacks Martine, turning her into a pseudo-vampire as well. After using their serum to cure her, Morbius flees rather than endanger Martine again. Morbius eventually leaves New York, moving location frequently to avoid capture. During this time, he rescues Amanda Saint from a Satanic cult known as Demon-Fire, then encounters John Jameson , who at

15390-408: The sewers of New York City and discovers a community of underground dwellers who offer to help him in exchange for protection. The community brings Morbius "bad ones" to feed on and Morbius believes from their descriptions that these people brought to him are killers themselves. After feeding on several victims, Morbius is confronted by Spider-Man, who accuses him of becoming a serial killer. Discovering

15525-411: The success of Ghost Rider (vol. 3). "Rise of the Midnight Sons" featured the new Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch) and Johnny Blaze (the previous Ghost Rider) seeking out the "Midnight Sons", different unique individuals who would eventually be crucial to stopping the demonic Lilith from laying waste to humanity (as well as potentially other threats just as great). This led directly into the new series Morbius

15660-603: The term also includes incorporeal forms of the dead, such as ghosts . Bram Stoker considered using the title, The Un-Dead , for his novel Dracula (1897), and use of the term in the novel is mostly responsible for the modern sense of the word. The word does appear in English before Stoker but with the more literal sense of "alive" or "not dead", for which citations can be found in the Oxford English Dictionary . In one passage of Dracula , Nosferatu

15795-399: The terrorist organization and drains Crown of blood before leaving him for dead. Rather than die, Crown becomes a new pseudo-vampire called the Hunger and creates a cult of pseudo-vampire followers. Later, Morbius is kidnapped and biologically engineered to be more powerful so he can oppose the Hunger. He is freed by Spider-Man and Blade, but the identity of who kidnapped and experimented on him

15930-789: The time is cursed to transform into the Man-Wolf. Alongside the Man-Wolf, Morbius battles Spider-Man again. Later, Morbius encounters Reverend Daemond, the Caretakers of the planet Arcturus IV, the Cat People of the Land Within and Tara the Girlchild , the extra-dimensional demon known as Helleyes, and the Living Eraser. He also meets other monsters, such as the Werewolf (Jack Russell), the Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze), and

16065-824: The traces of Lilin blood in his body so that Bloodthirst cannot influence him further. Bloodthirst is able to manifest a new vampiric body for himself and seriously injures both Jacob and Mandy before Morbius finally destroys him. Morbius decides to distance himself from Mandy to protect her. Morbius later encounters Lena Ivana, a woman kidnapped from her home in Eastern Europe and then forced into sex work in New York City. After freeing her, Morbius becomes enamored with Lena. In contrast, she fears Morbius after seeing how quickly he kills criminals. Despite this, Morbius hopes to see her again and suggests to Lena she seeks medical treatment from "Dr. Morgan Michaels." Unaware this

16200-496: The undead was the theme of Alexander Belyaev 's novel Professor Dowell's Head (1925), in which a mad scientist performs experimental head transplants on bodies stolen from the morgue , and reanimates the corpses. Jack Palance Walter Jack Palance ( / ˈ p æ l ən s / PAL -əns ; born Volodymyr Ivanovich Palahniuk ; February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American screen and stage actor, known to film audiences for playing tough guys and villains. He

16335-574: The underground community deems anyone living on the surface to be a "bad one", Morbius is horrified to realize he has murdered people at random. Disgusted with himself, Morbius flees into the sewers and falls deeper into depression. Soon after Spider-Man and Morbius' confrontation in the sewers, Johnny Blaze and the new Ghost Rider (whose human host is Danny Ketch) learn that Lilith the Mother of All Demons has returned to Earth and intends to lay waste to humanity with help from her children and descendants,

16470-425: The vampire protagonist once again attempting to cure himself of his condition while dealing with New York gangs, including the crime lord known as the Rose . It also expanded Morbius' pre-Living Vampire history, revealing more information about his mother and his childhood friendship with Emil Nikos. Morbius the Living Vampire (vol. 2) met with mixed reviews and low sales, and was cancelled after nine issues. During

16605-529: The vigilante called the Wraith , DeWolff is secretly using his psionic powers to turn the club members into followers who will perform terrorist acts against the NYPD. With the help of the cyborg Deathlok , Morbius halts the "vampire cult" from committing a terrorist bombing and then seemingly kills DeWolff. Thanks to traces of Lilin blood still in Morbius' body, the spirit of a Lilin called Bloodthirst begins guiding

16740-729: Was The Horsemen (1971) with Sharif, directed by John Frankenheimer . He supported Bud Spencer in It Can Be Done Amigo and Charles Bronson in Chato's Land (both 1972), and had the lead in Sting of the West (1972) and Brothers Blue (1973). In Great Britain he appeared in a highly acclaimed TV film, Bram Stoker's Dracula (1973), in the title role; it was directed by Dan Curtis. Three years earlier, comic book artist Gene Colan had based his interpretation of Dracula for

16875-863: Was a huge hit, and Palance was now an established film name. Palance played a villain in Second Chance opposite Robert Mitchum , and was an Indian in Arrowhead (both 1953). He got a chance to play a heroic role in Flight to Tangier (1953), a thriller. He played the lead in Man in the Attic (1953), an adaptation of The Lodger . He was Attila the Hun in Sign of the Pagan with Jeff Chandler , and Simon Magus in

17010-455: Was a minor hit. Palance was second-billed in just his third film, opposite Joan Crawford in the thriller Sudden Fear (1952). His character is a former coal miner, as Palance's father had been. Palance received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He was nominated in the same category the following year for his role as hired gunfighter Jack Wilson in Shane (1953). The film

17145-515: Was awarded a Purple Heart , though he does not appear on official rolls for the decoration. Purple Hearts are not awarded for training injuries. Palance won a football scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill but left after two years, disgusted by commercialization of the sport. After the war, Palance enrolled at Stanford to study journalism, but switched to drama. He left one credit shy of graduating in order to pursue

17280-587: Was in Outlaw of Gor (1988) and Solar Crisis (1990). Palance was then cast as cowboy Curly Washburn in the 1991 comedy City Slickers , directed by Ron Underwood. He quipped: I don't go to California much any more. I live on a farm in Pennsylvania, about 100 miles from New York, so I can go into the city for dinner and a show when I want to. I also have a ranch about two hours from Los Angeles, but I don't go there very often at all...But I will always read

17415-647: Was in a Western, The Lonely Man (1957), playing the father of Anthony Perkins , and played a double role in House of Numbers (1957). In 1957, Palance won an Emmy Award for best actor for his portrayal of Mountain McClintock in the Playhouse 90 production of Rod Serling 's Requiem for a Heavyweight . Warwick Films hired Palance to play the hero in The Man Inside (1958), shot in Europe. He

17550-470: Was nominated for three Academy Awards , all for Best Actor in a Supporting Role , for his roles in Sudden Fear (1952) and Shane (1953), and winning almost 40 years later for City Slickers (1991). Born in Lattimer Mines, Pennsylvania , the son of Ukrainian immigrants, Palance served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II . He attended Stanford University before pursuing

17685-594: Was now determined to end the Living Vampire's life. To increase awareness and the popularity of Morbius the Living Vampire , a reprint series entitled Morbius Revisited was published from 1992 to 1993. The series featured material originally published in Adventure into Fear #27–31. Along with this, Morbius appeared in short solo stories featured in the anthology series Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993–1995), as well as in Marvel Comics Presents #144,

17820-837: Was reunited with Robert Aldrich and Jeff Chandler when they worked on Ten Seconds to Hell (1959), filmed in Germany, playing a bomb disposal expert. He made Beyond All Limits (1959) in Mexico, and Austerlitz (1960) in France, then did a series of films in Italy: Revak the Rebel , Sword of the Conqueror , The Mongols , The Last Judgment , and Barabbas (all 1961), and Night Train to Milan and Warriors Five (both 1962). Jean-Luc Godard persuaded Palance to take on

17955-463: Was scheduled for 1993, but never published due to Kaminski's departure from the series. Wagner remained as series penciler until issue #15, then left as well. Under writer Gregory Wright, the series Morbius the Living Vampire featured the resurrection of Michael's former lover Martine Bancroft in issues #13–17. The story line ended with Martine now alive again due to mystical forces, but no longer able to experience her full range of emotions. Throughout

18090-570: Was suggested that he be called Palanski . From that he decided just to use Palance instead. In New York , Palance studied method acting under Michael Chekhov , while working as a sportswriter . He made his Broadway debut in 1947 as a Russian soldier in The Big Two , directed by Robert Montgomery. Palance's acting break came as Marlon Brando 's understudy in A Streetcar Named Desire , and he eventually replaced Brando on stage as Stanley Kowalski . ( Anthony Quinn , however, gained

18225-765: Was there to promote civil rights. He played a gangster in Once a Thief (1965) with Alain Delon . In the following year he appeared in the television film Alice Through the Looking Glass , directed by Alan Handley , in which he played the Jabberwock , and had a featured role opposite Lee Marvin and Burt Lancaster in the Western adventure The Professionals . Palance guest-starred in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. , and

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