Mark Margolis, who played the sinister, wheelchair-bound cartel don Hector Salamanca in acclaimed TV shows <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/television/from-fleabag-to-breaking-bad-our-pick-of-the-15-best-tv-shows-of-the-decade-1.951198" target="_blank"><i>Breaking Bad</i></a> and <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/television/2022/04/11/better-call-saul-season-6-plot-cast-trailer-and-special-guest-appearances/" target="_blank"><i>Better Call Saul</i></a>, has died aged 83, his family said on Friday. The actor died on Thursday at a New York hospital following a short illness, with his wife and son at his bedside. <i>Breaking Bad</i> star <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/film-tv/2023/07/26/celebrities-on-the-hollywood-picket-line-including-bryan-cranston-and-lupita-nyongo/" target="_blank">Bryan Cranston</a> led the tributes, writing on Instagram: "I am very saddened today to learn of a friend's passing. "Mark Margolis was a really good actor and a lovely human being. Fun and engaging off the set, and (in the case of <i>Breaking Bad</i> and <i>Your Honor</i>) intimidating and frightening on set." <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/television/2021/07/29/bob-odenkirk-had-a-heart-related-incident-and-is-now-in-stable-condition/" target="_blank">Bob Odenkirk</a>, the star of spin-off series <i>Better Call Saul</i>, called Margolis a "powerful screen presence". An official <i>Breaking Bad</i> social media account praised "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". In the show, Margolis's character – the patriarch of the drug-smuggling Salamanca family, who suffers a stroke after being poisoned by a rival – is only able to communicate by tapping a bell with his finger. Born in Philadelphia in 1939, Margolis moved to New York to pursue acting. He forged a successful career as a character actor, with supporting roles in films such as <i>Scarface</i>, <i>Ace Ventura: Pet Detective</i> and <i>Black Swan</i>, as well as HBO series <i>Oz</i>. In 2012, he was nominated for an Emmy for <i>Breaking Bad</i>. He is survived by Jacqueline, his wife of 61 years, their only child Morgan and their three grandsons.
