LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jack Palance, the craggy-faced menace in “Shane,”"Sudden Fear” and other films who turned successfully to comedy in his 70s with his Oscar-winning self-parody in “City Slickers,” died Friday. Palance died of natural causes at his home in Montecito, Calif., surrounded by family, said spokesman Dick Guttman. He was 87.
When Palance accepted his Oscar for best supporting actor he delighted viewers of the 1992 Academy Awards by dropping to the stage and performing one-armed push-ups to demonstrate his physical prowess.
“That’s nothing, really,” he said slyly. “As far as two-handed push-ups, you can do that all night, and it doesn’t make a difference whether she’s there or not.”
That year’s Oscar host, Billy Crystal, turned the moment into a running joke, making increasingly outlandish remarks about Palance’s accomplishments throughout the show.
“I am deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of my dear friend Jack Palance, a true movie icon,” Crystal said in a statement Friday. “Winning the Oscar for that movie and the one-arm push-ups he did on the show will link us together forever, and for that I am grateful.”