Victor Israel, a Spanish film actor, was a ubiquitous and prolific character actor, often overlooked and underrated, whose career spanned over four decades. Born on June 13, 1929, in Barcelona, Cataluna, Spain, Israel attended the Escuela de actores de la Ciudad Condal before embarking on a film career in the early 1960s.
Israel's physical appearance was distinct, with a plain, round face, thinning hair, and a medium build. He was often cast as ordinary working-class types, timid cowards, men of the cloth, and meek victims. His memorable roles included an uncredited part as a weary sergeant in Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966).
Throughout the late 1960s and up until the mid-1980s, Israel appeared in a variety of films, including spooky horror features and trashy exploitation fare. Some of his notable roles include a creepy handyman in The House That Screamed (1969),a slimy cemetery caretaker in The Butcher of Binbrook (1971),a craven coachman in Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971),and a whistling baggage handler in Horror Express (1972).
Israel continued to act in both movies and TV shows well into his 70s. He died at the age of 80 on September 19, 2009, in Spain, from natural causes.
