Eli Wallach

Eli Wallach’s awards during his six decades as an actor include a 1951 Tony for The Rose Tattoo and an Emmy in 1966 for the public-service film The Poppy Is Also a Flower. He can currently be seen in a newly restored version of Sergio Leone’s classic western The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (HarperCollins, $20). If I were to be left abandoned on a deserted island—away from TV, computers, AOL, and Rupert Murdoch—this is the one book I’d like to have. In the course of his career, an actor usually finds himself tackling a succession of Shakespearean high jumps, playing Romeo, then Hamlet, then Macbeth. At my age, King Lear particularly speaks to me.

Act One by Moss Hart (St. Martin’s Press, $17). A brilliant evocation of the struggles one encounters to get to the top of one’s craft. As I write my own autobiography, I’m finding Hart’s memoir to be an invaluable resource. I even appeared in the 1963 movie version.

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Short Stories by Anton Chekhov (out of print). A treasure trove by a brilliant analyst of the human condition. My favorites include “The Kiss,” “Swan Song,” and “The Boa Constrictor and the Rabbit.” Chekhov’s plays, of course, are wonderful, but the germs of many of them are found in these short stories.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Doubleday, $7). A thrilling and exciting trip—one of the great literary triumphs of the 19th century.

The Collected Plays of Eugene O’Neill (Library of America; 3 volumes, $40 each). This great writer tears at your heart. You want to scream at the pain he reveals and at the extraordinary depth of his ability. Read particularly the works where he drew upon his experiences as a seaman, like Ile, and his unique one-act Hughie.

George Bernard Shaw’s Plays

Major Barbara