Oscars: Eli Wallach says wife is 'richest thing' in his life [Video]

We'll admit, we're slightly obsessed with Eli Wallach, the legendary 95-year-old actor who was honored at the academy's Governors Awards last fall.

Why? On the red carpet, he couldn't stop gushing about his lovely wife, Anne Jackson, and his daughter, who were accompanying him to Sunday's telecast.

"I have these girls, and this woman, and that's the richest thing I own," he said, beaming.

Plus, he's a character. When we commented on the fact that life was imitating art as he won the award because his character in "The Holiday" also received a lifetime achievement prize, he smiled, nodding, "Yes, with Kate Winslet."

And would his "Holiday" costar be in attendance at the Oscars, we asked?

"No," he said, shaking his head. "She got divorced."

"She's working, I think," his daughter quickly interjected.

RELATED:

Red carpet photos

Oscar scorecard

Complete coverage: The Oscars

-- Amy Kaufman

Twitter.com/AmyKinLA

Comments

[HL Payne]

Just a long overdue Thanks to Eli for the many hours of enjoyment he has given me. I too am an older man who picks what movies I will watch or flip on by according to who is in the movie, not what it is about.
I try to never miss one with Eli, Morgan, Tommy Lee, Robert , and Meryl.
Not a bad group eh? Okie from here.

[Cara]

OMG, yes! My top favs were the floaty angelic white and the statuesque molten blue. I don't know if it is possible to sit down in the blue, but what an eye-opener!! That one made me literally drop the control. I hope it's coming to a JCPenny or H&M near me soon, lol.

Thanks to some pots of coffee and my love for The King's Speech, I did stay awake - but as we discovered, when the Oscars go bad, they go very, verrrry bad.

So bad, I was inspired to check out the "Oscars" YouTube channel hoping to heal my wounds from Sunday night's broadcast. It helped. And you know what? Hugh Jackman's opening number really was awesome - totally sincere, relevant, entertaining, and - may I add - got a standing ovation from the audience! Now Hathaway and Hugh Jackman co-hosting . . . that might have worked. What do you think?

Eli Wallach, I still luv ya!

[DebbiePerrini]

I agree completely.
This show was so boring--like an SNL
host who isn't funny,this show needed
a comedian's sharp wit and quick timing
to keep things moving along.
Instead it was slow,awkward,and sleep-
inducing(I fell asleep three times!)
The only highlight was Ann Hathaway's
stunning carousel of gorgeous gowns.

[Cara]

As a twenty-something, I was really looking forward to Eli Wallach's acceptance speech. It's a real shame that he didn't get any speaking time during the show last night. He was there and he deserved a moment on the big night more than a hologram Bob Hope. And some clips too, thank-you very-much! I think Eli's performance in The Holiday was inspirational - and made fans of a whole new audience (including me). And you'd be a dummy not to consider that his films are regularly being shown on TCM.

On a side note, It's a pity the Academy didn't realize how cheap they were making this year's show - gotta be the worst ever. In a year of awesome award shows, I'm afraid this one damaged the whole Oscar Night concept for me.

Clearly the Academy doesn't have as good a recipe as they thought. It's plain arrogant that they chose to go without a professional host/co-host this year. Why not Jimmy Fallon? Or Billy, Hugh, or Steve? Give someone a chance to grow into the role already.

And Eli Wallach not getting his due, well, It was just another really, really bad call.

If you haven't seen The Magnificent Seven, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Baby Doll, or The Holiday (as I suspect the LA Times interviewer hasn't) have a festival! You won't regret it : )

Thanks for the clip LA Times!