Actor Mark Margolis, Remembered as Tribeca Neighbor and Friend, Was 83

Actor Mark Margolis outside PS 234. He lived with his wife Jacqueline in Tribeca since 1975. Photo: Milo Hess

Mark Margolis, the prolific actor who lived in Tribeca’s Independence Plaza since it opened in 1975, died on Aug. 4 at the age of 83.

With more than 160 movie and tv credits, Margolis was perhaps best known for his role opposite Al Pacino in “Scarface” and as the former drug lord Hector Salamanca in the 5-season run of “Breaking Bad,” which earned him an Emmy nomination.

Margolis is survived by his wife of 61 years, Jacqueline Margolis, a son, brother, and three grandchildren.

On a personal note, photographer Milo Hess sent the Trib this remembrance of his neighbor and friend.

He was my friend. You know the face. You have seen him in countless films and tv shows. We couldn’t walk down a street in Tribeca without a fan asking him for a photo. Always gracious… I never saw him say no. He seemed to enjoy engaging with people who were clearly fans of his work.

He was my neighbor who lived a few floors above us. We would talk in the lobby, talk on a bench on Greenwich Street. Talk about politics, about new restaurants, talk about life. He was funny with a wicked sense of humor. As a New Yorker, he would also talk about how much he loved New Mexico where he filmed often. 

He would tell or text me how much he liked my photography. I invited him a few years ago to a gallery show I was in at a large gallery in FiDi. Never thought he would go. He was there that night. 

With his wife Jackie and my partner Elle, we would go to restaurants. The look on waiters faces and patrons was priceless. 

He was an actor’s actor. He was real. He was my friend Mark Margolis. He will be sorely missed.