‘Breaking Bad’ actor Mark Margolis passes away at 83

Mark Margolis, who played the sinister, wheelchair-bound cartel don Hector Salamanca in acclaimed TV shows Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, has died aged 83.

Mark Margolis, who played the sinister, wheelchair-bound cartel don Hector Salamanca in acclaimed TV shows Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, has died aged 83, his family said Friday.

Margolis died Thursday at a New York hospital following a short illness, with his wife and son at his bedside, according to a statement.

Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston led the tributes, writing on Instagram: "I am very saddened today to learn of a friend's passing.

"Mark Margolis was a really good actor and a lovely human being. Fun and engaging off the set, and [in the case of Breaking Bad and Your Honor] intimidating and frightening on set."

Bob Odenkirk, the star of spin-off series Better Call Saul, called Margolis a "powerful screen presence."

An official Breaking Bad social media account praised "the immensely talented Mark Margolis, who — with his eyes, a bell, and very few words — turned Hector Salamanca into one of the most unforgettable characters in the history of television."

In the show, Margolis's character — the patriarch of the drug-smuggling Salamanca family, who suffers a stroke after being poisoned by a rival — is only able to communicate by tapping a bell with his finger.