Jack Elam
(1916 - 2003)He had a leer and a scowl that seemed etched into his rugged, weather-beaten face. His eye, which had been blinded as a child, looked off in another direction making him look even more menacing but perfect for his career as a villain in movies...mostly in westerns. He was born in Miami, Arizona on November 13, 1916. As a child he worked in the cotton fields. He attended Santa Monica (California) Junior College. Unlike many of his fellow actors, he began a career in accounting as a motion picture auditor and tax consultant to Sam Goldwyn. He also managed the Bel-Air Hotel for a time. Noticing the paychecks of many actors, he decided this might be for him. Promising to procure funding for a film in exchange for a film role led to his first job thus beginning a long acting career in films and TV. His over 100 film credits include: "She Shoulda Said No" (1949) as Raymond, an anti-marijuana film and his film debut; "Trailin' West" (1949) as The Killer; "One Way Street" (1950) uncredited, as Arnie; "A Ticket to Tomahawk" (1950) uncredited, as Fargo; "The Sundowners" (1950) with Robert Mitchum, as Earl Boyce; "American Guerrilla in the Phillipines" (1950) as The Speaker; "High Lonesome" (1950) as Smiling Man aka Bob Jessup; "Rawhide" (1951) as Tevis; "Bird of Paradise" (1951) as The Trader; "Finders Keepers" (1951) as Eddie; "Rancho Notorious" (1952) as Mort Geary; "Battle at Apache Pass" (1952) as Mescal Jack; "Montana Territory" (1952) as Gimp; "High Noon" (1952) uncredited, as Charlie, a Drunkard; "Lure of the Wilderness" (1952) as Dave Longden; "Kansas City Confidential" (1952) as Pete Harris; "The Ring" (1952) as Harry Jackson; "My Man and I" (1952) as Celestino Garcia; "The Bushwackers" (1952) as Cree, First Henchman; "Count the Hours" (1953) as Max Verne; "Ride, Vaquero!" (1953) as Barton; "Gun Belt" (1953) as Rusty Kolloway; "The Moonlighter" (1953) as Strawboss; "Appointment in Honduras" (1954) as Castro; "Jubilee Trail" (1954) as Hale Gunman; "Princess of the Nile" (1954) as Basra; "Ride Clear of Diablo" (1954) as Tim Lowerie; "Cattle Queen of Montana" (1954) as Yost; "The Far Country" (1954) as Newberry; "Vera Cruz" (1954) as Tex; "Kiss Me Deadly" (1955) as Charlie Max; "Moonfleet" (1955) as Damen; "Kismet" (1955) as Hassan-Ben; "Wichita" (1955) as Al Mann; "The Man from Laramie" (1955) as Chris Boldt; "Kismet" (1955) as Hassan-Ben; "Tarzan's Hidden Jungle" (1955) as Burger; "Artists and Models" (1955) as Ivan; "Moonfleet" (1955) as Damen; "Jubal" (1956) as McCoy, Bar 8 Rider; "Pardners" (1956) with Martin & Lewis, as Pete; "Thunder Over Arizona" (1956) as Deputy Slats Callahan; "Dragoon Wells Massacre" (1957) as Tioga; "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" (1957) as Tom McLowery; "Lure of the Swamp" (1957) as Henry Bliss; "Baby Face Nelson" (1957) as Fatso Nagel; "The Gun Runners" (1958) as Arnold; "Edge of Eternity" (1959) as Bill Ward; "The Girl in Lovers Lane" (1959) as Jesse; "The Last Sunset" (1961) as Ed Hobbs; "The Comancheros" (1961) as Horseface; "Pocketful of Miracles" (1961) with Bette Davis, as Cheesecake; "4 for Texas" (1963) a Dobie; "The Rare Breed" (1966) as Deke Simmons; "The Night of the Grizzly" (1966) as Hank; "The Way West" (1967) as Preacher Weatherby; "The Last Challenge" (1967) as Ernest Scarnes; "Never a Dull Moment" (1968) as Ace Williams; "Firecreek" (1968) as Earl Norman; "Support Your Local Sheriff!" (1969) as Deputy Jake; Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time in the West" (1969) as Knuckles; "Sonora" (1969) as Slim Kovacs; "The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County" (1970) as Kittrick; "Rio Lobo" (1970) as Phillips; "The Last Rebel" (1970) as Matt Graves; "Dirty Dingus Magee" (1970) as John Wesley Hardin; "The Wild Country" (1971) as Thompson; "Support Your Local Gunfighter" (1971) as Jug May/Swifty Morgan; "Hannie Caulder" (1971) as Frank Clemens; "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" (1973) as Alamosa Bill; "A Knife for the Ladies" (1974) as Jarrod, the Sheriff; "Hawmps!" (1976) as Bad Jack Cutter; "Pony Express Rider" (1976) as Crazy; "The Creature from Black Lake" (1976) as Joe Canton; "Grayeagle" (1978) as Trapper Willis; "The Norseman" (1978) as Death Dreamer; "Hot Lead and Cold Feet" (1978) as Rattlesnake; "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again" (1979) as Big Mack; "The Villain" (1979) with Kirk Douglas, as Avery Simpson; "The Cannonball Run" (1981) as the Doctor, Nikolas Van Helsing; "Jinxed!" (1982) as Otto; "Sacred Ground" (1983) as Lum Witcher; "Cannonball Run II" (1984) as The Doc; "The Aurora Encounter" (1986) as Charlie; "Big Bad John" (1990) as Jake; "Suburban Commando" (1991) as Col. Dustin 'Dusty' McHowell; "The Giant of Thunder Mountain" (1991) as Hezekiah Crow; "Uninvited" (1993) as Grady and "Shadow Force" (1993) as Tommy. On TV he was just as prolific appearing as a regular on "The Dakotas" (1963) as Deputy J. D. Smith; "Temple Houston" (1963-64) as George Taggart; "The Texas Wheelers" (1974-75) as Zack Wheeler; "Struck By Lightning" (1979) as Frank; "Detective in the House" (1985) as Nick Turner; "Easy Street" (1986) as "Bully" Stevenson and a recurring role on "Cheyenne" (1955-63); "Bronco" (1959-60) and "Sugarfoot" (1957-60) as "Toothy" Thompson. He also guested on numerous TV series including: "The Restless Gun"; "Frontier"; "Zorro": "Gunsmoke"; "The Untouchables"; "Mr. Lucky"; "Twilight Zone"; "Eight is Enough" and "Home Improvment." His age has always been questionable as he was said to have added four years in order to obtain work. He was married twice. He married his first wife in 1937 and they had two children: a daughter Jeri and a son Scott; she died in 1960 and he remarried again in 1961. He and second wife, Margaret Jennison had a daughter, Jacqueline. He died on October 20, 2003 of congestive heart failure at his home in Ashland, Oregon at age 86.
From Great Character Actors, Page 3.
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