Jack Elam
Acting
Born November 13, 1920 · Miami, Gila, Arizona, USA
Colorful American character actor equally adept at vicious killers or grizzled sidekicks. As a child he worked in the cotton fields. He attended Santa Monica Junior College in California and subsequently became an accountant and, at one time, manager of the Bel Air Hotel. Elam got his first movie job by trading his accounting services for a role. In short time he became one of the most memorable supporting players in Hollywood, thanks not only to his near-demented screen persona but also to an out-of-kilter left eye, sightless from a childhood fight. He appeared with great aplomb in Westerns and gangster films alike, and in later years played to wonderful effect in comedic roles.
Films (116)
Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western
1997
Bonanza: Under Attack
1995
Bonanza: The Return
1993
Uninvited
1993
Shadow Force
1992
Suburban Commando
1991
The Giant of Thunder Mountain
1990
Big Bad John
1990
Where the Hell's That Gold?!!?
1988
Once Upon a Texas Train
1988
I Am Not a Freak
1987
Hawken's Breed
1987
Louis L'Amour's Down the Long Hills
1986
The Aurora Encounter
1986
Scrooge's Rock 'N' Roll Christmas
1984
Cannonball Run II
1984
Lost
1983
Sacred Ground
1983
Jinxed!
1982
Skyward Christmas
1981
Soggy Bottom, U.S.A.
1981
The Cannonball Run
1981
The Girl, the Gold Watch & Dynamite
1981
The Villain
1979
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again
1979
The Norseman
1978
Hot Lead & Cold Feet
1978
Lacy and the Mississippi Queen
1978
Huckleberry Finn
1978
Grayeagle
1977
Pony Express Rider
1976
The Winds of Autumn
1976
The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe
1976
Hawmps!
1976
Creature from Black Lake
1976
A Knife for the Ladies
1974
Sidekicks
1974
Shootout in a One-Dog Town
1974
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
1973
The Red Pony
1973
The Daughters of Joshua Cabe
1972
The Last Escape of Billy the Kid
1972
Hannie Caulder
1971
The Last Rebel
1971
Cat Ballou
1971
Support Your Local Gunfighter
1971
The Wild Country
1970
Plimpton! Shoot-Out at Rio Lobo
1970
Dirty Dingus Magee
1970
Rio Lobo
1970
The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County
1970
The Over the Hill Gang
1969
Support Your Local Sheriff!
1969
Ride a Northbound Horse
1969
Once Upon a Time in the West
1968
Sartana Does Not Forgive
1968
Never a Dull Moment
1968
Firecreek
1968
The Last Challenge
1967
The Way West
1967
The Night of the Grizzly
1966
The Rare Breed
1966
4 for Texas
1963
Pocketful of Miracles
1961
The Comancheros
1961
The Last Sunset
1961
The Girl in Lovers Lane
1960
The Slowest Gun in the West
1960
Edge of Eternity
1959
The Gun Runners
1958
Baby Face Nelson
1957
Dragoon Wells Massacre
1957
Night Passage
1957
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
1957
Lure of the Swamp
1957
Thunder Over Arizona
1956
Pardners
1956
Jubal
1956
Artists and Models
1955
Kismet
1955
The Man from Laramie
1955
Wichita
1955
Moonfleet
1955
Kiss Me Deadly
1955
Man Without a Star
1955
Tarzan's Hidden Jungle
1955
Vera Cruz
1954
Cattle Queen of Montana
1954
Princess of the Nile
1954
Jubilee Trail
1954
The Far Country
1954
Ride Clear of Diablo
1954
Appointment in Honduras
1953
The Moonlighter
1953
Gun Belt
1953
Ride, Vaquero!
1953
Count the Hours!
1953
Kansas City Confidential
1952
The Ring
1952
My Man and I
1952
Lure of the Wilderness
1952
High Noon
1952
Montana Territory
1952
The Battle at Apache Pass
1952
Rancho Notorious
1952
Finders Keepers
1952
The Bushwhackers
1951
Rawhide
1951
Bird of Paradise
1951
American Guerrilla in the Philippines
1950
High Lonesome
1950
A Ticket to Tomahawk
1950
One Way Street
1950
The Sundowners
1950
Key to the City
1950
Wild Weed
1949