Jack Elam
Acting · Born 1920-11-13 · age 82 at death · 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.
Titles
Once Upon a Time in the West
High Noon
The Twilight Zone
Home Improvement
The Cannonball Run
Bonanza
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
Kiss Me Deadly
Bonanza: The Return
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Cannonball Run II
Rio Lobo
Vera Cruz
The Man from Laramie
Kung Fu
The Comancheros
Support Your Local Sheriff!
Zorro
Suburban Commando
Pocketful of Miracles
The Far Country
The Villain
Kansas City Confidential
Artists and Models
Hannie Caulder
The Untouchables
Moonfleet
Rancho Notorious
Man Without a Star
Gunsmoke
The Way West
The Last Sunset
Simon & Simon
Support Your Local Gunfighter
Jubal
The Wild Wild West
Night Passage
Firecreek
The Rare Breed
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again
Pardners
Rawhide
4 for Texas
Wichita
The Rifleman
Rawhide
Have Gun, Will Travel
Eight Is Enough
Hot Lead & Cold Feet
The Lone Ranger
The Wonderful World of Disney
The Virginian
Ride Clear of Diablo
Daniel Boone
How the West Was Won
Edge of Eternity
Alias Smith and Jones
The Night of the Grizzly
F Troop
The Last Challenge