Jack Elam
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- November 13, 1920
- Died
- October 20, 2003
- Birthplace
- 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.
Filmography
Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western 1997
as Self
Bonanza: Under Attack 1995
as Buckshot
Bonanza: The Return 1993
as Buckshot
Uninvited 1993
as Grady
Shadow Force 1992
as Tommy
Suburban Commando 1991
as Col. Dustin 'Dusty' McHowell
The Giant of Thunder Mountain 1990
as Hezekiah Crow
Big Bad John 1990
as Jake Calhoun
Where the Hell's That Gold?!!? 1988
as Boone
Once Upon a Texas Train 1988
as Jason Fitch
I Am Not a Freak 1987
as Self
Hawken's Breed 1987
as Tackett
Louis L'Amour's Down the Long Hills 1986
as Squires
The Aurora Encounter 1986
as Charlie
Scrooge's Rock 'N' Roll Christmas 1984
as Scrooge
Cannonball Run II 1984
as Doc
Lost 1983
as Mr. Newsom
Sacred Ground 1983
as Lum Witcher
Jinxed! 1982
as Otto
Skyward Christmas 1981
as Clay Haller
Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. 1981
as Troscliar Boudreaux
The Cannonball Run 1981
as Doctor
The Girl, the Gold Watch & Dynamite 1981
as Seth Beaumont
The Villain 1979
as Avery Simpson
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again 1979
as Big Mac
The Norseman 1978
as Death Dreamer
Hot Lead & Cold Feet 1978
as Rattlesnake
Lacy and the Mississippi Queen 1978
as Willie Red Fire
Huckleberry Finn 1978
as King
Grayeagle 1977
as Trapper Willis
Pony Express Rider 1976
as Crazy Charlie
The Winds of Autumn 1976
as J. Pete Hankins
The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe 1976
as Bitterroot
Hawmps! 1976
as Bad Jack Cutter
Creature from Black Lake 1976
as Joe Canton
A Knife for the Ladies 1974
as Jarrod (Sheriff)
Sidekicks 1974
as Boss
Shootout in a One-Dog Town 1974
as Handy
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid 1973
as Alamosa Bill Kermit
The Red Pony 1973
as Granddad
The Daughters of Joshua Cabe 1972
as Bitterroot
The Last Escape of Billy the Kid 1972
as Pat Garrett
Hannie Caulder 1971
as Frank Clemens
The Last Rebel 1971
as Matt
Cat Ballou 1971
as Kid Sheleen
Support Your Local Gunfighter 1971
as Jug May
The Wild Country 1970
as Thompson
Plimpton! Shoot-Out at Rio Lobo 1970
as Self
Dirty Dingus Magee 1970
as John Wesley Hardin
The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County 1970
as Kittrick
Rio Lobo 1970
as Phillips
The Over the Hill Gang 1969
as Sheriff Clyde Barnes
Support Your Local Sheriff! 1969
as Jake
Ride a Northbound Horse 1969
as Sheriff
Once Upon a Time in the West 1968
as Frank's Gunman
Sartana Does Not Forgive 1968
as Slim Kovacs
Never a Dull Moment 1968
as Ace Williams
Firecreek 1968
as Norman
The Last Challenge 1967
as Ernest Scarnes
The Way West 1967
as Preacher Weatherby
The Night of the Grizzly 1966
as Hank
The Rare Breed 1966
as Deke Simons
4 for Texas 1963
as Dobie
Pocketful of Miracles 1961
as Cheesecake
The Comancheros 1961
as Horseface (Comanchero)
The Last Sunset 1961
as Ed Hobbs
The Girl in Lovers Lane 1960
as Jesse
The Slowest Gun in the West 1960
as Ike Dalton
Edge of Eternity 1959
as Bill Ward
The Gun Runners 1958
as Arnold
Baby Face Nelson 1957
as Fatso Nagel
Dragoon Wells Massacre 1957
as Tioga
Night Passage 1957
as Shotgun
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral 1957
as Tom McLowery
Lure of the Swamp 1957
as Henry Bliss
Thunder Over Arizona 1956
as Slats Callahan
Pardners 1956
as Pete
Jubal 1956
as McCoy
Artists and Models 1955
as Ivan
Kismet 1955
as Hasan-Ben
The Man from Laramie 1955
as Chris Boldt
Wichita 1955
as Al
Moonfleet 1955
as Damen
Kiss Me Deadly 1955
as Charlie Max
Man Without a Star 1955
as Knife Murderer (uncredited)
Tarzan's Hidden Jungle 1955
as Burger
Vera Cruz 1954
as Tex
Cattle Queen of Montana 1954
as Yost
Princess of the Nile 1954
as Basra
Jubilee Trail 1954
as Whitey
The Far Country 1954
as Frank Newberry
Ride Clear of Diablo 1954
as Tim Lowerie
Appointment in Honduras 1953
as Castro
The Moonlighter 1953
as Slim
Gun Belt 1953
as Rusty Kolloway
Ride, Vaquero! 1953
as Barton
Count the Hours! 1953
as Max Verne
Kansas City Confidential 1952
as Pete Harris
The Ring 1952
as Harry Jackson
My Man and I 1952
as Celestino Garcia
Lure of the Wilderness 1952
as Dave Longden
High Noon 1952
as Charlie - Drunk in Jail (uncredited)
Montana Territory 1952
as Gimp
The Battle at Apache Pass 1952
as Mescal Jack
Rancho Notorious 1952
as Mort Geary
Finders Keepers 1952
as Eddie
The Bushwhackers 1951
as Cree
Rawhide 1951
as Tevis
Bird of Paradise 1951
as The Trader
American Guerrilla in the Philippines 1950
as The Speaker
High Lonesome 1950
as Smiling Man
A Ticket to Tomahawk 1950
as Fargo
One Way Street 1950
as Arnie (uncredited)
Key to the City 1950
as Councilman (uncredited)
The Sundowners 1950
as Earl Boyce
Wild Weed 1949
as Raymond - Henchman
Mystery Range 1947
as Burvel Lambert
Credits from TMDB.