Jack Elam's photo

Jack Elam

Born: 1920-11-13 in Miami, Gila, Arizona, USA

Died: 2003-10-20

Known For: Acting

Biography

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

1997

Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western as Self

1995

Bonanza: Under Attack as Buckshot

1993

Bonanza: The Return as Buckshot
Uninvited as Grady

1992

Lucky Luke as Axel Ericson
Shadow Force as Tommy

1991

Home Improvement as Hick Peterson
Suburban Commando as Col. Dustin 'Dusty' McHowell

1990

Big Bad John as Jake Calhoun
The Giant of Thunder Mountain as Hezekiah Crow

1988

Paradise as Skragg
Once Upon a Texas Train as Jason Fitch
Where the Hell's That Gold?!!? as Boone

1987

1986

Easy Street
The Aurora Encounter as Charlie
Louis L'Amour's Down the Long Hills as Squires

1985

Detective in the House

1984

Cannonball Run II as Doc
Scrooge's Rock 'N' Roll Christmas as Scrooge

1983

Sacred Ground as Lum Witcher
Lost as Mr. Newsom

1982

Jinxed! as Otto

1981

Simon & Simon
The Cannonball Run as Doctor
Father Murphy
Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. as Troscliar Boudreaux
Skyward Christmas as Clay Haller
The Girl, the Gold Watch & Dynamite as Seth Beaumont

1979

$weepstake$
The Sacketts as Ira Bigelow
The Villain as Avery Simpson
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again as Big Mac
Struck by Lightning as Frank

1978

Black Beauty as Jonas McBride
Hot Lead & Cold Feet as Rattlesnake
The Norseman as Death Dreamer
Lacy and the Mississippi Queen as Willie Red Fire
Huckleberry Finn as King

1977

Eight Is Enough
How the West Was Won as Cully Madigan
Grizzly Adams as Gus
Grayeagle as Trapper Willis

1976

Hawmps! as Bad Jack Cutter
The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe as Bitterroot
Pony Express Rider as Crazy Charlie
The Winds of Autumn as J. Pete Hankins
Creature from Black Lake as Joe Canton

1974

Sidekicks as Boss
A Knife for the Ladies as Jarrod (Sheriff)
Shootout in a One-Dog Town as Handy

1973

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid as Alamosa Bill Kermit
The Red Pony as Granddad

1972

The Brian Keith Show
Kung Fu as Marcus Taylor
The Daughters of Joshua Cabe as Bitterroot
The Last Escape of Billy the Kid as Pat Garrett

1971

Alias Smith and Jones
Nichols as Marcus A.F. Baxter
Hannie Caulder as Frank Clemens
Support Your Local Gunfighter as Jug May
The Last Rebel as Matt
Cat Ballou as Kid Sheleen

1970

Rio Lobo as Phillips
Dirty Dingus Magee as John Wesley Hardin
The Wild Country as Thompson
The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County as Kittrick
Plimpton! Shoot-Out at Rio Lobo as Self

1969

Support Your Local Sheriff! as Jake
The Over the Hill Gang as Sheriff Clyde Barnes
Ride a Northbound Horse as Sheriff

1968

Once Upon a Time in the West as Frank's Gunman
Lancer
The Outcasts
Firecreek as Norman
Sartana Does Not Forgive as Slim Kovacs
Never a Dull Moment as Ace Williams

1967

The High Chaparral as Macklin
The Guns of Will Sonnett as Sam - Sheriff
Cimarron Strip
Hondo
The Way West as Preacher Weatherby
The Last Challenge as Ernest Scarnes

1966

Tarzan
The Rare Breed as Deke Simons
The Night of the Grizzly as Hank

1965

The Wild Wild West as Zack Slade
F Troop
The Legend of Jesse James as Deacon Smith

1964

Daniel Boone as Petch

1963

The Dakotas as Deputy J.D. Smith
Temple Houston as George Taggart
4 for Texas as Dobie

1962

The Virginian as Harve Yost

1961

Ben Casey
Target: The Corruptors!
The Comancheros as Horseface (Comanchero)
Gunslinger as Clint Gannet
Pocketful of Miracles as Cheesecake
The Last Sunset as Ed Hobbs

1960

Outlaws
Stagecoach West as Clell
National Velvet as Black Barr
The Slowest Gun in the West as Ike Dalton
The Girl in Lovers Lane as Jesse

1959

Bonanza as Dodie Hoad
The Twilight Zone as Avery
The Untouchables as Jug Alverson
Rawhide as Turkey Creek Jack Johnson
The Rebel as Uncle Luce
Laramie as Parson Hawks
Mr. Lucky as Phil Bricker
Tightrope
Edge of Eternity as Bill Ward

1958

1957

Have Gun, Will Travel
Zorro as Gomez (uncredited)
Richard Diamond, Private Detective as Danny Boy
Sugarfoot as Toothy Thompson
Tales of Wells Fargo as Chris
M Squad as Luke Morgan
The Restless Gun as Tony Molinor
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral as Tom McLowery
Night Passage as Shotgun
Baby Face Nelson as Fatso Nagel
Dragoon Wells Massacre as Tioga
Lure of the Swamp as Henry Bliss

1956

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre as Hock Ellis
Jubal as McCoy
Pardners as Pete
Thunder Over Arizona as Slats Callahan

1955

Cheyenne
Gunsmoke as Dolph Quince
Screen Director's Playhouse as Shanks
Frontier as Ness Fowler
Kiss Me Deadly as Charlie Max
Artists and Models as Ivan
The Man from Laramie as Chris Boldt
Wichita as Al
Moonfleet as Damen
Man Without a Star as Knife Murderer (uncredited)
Kismet as Hasan-Ben
Tarzan's Hidden Jungle as Burger

1954

Studio 57
The Wonderful World of Disney as Sheriff
Vera Cruz as Tex
The Far Country as Frank Newberry
Cattle Queen of Montana as Yost
Ride Clear of Diablo as Tim Lowerie
Princess of the Nile as Basra
Jubilee Trail as Whitey

1953

Ride, Vaquero! as Barton
Gun Belt as Rusty Kolloway
Appointment in Honduras as Castro
The Moonlighter as Slim
Count the Hours! as Max Verne

1952

Four Star Playhouse as Vic
High Noon as Charlie - Drunk in Jail (uncredited)
Mr. & Mrs. North
The Battle at Apache Pass as Mescal Jack
Kansas City Confidential as Pete Harris
Rancho Notorious as Mort Geary
Finders Keepers as Eddie
My Man and I as Celestino Garcia
Lure of the Wilderness as Dave Longden
Montana Territory as Gimp
The Ring as Harry Jackson

1951

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Lee Dineen
Rawhide as Tevis
Bird of Paradise as The Trader
The Bushwhackers as Cree

1950

The Sundowners as Earl Boyce
High Lonesome as Smiling Man
American Guerrilla in the Philippines as The Speaker
One Way Street as Arnie (uncredited)
A Ticket to Tomahawk as Fargo
Key to the City as Councilman (uncredited)

1949

The Lone Ranger as Reno Lawrence
Wild Weed as Raymond - Henchman