Jack Elam
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 (186 titles)
7.0MovieBig Guns Talk: The Story of the Western
Self · 1997
6.7MovieBonanza: Under Attack
Buckshot · 1995
6.5MovieBonanza: The Return
Buckshot · 1993
4.4MovieUninvited
Grady · 1993
7.0MovieShadow Force
Tommy · 1992
5.9ShowLucky Luke
Axel Ericson · 1992
4.7MovieSuburban Commando
Col. Dustin 'Dusty' McHowell · 1991
7.4ShowHome Improvement
Hick Peterson · 1991
6.4MovieThe Giant of Thunder Mountain
Hezekiah Crow · 1990
5.0MovieBig Bad John
Jake Calhoun · 1990
4.6MovieWhere the Hell's That Gold?!!?
Boone · 1988
6.0ShowParadise
Skragg · 1988
5.2MovieOnce Upon a Texas Train
Jason Fitch · 1988
7.5MovieI Am Not a Freak
Self · 1987
6.0ShowJ.J. Starbuck
1987
4.0MovieHawken's Breed
Tackett · 1987
6.6MovieLouis L'Amour's Down the Long Hills
Squires · 1986
6.8ShowEasy Street
1986
5.0MovieThe Aurora Encounter
Charlie · 1986
Detective in the House
1985
8.0MovieScrooge's Rock 'N' Roll Christmas
Scrooge · 1984
5.4MovieCannonball Run II
Doc · 1984
5.1MovieLost
Mr. Newsom · 1983
6.5MovieSacred Ground
Lum Witcher · 1983
4.6MovieJinxed!
Otto · 1982
9.0MovieSkyward Christmas
Clay Haller · 1981
6.7ShowSimon & Simon
1981
8.1ShowFather Murphy
1981
5.1MovieSoggy Bottom, U.S.A.
Troscliar Boudreaux · 1981
6.2MovieThe Cannonball Run
Doctor · 1981