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.
Acted in
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
2004
as (archive footage)
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
Lucky Luke
1992
as Axel Ericson
Suburban Commando
1991
as Col. Dustin 'Dusty' McHowell
Home Improvement
1991
as Hick Peterson
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
Paradise
1988
as Skragg
Once Upon a Texas Train
1988
as Jason Fitch
I Am Not a Freak
1987
as Self
J.J. Starbuck
1987
Hawken's Breed
1987
as Tackett
Louis L'Amour's Down the Long Hills
1986
as Squires
Easy Street
1986
The Aurora Encounter
1986
as Charlie
Detective in the House
1985
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
Simon & Simon
1981
Father Murphy
1981
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
Struck by Lightning
1979
as Frank
The Villain
1979
as Avery Simpson
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again
1979
as Big Mac
The Sacketts
1979
as Ira Bigelow
The Norseman
1978
as Death Dreamer
Hot Lead & Cold Feet
1978
as Rattlesnake
Lacy and the Mississippi Queen
1978
as Willie Red Fire
Black Beauty
1978
as Jonas McBride
Grayeagle
1977
as Trapper Willis
Eight Is Enough
1977
Grizzly Adams
1977
How the West Was Won
1977
as Cully Madigan
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
Huckleberry Finn
1975
as King
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
Kung Fu
1972
as Marcus Taylor
The Brian Keith Show
1972
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
Nichols
1971
as Marcus A.F. Baxter
Cat Ballou
1971
as Kid Sheleen
Support Your Local Gunfighter
1971
as Jug May
Alias Smith and Jones
1971
The Wild Country
1970
as Thompson
Plimpton! Shoot-Out at Rio Lobo
1970
as Self
Dirty Dingus Magee
1970
as John Wesley Hardin
Rio Lobo
1970
as Phillips
The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County
1970
as Kittrick
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
Lancer
1968
The Outcasts
1968
Never a Dull Moment
1968
as Ace Williams
Firecreek
1968
as Norman
The Last Challenge
1967
as Ernest Scarnes
The High Chaparral
1967
as Macklin
Hondo
1967
The Guns of Will Sonnett
1967
Cimarron Strip
1967
The Way West
1967
as Preacher Weatherby
Tarzan
1966
The Night of the Grizzly
1966
as Hank
The Rare Breed
1966
as Deke Simons
F Troop
1965
The Legend of Jesse James
1965
as Deacon Smith
Daniel Boone
1964
as Petch
4 for Texas
1963
as Dobie
Temple Houston
1963
as George Taggart
The Dakotas
1963
The Virginian
1962
as Harve Yost
Pocketful of Miracles
1961
as Cheesecake
The Comancheros
1961
as Horseface (Comanchero)
Ben Casey
1961
Target: The Corruptors!
1961
The Last Sunset
1961
as Ed Hobbs
Outlaws
1960
National Velvet
1960
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
Mr. Lucky
1959
The Untouchables
1959
as Jug Alverson
The Untouchables
1959
as Nick Bravo
The Rebel
1959
as Uncle Luce
The Twilight Zone
1959
as Avery
Bonanza
1959
as Dodie Hoad
Bonanza
1959
as Honest John
Bonanza
1959
as Buford Buckalew
Tightrope
1959
Rawhide
1959
as Turkey Creek Jack Johnson
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
Lawman
1958
Lawman
1958
as Herm Forrest
The Rifleman
1958
The Texan
1958
The Texan
1958
as Luke Watson
Bronco
1958
The Gun Runners
1958
as Arnold
Baby Face Nelson
1957
as Fatso Nagel
Zorro
1957
as Gomez (uncredited)
The Restless Gun
1957
as Tony Molinor
M Squad
1957
as Luke Morgan
Sugarfoot
1957
as Toothy Thompson
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
as Arnold Shaffner
Dragoon Wells Massacre
1957
as Tioga
Night Passage
1957
as Shotgun
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
1957
as Danny Boy
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
1957
as Perk Butler
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
1957
as Tom McLowery
Lure of the Swamp
1957
as Henry Bliss
Tales of Wells Fargo
1957
as Chris
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as Hock Ellis
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as Little Jimmy Lehigh
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as Stage Driver Cass
Thunder Over Arizona
1956
as Slats Callahan
Pardners
1956
as Pete
Jubal
1956
as McCoy
The Silent Partner
1955
as Shanks
Artists and Models
1955
as Ivan
Kismet
1955
as Hasan-Ben
Screen Director's Playhouse
1955
as Shanks
Frontier
1955
Cheyenne
1955
Cheyenne
1955
as Calhoun Durango
Gunsmoke
1955
as Dolph Quince
Gunsmoke
1955
as Steed
Gunsmoke
1955
as Clint Dodie
Gunsmoke
1955
as Ben
Gunsmoke
1955
as Hector
Gunsmoke
1955
as Specter
Gunsmoke
1955
as Sam Band
Gunsmoke
1955
as Del Ordman
Gunsmoke
1955
as Jim Barrett
Gunsmoke
1955
as William Prange
Gunsmoke
1955
as Lucas Murdoch
Gunsmoke
1955
as Titus Spangler
Gunsmoke
1955
as Pierre Audubon
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
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
as Sheriff
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
Mr. & Mrs. North
1952
The Ring
1952
as Harry Jackson
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Vic
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
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Lee Dineen
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Halleck
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 Gangster
The Sundowners
1950
as Earl Boyce
Key to the City
1950
as Councilman (uncredited)
The Lone Ranger
1949
as Reno Lawrence
Wild Weed
1949
as Raymond - Henchman