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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.
17
Films
6.8
Avg Score
Filmography (17)
Suburban Commando
46
as Col. Dustin 'Dusty' McHowell
Cannonball Run II
51
as Doc
The Cannonball Run
62
as Doctor
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
72
as Alamosa Bill Kermit
Hannie Caulder
64
as Frank Clemens
Rio Lobo
67
as Phillips
Support Your Local Sheriff!
74
as Jake
Once Upon a Time in the West
85
as Frank's Gunman
The Way West
62
as Preacher Weatherby
Pocketful of Miracles
71
as Cheesecake
The Comancheros
68
as Horseface (Comanchero)
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
71
as Tom McLowery
Jubal
71
as McCoy
Kiss Me Deadly
75
as Charlie Max
Wichita
69
as Al
High Noon
79
as Charlie - Drunk in Jail (uncredited)
Rancho Notorious
68
as Mort Geary