Jack Elam (1920–2003)

Actor | Soundtrack

Colorful American character actor equally adept at vicious killers or grizzled sidekicks. As a ...

Born: November 13, 1920
Died: October 20, 2003 (age 82)

Photos

Filmography

Known For

Once Upon a Time in the West Snaky - Member of Frank's Gang (1968)
The Cannonball Run Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing (1981)
Kiss Me Deadly Charlie Max (1955)
Known For

Support Your Local Sheriff! Jake (1969)
Actor

Lonesome Dove: The Series Curtis (1994-1995)
Bonanza: Under Attack Buckshot (1995)
Uninvited Grady (1993)
Bonanza: The Return Buckshot (1993)
Shadow Force Tommy (1992)
Lucky Luke Axel Ericson (1992)
Home Improvement Hick Peterson (1992)
Suburban Commando Col. Dustin 'Dusty' McHowell (1991)
The Giant of Thunder Mountain Hezekiah Crow (1990)
Big Bad John Jake Calhoun (1990)
Paradise Skragg (1989)
Webster Dusty (1985-1989)
Hawken's Breed Tackett (1988)
Where the Hell's That Gold?!!? Boone (1988)
J.J. Starbuck Esco Tokay (1988)
Once Upon a Texas Train Jason Fitch (1988)
Easy Street Uncle Alvin 'Bully' Stevenson (1986-1987)
Louis L'Amour's Down the Long Hills Squires (1986)
The Aurora Encounter Charlie (1986)
Simon & Simon Bud Krelman (1986)
Detective in the House Nick Turner (1985)
Scrooge's Rock 'N' Roll Christmas Scrooge (1984)
Cannonball Run II Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing (1984)
Sawyer and Finn Boot McGraw (1983)
Lost Mr. Newsome (1983)
Sacred Ground Lum Witcher (1983)
Jinxed! Otto (1982)
Father Murphy Eli McQuade (1981)
Skyward Christmas Clay Haller (1981)
Fantasy Island Kid Corey (1978-1981)
Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. Troscliar Boudreaux (1981)
Here's Boomer Captain O'Connell (1981)
The Cannonball Run Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing (1981)
The Girl, the Gold Watch & Dynamite Seth Beaumont (1981)
Eight Is Enough Joe Simons (1978-1980)
Struck by Lightning Frank (1979)
ABC Weekend Specials Sam (1977-1979)
The Villain Avery Simpson (1979)
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again Big Mac (1979)
The Sacketts Ira Bigelow (1979)
Sweepstakes (1979)
Will Rogers: Champion of the People (1978)
The Norseman Death Dreamer (1978)
Hot Lead and Cold Feet Rattlesnake (1978)
Lacy and the Mississippi Queen Willie Red Fire (1978)
The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams Gus (1978)
Black Beauty Jonas McBride (1978)
Grayeagle Trapper Willis (1977)
How the West Was Won Cully Madigan (1977)
Pony Express Rider Crazy Charlie (1976)
Phyllis Van Horn (1975-1976)
The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe Bitterroot (1976)
Hawmps! Bad Jack Cutter (1976)
Creature from Black Lake Joe Canton (1976)
The Winds of Autumn J. Pete Hankins (1976)
The Texas Wheelers Zack Wheeler (1974-1975)
Huckleberry Finn King (1975)
The Magical World of Disney Sheriff (1969-1975)
A Knife for the Ladies Jarrod (Sheriff) (1974)
Sidekicks Boss (1974)
The Brian Keith Show Tuttle (1974)
Shootout in a One Dog Town Handy (1974)
Kung Fu Marcus Taylor (1973)
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid Alamosa Bill (1973)
The Red Pony Granddad (1973)
The Last Escape of Billy the Kid Pat Garrett (1972)
Gunsmoke Pierre Audubon (1959-1972)
The Daughters of Joshua Cabe Bitterroot (1972)
Alias Smith and Jones Boot Coby (1972)
Nichols Marcus A.F. Baxter (1972)
Hannie Caulder Frank Clemens (1971)
The Last Rebel Matt (1971)
Cat Ballou Kid Sheleen (1971)
Support Your Local Gunfighter Jug May (1971)
Bonanza Honest John (1961-1970)
Rio Lobo Phillips (1970)
The Wild Country Thompson (1970)
Dirty Dingus Magee John Wesley Hardin (1970)
The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County Kittrick (1970)
The Virginian Harve Yost (1970)
The Over-the-Hill Gang Sheriff Clyde Barnes (1969)
Lancer Tom Mangrum (1969)
Support Your Local Sheriff! Jake (1969)
The Outcasts Abel Blackner (1969)
Once Upon a Time in the West Snaky - Member of Frank's Gang (1968)
The High Chaparral Macklin (1968)
Sartana Does Not Forgive Slim Kovacs (1968)
Never a Dull Moment Ace Williams (1968)
Cimarron Strip Moon (1968)
Firecreek Norman (1968)
Hondo Diablo (1967)
The Wild Wild West Zack Slade (1967)
The Guns of Will Sonnett Sam - Sheriff (1967)
The Last Challenge Ernest Scarnes (1967)
The Way West Preacher Weatherby (1967)
Tarzan Bellak (1967)
The Night of the Grizzly Hank (1966)
The Rare Breed Simons (1966)
F Troop Sam Urp (1965)
The Legend of Jesse James Deacon Smith (1965)
Daniel Boone Petch (1965)
Temple Houston George Taggart (1963-1964)
4 for Texas Dobie (1963)
The Dakotas Deputy J.D. Smith (1962-1963)
Laramie Parson Hawks (1961-1962)
Ben Casey Felix Gault (1962)
Cheyenne Calhoun Durango (1961-1962)
The Untouchables Jug Alverson (1960-1962)
Target: The Corruptors! Stickface (1962)
Lawman Paul Henry (1958-1962)
Have Gun - Will Travel Arnold Shaffner (1959-1962)
Rawhide Turkey Creek Jack Johnson (1962)
Bronco Toothy Thompson (1958-1961)
Pocketful of Miracles Cheesecake (1961)
Outlaws Diamond (1961)
The Rifleman Russell (1958-1961)
National Velvet Black Barr (1961)
The Comancheros Horseface (Comanchero) (1961)
The Last Sunset Ed Hobbs (1961)
The Twilight Zone Avery (1961)
The Rebel Uncle Luce (1960-1961)
Death Valley Days Juan Cortina (1961)
The Americans Loper Johnson (1961)
Sugarfoot Toothy Thompson (1961)
Gunslinger Clint Gannet (1961)
Klondike Eli Roper (1961)
Zane Grey Theatre Dirk Ryan (1957-1961)
Stagecoach West Clell (1960)
The Girl in Lovers Lane Jesse (1960)
The Texan Dud Parsons (1958-1960)
The Slowest Gun in the West Ike Dalton (1960)
Mr. Lucky Phil Bricker (1960)
Tightrope Tim Renick (1960)
Richard Diamond, Private Detective Perk Butler (1958-1959)
Edge of Eternity Bill Ward (1959)
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse Clinton (1959)
Hotel de Paree Flute (1959)
Mackenzie's Raiders Trooper Colin Grimes (1959)
Tombstone Territory Wally Jobe (1959)
The Gun Runners Arnold (1958)
M Squad Luke Morgan (1958)
Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre Quirt Avery (1958)
The Restless Gun Tony Molinor (1957-1958)
Zorro Gomez (1958)
Baby Face Nelson Fatso Nagel (1957)
Studio 57 (1957)
Wagon Train Charlie Otis (1957)
Night Passage Shotgun (1957)
Tales of Wells Fargo Chris (1957)
Lure of the Swamp Henry Bliss (1957)
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Tom McLowery (1957)
Dragoon Wells Massacre Tioga (1957)
Thunder Over Arizona Deputy Slats Callahan (1956)
Pardners Pete (1956)
Jubal McCoy - Bar 8 Rider (1956)
Screen Directors Playhouse Shanks (1955)
Frontier Father Matias (1955)
Kismet Hasan-Ben (1955)
Artists and Models Ivan (1955)
The Lone Ranger Jack Miles (1954-1955)
The Man from Laramie Chris Boldt (1955)
Wichita Al (1955)
Moonfleet Damen (1955)
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin Shields (1955)
Kiss Me Deadly Charlie Max (1955)
Man Without a Star Knife Murderer (1955)
Tarzan's Hidden Jungle Burger (1955)
Vera Cruz Tex (1954)
Cattle Queen of Montana Yost (1954)
Waterfront Britt (1954)
The Far Country Frank Newberry (1954)
Stories of the Century Black Jack Ketchum (1954)
Princess of the Nile Basra (1954)
Schlitz Playhouse Halleck (1953-1954)
Mr. & Mrs. North Matt Weber (1954)
Ride Clear of Diablo Tim Lowerie (1954)
Jubilee Trail Whitey (1954)
Four Star Playhouse Vic (1953)
Appointment in Honduras Castro (1953)
The Moonlighter Slim (1953)
Ride, Vaquero! Barton (1953)
Gun Belt Rusty Kolloway (1953)
Count the Hours! Max Verne (1953)
The Files of Jeffrey Jones (1952)
The Cases of Eddie Drake Steve Viko (1952)
Kansas City Confidential Pete Harris (1952)
The Ring Harry Jackson (1952)
My Man and I Celestino Garcia (1952)
Lure of the Wilderness Dave Longden (1952)
Montana Territory Gimp (1952)
High Noon Charlie - Drunk in Jail (1952)
The Battle at Apache Pass Mescal Jack (1952)
Rancho Notorious Mort Geary (1952)
Finders Keepers Eddie (1951)
The Bushwhackers Cree (1951)
Rawhide Tevis (1951)
Bird of Paradise The Trader (1951)
The Texan Meets Calamity Jane Henchman (1950)
American Guerrilla in the Philippines The Speaker (1950)
High Lonesome Smiling Man (1950)
Love That Brute Henchman #2 in Cigar Store (1950)
A Ticket to Tomahawk Fargo (1950)
One Way Street Arnie (1950)
Quicksand Man at Bar (1950)
Key to the City Councilman (1950)
The Sundowners Earl Boyce (1950)
Wild Weed Raymond - Henchman (1949)
Mystery Range Burvel Lambert (1947)
Actor

Trailin' West The Killer (1944)
Soundtrack

Easy Street (1986)
Gunsmoke (1969)
The Dakotas (1962-1963)
Soundtrack

Mackenzie's Raiders (1959)
Archive footage

Sketchworks NewsBrake (2020)
In Greene (2019)
The Forsaken Westerns (2017)
How the West Was Lost (2008)
The 56th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2004)
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade (2004)
The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004)
10th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2004)
Webster (1987)
The Walt Disney Comedy and Magic Revue (1985)
Archive footage

The Magical World of Disney (1975-1982)
Frontier Justice (1958)

Videos

Awards

1 win.

Did You Know

A majority of sources gave 1916 or 1918 as his year of birth. However, friends of his admitted that he lied about his age to get into the business earlier. The year on his birth certificate (that surfaced) reads 1920.

Quotes

[on Audie Murphy] ... he was a true hero, I have to tell you. He loved to gamble, and I loved to gamble, and still do, and he was a real fanatic for poker, the horses, or dice, so that's what we did on the set. When we were on location, we had a ...