Jack Elam Height, Weight, Age, Facts, Biography

Jack Elam was an American actor who is best known for playing villains in several Western films. He appeared in movies like Kansas City Confidential, The Battle at Apache Pass, The Ring, Lure of the Wilderness, My Man and I, Count the Hours, Appointment in Honduras, Cattle Queen of Montana, Ride Clear of Diablo, The Man from Laramie, Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle, Moonfleet, Thunder Over Arizona, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, The Gun Runners, The Girl in Lovers Lane, Firecreek, The Night of the Grizzly, The Way West, The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County, Support Your Local Gunfighter, Never a Dull Moment, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, The Giant of Thunder Mountain, Lost, Once Upon a Texas Train, and Shadow Force. Jack was also cast in many television roles like Deputy J.D. Smith in the Western series The Dakotas, Toothy Thompson in the ABC series Sugarfoot, Nick Turner in the procedural drama series Detective in the House, and Uncle Alvin “Bully” Stevenson in the sitcom Easy Street.

Born Name

William Scott Elam

Nick Name

Jack

Age

He was born on November 13, 1920.

Died

Jack Elam died of congestive heart failure on October 20, 2003, at the age of 82 in Ashland, Oregon, United States.

Sun Sign

Scorpio

Born Place

Miami, Gila County, Arizona, United States

Nationality

Education

Jack Elam studied at Miami High School in Gila. Then, he attended Phoenix Union High School in Maricopa County and graduated in the late 1930s.

After that, Jack Elam enrolled at Santa Monica Junior College in California.

Occupation

Actor

Family

• Father – Millard Elam
• Mother – Alice Amelia Kirby (d. September 1924)
• Siblings – Mildred (Older Sister)
• Others – Flossie Varney Elam (Stepmother)

Net Worth

According to CelebrityNetWorth.com, his net worth was $2 million at the time of death.

Build

Average

Height

6 ft or 183 cm

Weight

86 kg or 189.5 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Jack Elam had dated –

1. Jean L. Hodgert (1937-1961)​ – He married Jean L. Hodgert in 1937 and they remained together until her death in 1961.
2. Margaret Jennison (1961-2003) – In 1961, he married Margaret Jennison and the duo remained together until Jack’s death in 2003.

Note – He had 2 daughters, Jeri Elam and Jacqueline Elam, and one son named Scott Elam.

Race / Ethnicity

White

Hair Color

Salt and Pepper

Eye Color

Hazel

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Unmoving left eye
• Often played mean, scheming henchmen in Westerns
• A gruff and authoritative voice

Brand Endorsements

Jack Elam was cast in a TV commercial for Sonos sound systems.

Jack Elam Facts

1. He grew up picking cotton.
2. He was only 3 years old when his mother died.
3. During a boyhood fight with a fellow Boy Scout, Jack Elam was stabbed in his left eye with a pencil and lost sight in that eye.
4. Before he started working as an actor, he used to work as a bookkeeper at the Bank of America in Los Angeles and as an auditor for the Standard Oil Company.
5. Jack Elam once served as the manager of the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles.
6. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy for 2 years.
7. Alongside Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Charles Bronson, Gabriele Ferzetti, Woody Strode, Lionel Stander, Paolo Stoppa, Frank Wolff, and Keenan Wynn, Jack Elam co-starred as Snaky in the 1968 epic Spaghetti Western film Once Upon a Time in the West.
8. In 1969, he brought to life the character of Jake in the comedy Western film Support Your Local Sheriff!.
9. He was cast as Alamosa Bill Kermit in the 1973 Revisionist Western film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. The film ranked at #126 in Empire magazine’s list of “The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time”.
10. Jack Elam was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1994.

Featured Image by Studio Publicity / eBay / Public Domain