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.
Known For
Once Upon a Time in the West
(1968)
Frank's Gunman
High Noon
(1952)
Charlie - Drunk in Jail (uncredited)
The Cannonball Run
(1981)
Doctor
Cannonball Run II
(1984)
Doc
The Comancheros
(1961)
Horseface (Comanchero)
The Man from Laramie
(1955)
Chris Boldt
Rio Lobo
(1970)
Phillips
Kiss Me Deadly
(1955)
Charlie Max
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
(1957)
Tom McLowery
Wichita
(1955)
Al
Pocketful of Miracles
(1961)
Cheesecake
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
(1973)
Alamosa Bill Kermit
Vera Cruz
(1954)
Tex
Hannie Caulder
(1971)
Frank Clemens
The Villain
(1979)
Avery Simpson
The Way West
(1967)
Preacher Weatherby
Full Filmography
Acting
Wild Weed
(1949)
Raymond - Henchman
American Guerrilla in the Philippines
(1950)
The Speaker
Key to the City
(1950)
Councilman (uncredited)
A Ticket to Tomahawk
(1950)
Fargo
One Way Street
(1950)
Gangster
The Sundowners
(1950)
Earl Boyce
High Lonesome
(1950)
Smiling Man
The Bushwhackers
(1951)
Cree
Rawhide
(1951)
Tevis
Bird of Paradise
(1951)
The Trader
Kansas City Confidential
(1952)
Pete Harris
Lure of the Wilderness
(1952)
Dave Longden
Montana Territory
(1952)
Gimp
The Battle at Apache Pass
(1952)
Mescal Jack
High Noon
(1952)
Charlie - Drunk in Jail (uncredited)
Finders Keepers
(1952)
Eddie
My Man and I
(1952)
Celestino Garcia
The Ring
(1952)
Harry Jackson
Rancho Notorious
(1952)
Mort Geary
Gun Belt
(1953)
Rusty Kolloway
The Moonlighter
(1953)
Slim
Appointment in Honduras
(1953)
Castro
Count the Hours!
(1953)
Max Verne
Ride, Vaquero!
(1953)
Barton
Ride Clear of Diablo
(1954)
Tim Lowerie
Cattle Queen of Montana
(1954)
Yost
Vera Cruz
(1954)
Tex
Jubilee Trail
(1954)
Whitey
Princess of the Nile
(1954)
Basra
The Far Country
(1954)
Frank Newberry
Moonfleet
(1955)
Damen
Tarzan's Hidden Jungle
(1955)
Burger
Kismet
(1955)
Hasan-Ben
Wichita
(1955)
Al
Artists and Models
(1955)
Ivan
Man Without a Star
(1955)
Knife Murderer (uncredited)
The Man from Laramie
(1955)
Chris Boldt
Kiss Me Deadly
(1955)
Charlie Max
Thunder Over Arizona
(1956)
Slats Callahan
Pardners
(1956)
Pete
Jubal
(1956)
McCoy
Dragoon Wells Massacre
(1957)
Tioga
Lure of the Swamp
(1957)
Henry Bliss
Baby Face Nelson
(1957)
Fatso Nagel
Night Passage
(1957)
Shotgun
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
(1957)
Tom McLowery
The Gun Runners
(1958)
Arnold
Edge of Eternity
(1959)
Bill Ward
The Slowest Gun in the West
(1960)
Ike Dalton
The Girl in Lovers Lane
(1960)
Jesse
The Last Sunset
(1961)
Ed Hobbs
The Comancheros
(1961)
Horseface (Comanchero)
Pocketful of Miracles
(1961)
Cheesecake
4 for Texas
(1963)
Dobie
The Rare Breed
(1966)
Deke Simons
The Night of the Grizzly
(1966)
Hank
The Way West
(1967)
Preacher Weatherby
The Last Challenge
(1967)
Ernest Scarnes
Never a Dull Moment
(1968)
Ace Williams
Firecreek
(1968)
Norman
Sartana Does Not Forgive
(1968)
Slim Kovacs
Once Upon a Time in the West
(1968)
Frank's Gunman
Support Your Local Sheriff!
(1969)
Jake
The Over the Hill Gang
(1969)
Sheriff Clyde Barnes
Ride a Northbound Horse
(1969)
Sheriff
The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County
(1970)
Kittrick
Plimpton! Shoot-Out at Rio Lobo
(1970)
Self
The Wild Country
(1970)
Thompson
Dirty Dingus Magee
(1970)
John Wesley Hardin
Rio Lobo
(1970)
Phillips
The Last Rebel
(1971)
Matt
Support Your Local Gunfighter
(1971)
Jug May
Hannie Caulder
(1971)
Frank Clemens
Cat Ballou
(1971)
Kid Sheleen
The Last Escape of Billy the Kid
(1972)
Pat Garrett
The Daughters of Joshua Cabe
(1972)
Bitterroot
The Red Pony
(1973)
Granddad
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
(1973)
Alamosa Bill Kermit
A Knife for the Ladies
(1974)
Jarrod (Sheriff)
Sidekicks
(1974)
Boss
Shootout in a One-Dog Town
(1974)
Handy
Huckleberry Finn
(1975)
King
Creature from Black Lake
(1976)
Joe Canton
Hawmps!
(1976)
Bad Jack Cutter
The Winds of Autumn
(1976)
J. Pete Hankins
Pony Express Rider
(1976)
Crazy Charlie
The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe
(1976)
Bitterroot
Grayeagle
(1977)
Trapper Willis
Lacy and the Mississippi Queen
(1978)
Willie Red Fire
The Norseman
(1978)
Death Dreamer
Hot Lead & Cold Feet
(1978)
Rattlesnake
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again
(1979)
Big Mac
The Villain
(1979)
Avery Simpson
Soggy Bottom, U.S.A.
(1981)
Troscliar Boudreaux
The Cannonball Run
(1981)
Doctor
Skyward Christmas
(1981)
Clay Haller
The Girl, the Gold Watch & Dynamite
(1981)
Seth Beaumont
Jinxed!
(1982)
Otto
Sacred Ground
(1983)
Lum Witcher
Lost
(1983)
Mr. Newsom
Scrooge's Rock 'N' Roll Christmas
(1984)
Scrooge
Cannonball Run II
(1984)
Doc
The Aurora Encounter
(1986)
Charlie
Louis L'Amour's Down the Long Hills
(1986)
Squires
Hawken's Breed
(1987)
Tackett
I Am Not a Freak
(1987)
Self
Where the Hell's That Gold?!!?
(1988)
Boone
Once Upon a Texas Train
(1988)
Jason Fitch
Big Bad John
(1990)
Jake Calhoun
The Giant of Thunder Mountain
(1990)
Hezekiah Crow
Suburban Commando
(1991)
Col. Dustin 'Dusty' McHowell
Shadow Force
(1992)
Tommy
Bonanza: The Return
(1993)
Buckshot
Uninvited
(1993)
Grady
Bonanza: Under Attack
(1995)
Buckshot
Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western
(1997)
Self