1968Winner
Best Performance
Once Upon a Time in the West
Jack Elam
Actor
Miami, Gila, Arizona, USA
November 13, 1920
Biography
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.
Photo
Representative Works
Awards and Honors
Critical Favorites
1952Winner
Best Performance
High Noon
1981Nominee
Best Performance
The Cannonball Run
Career Highlights
1984Highlight
Best Performance
Cannonball Run II
1969Highlight
Best Performance
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Video
Once Upon a Time in the West
High Noon
The Cannonball Run