Highest rated as cast or director
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.
Acted in 183
1990s
- 1995
Bonanza: Under Attack
Buckshot
- 1993
Bonanza: The Return
Buckshot
- 1992
Shadow Force
Tommy
Lucky Luke
Axel Ericson · 1 episode
- 1991
- 1990
Big Bad John
Jake Calhoun
1980s
- 1988
Where the Hell's That Gold?!!?
Boone
- 1987
- 1986
Louis L'Amour's Down the Long Hills
Squires
Easy Street
TV
The Aurora Encounter
Charlie
- 1985
Detective in the House
TV
- 1984
Scrooge's Rock 'N' Roll Christmas
Scrooge
- 1983
Lost
Mr. Newsom
Sacred Ground
Lum Witcher
- 1982
Jinxed!
Otto
- 1981
Skyward Christmas
Clay Haller
Soggy Bottom, U.S.A.
Troscliar Boudreaux
The Girl, the Gold Watch & Dynamite
Seth Beaumont
1970s
- 1979
Struck by Lightning
Frank · 10 episodes
The Sacketts
Ira Bigelow · 2 episodes
- 1978
Hot Lead & Cold Feet
Rattlesnake
Lacy and the Mississippi Queen
Willie Red Fire
Huckleberry Finn
King
Black Beauty
Jonas McBride · 5 episodes
- 1977
Grayeagle
Trapper Willis
- 1976
Pony Express Rider
Crazy Charlie
The Winds of Autumn
J. Pete Hankins
Hawmps!
Bad Jack Cutter
- 1974
A Knife for the Ladies
Jarrod (Sheriff)
Sidekicks
Boss
Shootout in a One-Dog Town
Handy
- 1973
The Red Pony
Granddad
- 1972
Kung Fu
Marcus Taylor · 1 episode
The Brian Keith Show
TV
The Daughters of Joshua Cabe
Bitterroot
The Last Escape of Billy the Kid
Pat Garrett
- 1971
The Last Rebel
Matt
Cat Ballou
Kid Sheleen
- 1970
The Wild Country
Thompson
Dirty Dingus Magee
John Wesley Hardin
The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County
Kittrick
1960s
- 1969
Ride a Northbound Horse
Sheriff
- 1968
Sartana Does Not Forgive
Slim Kovacs
Never a Dull Moment
Ace Williams
- 1967
Hondo
TV
The Last Challenge
Ernest Scarnes
- 1966
The Night of the Grizzly
Hank
The Rare Breed
Deke Simons
- 1965
- 1964
- 1963
4 for Texas
Dobie
Temple Houston
George Taggart · 26 episodes
- 1962
- 1961
Gunslinger
Clint Gannet · 1 episode
- 1960
The Slowest Gun in the West
Ike Dalton
1950s
- 1959
- 1958
- 1957
Baby Face Nelson
Fatso Nagel
Dragoon Wells Massacre
Tioga
Lure of the Swamp
Henry Bliss
- 1956
Thunder Over Arizona
Slats Callahan
Pardners
Pete
Jubal
McCoy
- 1955
Kismet
Hasan-Ben
Moonfleet
Damen
Man Without a Star
Knife Murderer (uncredited)
Tarzan's Hidden Jungle
Burger
- 1954
Princess of the Nile
Basra
Jubilee Trail
Whitey
Ride Clear of Diablo
Tim Lowerie
- 1953
The Moonlighter
Slim
Gun Belt
Rusty Kolloway
Count the Hours!
Max Verne
- 1952
The Ring
Harry Jackson
My Man and I
Celestino Garcia
Lure of the Wilderness
Dave Longden
Montana Territory
Gimp
The Battle at Apache Pass
Mescal Jack
Finders Keepers
Eddie
- 1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Lee Dineen, Halleck · 1 episode
Bird of Paradise
The Trader
- 1950
One Way Street
Arnie (uncredited)
Key to the City
Councilman (uncredited)
1940s
- 1949
Wild Weed
Raymond - Henchman
- 1947
Mystery Range
Burvel Lambert
Appearances3
1990s
- 1997
Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western
Self
1980s
- 1987
I Am Not a Freak
Self
1970s
- 1970
Plimpton! Shoot-Out at Rio Lobo
Self