Jack Elam
Actor

Jack Elam Net Worth

Jack Elam was an American character actor who was born in Miami, Arizona in 1920. He worked in the cotton fields as a child and later attended Santa Monica Junior College in California. He became an accountant and manager of the Bel Air Hotel before trading his accounting services for his first movie role. He quickly became a memorable supporting actor in Hollywood, thanks to his unique screen persona and his out-of-kilter left eye. He was adept at playing both vicious killers and grizzled sidekicks in Westerns and gangster films, and later in comedic roles.
Jack Elam is a member of Actor

Age, Biography and Wiki

Who is it? Actor, Soundtrack
Birth Day November 13, 1920
Birth Place  Miami, Arizona, United States
Age 100 YEARS OLD
Died On October 20, 2003(2003-10-20) (aged 82)\nAshland, Oregon, U.S.
Birth Sign Sagittarius
Years active 1944–1995
Spouse(s) Jean L Hodgert (1937–61; her death) 1 daughter, 1 son Margaret Jennison (1961–2003; his death) 1 daughter
Children 3

💰 Net worth: $12 Million (2024)

Jack Elam, a renowned actor and soundtrack artist in the United States, is expected to have a net worth of $12 million by 2024. Known for his distinct looks and talent, Elam has left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry. Having appeared in numerous films and television shows, he has showcased his versatility across various genres, including westerns and comedies. With his memorable performances and contributions to the world of soundtracks, Elam's net worth is a testament to his enduring success in the entertainment realm.

Biography/Timeline

1922

Elam was born in Miami in Gila County in south central Arizona, to Millard Elam and Alice Amelia Kirby. His mother died in 1922 when Jack was two years old. By 1930, he was living with his father, older sister Mildred, and their stepmother, Flossie Varney Elam.

1930

He grew up picking cotton and lost the sight in his left eye during a boyhood accident when he was stabbed with a pencil at a Boy Scout meeting. He was a student at both Miami High School in Gila County and Phoenix Union High School in Maricopa County, graduating from there in the late 1930s.

1937

Jack Elam was married twice, first to Jean Hodgert from 1937 to her death in 1961, and then to Margaret Jennison from 1961 until his own death. Elam died of congestive heart failure in Ashland, Oregon in 2003, just a month before his 83rd birthday. He was survived by his wife Margaret; their daughter, Jacqueline; and his daughter and son from his previous marriage, Jeri and Scott.

1949

In 1949, Elam made his debut in She Shoulda Said No!, an exploitation film in which a chorus girl's marijuana smoking ruins her career and drives her brother to suicide. He appeared mostly in westerns and gangster films playing villains.

1950

Elam made multiple guest-star appearances in many popular Western television series in the 1950s and 1960s, including Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Lawman, Bonanza, Cheyenne, Have Gun – Will Travel, Zorro, The Lone Ranger, The Rebel, F Troop, “Tales of Wells Fargo” and Rawhide. In 1961, he played a slightly crazed bus Passenger on The Twilight Zone episode "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?"

1963

In 1963, Elam got a rare chance to play the good guy, Deputy U.S. Marshal and reformed gunfighter J. D. Smith, in the ABC/Warner Brothers series, The Dakotas, a western that was telecast for only nineteen episodes. He played George Taggart, a gunslinger-turned-marshal in the NBC/WB western series, Temple Houston, with Jeffrey Hunter in the title role. Elam got this part after James Coburn declined the role. Unfortunately for him, that series ran for only twenty-six weeks.

1966

In 1966, Jack Elam co-starred with Clint Walker in the western The Night of the Grizzly. In 1968, Elam had a cameo in Sergio Leone's celebrated spaghetti western Once Upon a Time in the West. In that film he played one of a trio of gunslingers who were sent to kill Charles Bronson's character. Elam spent a good part of the scene trying to trap an annoying fly in his gun barrel. In 1967 Elam appeared in The Way West with Robert Mitchum, Richard Widmark and Kirk Douglas as the light hearted Preacher Weatherby taking part in a wagon train on the Oregon Trail. In 1969, he was given his first comedic role in Support Your Local Sheriff!, which was followed two years later by Support Your Local Gunfighter, both opposite James Garner. After his performances in those two films, Elam found his villainous parts dwindling and his comic roles increasing. (Both films were also directed by Burt Kennedy, who had seen Elam's potential as a Comedian and would direct him a total of 15 times in features and television.) In between those two films, he also played a comically cranky old coot opposite John Wayne in Howard Hawks's Rio Lobo (1970). In 1979 he was cast as the Frankenstein Monster in the CBS sitcom Struck by Lightning, but the show was cancelled after only three episodes. He then appeared in the role of "Hick Peterson" in a first-season episode of Home Improvement alongside Ernest Borgnine (Season 1, episode 20 "Birds Of A Feather Flock To Tim").

1981

Elam played "Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing," an eccentric Doctor in the 1981 movie The Cannonball Run. Three years later, he returned in the same role in the film's sequel The Cannonball Run II.

1985

In 1985, Elam played Charlie in The Aurora Encounter. During production, Elam developed what would become a lifelong relationship with an 11-year-old boy named Mickey Hays, who suffered from progeria. As shown in the documentary I Am Not a Freak viewers see how close Elam and Hays really were. Elam said, "You know I've met a lot of people, but I've never met anybody that got next to me like Mickey."

1986

In 1986, Elam also co-starred on the short-lived comedy series Easy Street as Alvin "Bully" Stevenson, the down-on-his-luck uncle of Loni Anderson's character, L. K. McGuire. In 1988, Elam co-starred with Willie Nelson in the movie Where The Hell's That Gold?

1994

In 1994, Elam was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

Some Jack Elam images

About the author

Lisa Scholfield

As a Senior Writer at Famous Net Worth, I spearhead an exceptional team dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of pioneering individuals. My passion for unearthing untold narratives drives me to delve deep into the essence of each subject, bringing forth a unique blend of factual accuracy and narrative allure. In orchestrating the editorial workflow, I am deeply involved in every step—from initial research to the final touches of publishing, ensuring each biography not only informs but also engages and inspires our readership.