Trivia

Made a career with his eerie, immobile eye, which was caused by a fight with another kid at age 12. It happened during a Boy Scout meeting when another boy took a pencil, threw it, and it jabbed his eyeball.

After World War II he worked as a bookkeeper for Samuel Goldwyn Studios and then as controller for William Boyd's Hopalong Cassidy production company. Staring at small figures on ledger sheets for hours on end strained his good eye and doctors told him he risked losing his sight if he continued his lucrative accounting business. When a movie director friend was having trouble getting financing for three western scripts, Elam told him he would arrange the financing in exchange for roles as a "heavy" in all three pictures. The first was Thunder in the Dust (1950), starring Robert Preston, which helped launch his career.

Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1994.

He once described the career of a character actor. It went like this: "Who's Jack Elam? Get me Jack Elam. Get me a Jack Elam type. Get me a young Jack Elam. Who's Jack Elam?"

Started out in films as controller for Hopalong Cassidy Productions, but eye problems caused him to resign on doctor's advice.

While working on Rawhide (1951), star Tyrone Power took a liking to novice actor Elam and convinced 20th Century-Fox studio boss Darryl F. Zanuck to sign him to a contract and had him cast in American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950).

Was known to be skilful in all forms of gambling. Also accomplished enough at winning games played with people on sets.

Jack Elam was a collector of small elephant figures.

Had two daughters, Jeri Elam and Jacqueline Elam, and one son, Scott Elam.

In a "making of" documentary about the film Rio Lobo (1970), actor David Huddleston used costar Elam as an example of the five stages of the career of a character actor: "Who is Jack Elam?": "Get me Jack Elam." "I want a Jack Elam type.""I want a younger Jack Elam." "Who is Jack Elam?".

Before his acting career, Elam worked as a bookkeeper at the Bank of America in Los Angeles and as an auditor for the Standard Oil Company.

Parents are Millard Elam and Alice Amelia Kriby.

A majority of sources gave 1916 or 1918 as his year of birth. However, friends of his admitted that he lied about his age to get into the business earlier. The year on his birth certificate (that surfaced) reads 1920.

Elam lost the sight in his left eye when he was stabbed with a pencil during a boyhood altercation with a fellow Boy Scout.

Interviewed in "Bad at the Bijou" by William R. Horner (McFarland, 1982).