The Best TV Western Villain-Jack Elam

Where would the shoot em ups be without ol-[Jack Elam]this great character actor was in most of the TV western from the fifties to the seventies,and almost always the bad guy he of course mellowed in his later years but in his prime he was a handful for the lawmen of the old west on the small screen..Just a shout out to one of the best ever-Mr.Jack Elam.

 

It seemed in later years he turned to being more of comic relief (e.g., Support Your Local Sheriff).

John K.

 

Agreed, along with Strother Martin who could be both a good guy and a bad guy.

 

Jack Elam is just about my favorite character actor ever. I understand he started out as a handsome leading man type.


Then likely because of his menacing crazy-eyed appearance he took on the role of villain for many years, mostly in westerns.



And then we later discovered his comedic side, I think starting with the movie "Support Your Local Sheriff" in 1969.



What a character!

 

One of his few[good guy]roles was in[The Dakotas]as a U.S.Marshall.