Googly-eyed character actor Jack Elam passed away on Monday. He was either 86 or 84, depending on which bio you believe.
His onscreen roles ran the gamut from villains ("Rawhide," "Rio Lobo") to town drunks ("High Noon") to...miscellaneous ("Hawmps!"). It's to his credit that he could be found in such diverse offerings as "Cat Ballou," "The Villain" (Jack Elam to Arnold Schwarzenegger, if you're playing the Kevin Bacon game), and the first two "Cannonball Run" movies, where he played the character he's probably most famous for (and a personal favorite of mine): Dr. Nikolas Van Helsing.
"J.J.? Can I begin the examination?"
"I find I seldom need more than this." [waves middle finger]
Maybe not the most fitting epitaph, now that I think about it. Best to end with this quote from the man himself, who lamented the modern movie's need to give villains some psychological motive for their actions:
"In the old days, Rory Calhoun was the hero because he was the hero and I was the heavy because I was the heavy and nobody cared what my problem was. And I didn't either," he added. "I robbed the bank because I wanted the money ... I've played all kinds of weirdos but I've never done the quiet, sick type. I never had a problem other than the fact I was just bad."
First Mr. Elam, and now Fred "Rerun" Barry.
Truly, today the laughter died.
My favorite Jack Elam role was Jake, the deputy in "Support Your Local Sheriff".