Sam Elliott

Biography for Sam Elliott

Tall, thin, wiry Sam Elliott is the classic picture of the American cowboy. The only difference would be that he looked old. Elliott began his acting career on the stage and his film debut was in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). His appearance was little more than a shadow on the wall, but he made enough of an impression on co-star Katharine Ross that they were soon married. Over the years there would be few opportunities to act in feature westerns, but it would be television that gave him that opportunity, in The Sacketts (1979) (TV), The Shadow Riders (1982) (TV) and "The Yellow Rose" (1983), among others. He would also work in non-westerns, usually as a tough guy, as in Lifeguard (1976) and Road House (1989). In the 1990s after getting through two questionable films, Elliott was back on the western trail, playing everyone from Brig. Gen. John Buford in the film Gettysburg (1993) to Wild Bill Hickok in the made-for-TV movie Buffalo Girls (1995) (TV). In 1991 he wrote the screenplay and co-starred with his wife in the made-for-TV western Conagher (1991) (TV).

Sam Elliott made his start in the theater, before starting in the cinema with a figuration role in Butch Cassidy and the Kid. This short card player performance will mark his life forever: it is on the set that he meets his wife Katharine Ross, and that he plays for the first time in a genre that he was not going to leave, Western. His hard gaze and his deep voice very often lead him to embody the authentic American cowboy, especially in Tombstone in 1993.

It is through television that Sam Elliott accesses public recognition, although his advantageous physique was largely put to the big screen, especially in Lifeguard in 1976 (the ancestor alert in Malibu), Road House or the Drama Mask, where he played the lover of Cher.

After a long career mainly television, the actor turns more and more for cinema. We could thus see him in The Big Lebowski in 1997, The Hi-Lo Country by Stephen Frears, manipulations in 2000, he will be one of the heroes of We Were Soldiers with Mel Gibson and he will be part of the cast of Ang Lee .

Sam Elliott is an American actor known for his work in films, television series and television shows. He was born on August 9, 1944 in Sacramento, California, and grew up in the south of Oregon. Elliott began his acting career in the late 1960s, and has since played in many films, especially in Westerns films. He also appeared in popular television series, such as mission: impossible, Gunsmoke and Buffalo Bill.

Elliott is recognized for his work in Westerns films, and he has often been considered one of the last major actors in Westerns. He played in films such as The Quick and the Dead, Tombstone and The Man Who Killed Hitler and then The Bigfoot. Elliott also played in action films and comedies, notably Road House and Mask.

In addition to his work in films, Elliott is also known for his deep and distinctive voice, which has earned him to be chosen to make the voice-over in many television advertisements and programs. He also worked as a narrator for documentaries and television shows.

In addition to his acting career, Elliott is also an active member of the Hollywood artistic community. He was a member of the Academy of Arts and Cinema Sciences, and has received numerous awards for his work, including a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award. Elliott is also married to actress Katharine Ross, with whom he worked in several films.

Photos

Filmography

Trivia

• Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1976" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 28. [1976]
• His bare-buns scene in The Legacy (1978) earned the highest rating (3 stars) from "The Bare Facts" -- a printed guide to nudity in movies.
• In his book, "Shirtless! The Hollywood Male Physique", Donald Reuter refers to Elliott as a "super bod" and gives him a full-page color photograph from his 1976 movie, Lifeguard (1976).
• Illness forced him to drop out of the 1982 TV-movie, The Ambush Murders (1982) (TV). He was replaced by James Brolin.
• He is an alumnus of Clark College located in Vancouver, Washington.

Quotes

"I don't want to be known as a sex symbol. There's a great stigma that goes with that tag. I want to be a Sam Elliott." (Quoted in the December 1976 isue of "Playgirl.")

"I've spent my entire career on horseback or on a motorcycle. It boxes you in, the way people perceive you. I read a lot of scripts. Most of 'em go to other actors."

"I think I might have been a more interesting actor, had more of a career earlier on, if I had more formal preparation. When I see something ten years later that I was in I think, 'Boy, would I love to do that over.'"

"I was really happy that Ang Lee won the Best Director award, I got to know him very well on Hulk (2003). But I'm not the Brokeback Mountain (2005) crowd, what can I tell ya. I'm more of a purist. But at the same time, it's a new day".

Family

• Spouse : Katharine Ross (1984 - present) 1 child
• Daughter with Katharine Ross, Cleo Rose Elliott, born on September 17, 1984.

Author of the card

• Creation date: 01/07/2003 by abdest
• Last update: 02/03/2008 by abdest