Ed Polish and Jack Elam 5/25/03

JACK ELAM and his wife, Jenny, were gracious enough to attend our May, 2003, bad film showing where Jack shared a bunch of hysterical True Life Experiences from his days of making great (and some not-so-great) films. Everyone had a wonderful time, and gave Jack a standing ovation as he left. (This is the equivalent of our Lifetime Achievement Award.)

Ed screened the opening scene from Once Upon a Time in the West in which Jack trapped a fly in the barrel of his gun (yes, he really did!), and then screened a short segment from what Jack said was THE worst movie he was ever in: The Norsemen. We then moved on to the main feature, Canonball Run II, which was bad enough!

Thanks, Jack, for being such a good sport! Think of it this way ... the good movies you made are seen all the time on video and cable TV. We dragged up a neglected piece of ... doo-doo ... and shared it with the world once again.

We were truly honored by his presence.
Jack passed away October 20, 2003. His friends remember him in this article in the Medford Mail Tribune.

More about Canonball Run II film showing.

[Note: for a fairly comprehensive list of films Jack appeared in, click here.]