Sam Elliott

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Samuel Pack "Sam" Elliott (born August 9, 1944) is an American actor. In films, he is often characterized by his rangy physique, thick horseshoe moustache and deep, resonant speaking voice.

Early life

Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to a physical training instructor mother and a father who worked for the Department of the Interior. He moved from California to Oregon with his family during his teenage years, where he graduated from David Douglas High School in Portland. He attended Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, where he completed a two-year program and was cast as one of the leads in "Guys and Dolls." The local newspaper suggested that Elliott should be a professional actor. Soon after, Elliott declared he was going to Hollywood to become a star. Elliott is a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Cal State L.A.. He worked in construction while studying acting in Los Angeles. Elliott also lived for a short time in Princeton, West Virginia. He lives in California and his mother still lives in Portland, not far from David Douglas High School

Career

Elliott began his career as a character actor, his appearance and bearing ideally suited for Westerns.

One of his first film roles was as 'Card Player #2' in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).

During 1970-71, Elliott starred as Doug Robert in the hit TV series Mission: Impossible, and played the lead character Sam Damon in Once an Eagle, an NBC miniseries during the 1976-77 season. He later played a wife killer in the miniseries Murder in Texas (1981) and A Death in California (1986). He has made guest appearances on shows such as Felony Squad, Gunsmoke, Lancer and Hawaii Five-O and has been featured in many TV movies; for instance, he played Wild Bill Hickock in Buffalo Girls (1995). In 1998, Elliot was named the grand marshall of the Calgary Stampede parade and rode in the procession before 300,000 spectators. He has also starred in ''Road House (1989) alongside Patrick Swayze and played Virgil Earp in Tombstone (1993), which starred Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer.

Elliott has performed voice-over narration for various commercials. He has lent his voice to campaigns for Chevy, IBM, Union Pacific, and, most notably, the American Beef Council, succeeding Robert Mitchum. Since late 2007, Elliot has done voice-overs for Coors beer, bringing his deep, rich voice and "western" appeal to the brand brewed in Colorado. In 2010, Dodge hired Elliot to do the voice-over in their Ram Heavy Duty truck commercial. He is also the new voice for Smokey Bear ("Only YOU can prevent wildfires"). Coincidentally, Elliott and "Smokey" are the same age.

Elliott also co-starred in We Were Soldiers, which is based on the book We Were Soldiers Once… And Young, portraying Sgt. Maj. Basil L. Plumley. He also played General John Buford in the 1993 film Gettysburg, which is based on the book Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.

He played "The Stranger", a cameo role in The Big Lebowski (1998).

In 2009, Elliott had a small role in Up In The Air, in which he portrayed the Captain of an American Airlines jet. Elliot had previously appeared in Thank You For Smoking which was also directed by Jason Reitman.

He lent his voice to "Buster" (a.k.a. Chupadogra) in Marmaduke (film) (2010).

Personal life

Elliott has been married to actress Katharine Ross since 1984. Although Ross starred in the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in which Elliott had a very small role, the two did not meet and begin dating until 1978 when they both starred with Roger Daltrey in The Legacy. He and Ross have a daughter, Cleo Rose, born September 17, 1984.