Jack Elam

Jack Elam was an actor who was in more than 50 westerns as well as other movies such as Cannonball Run where he played the doctor. 

Elam classified the stages of a moderately successful actor's life, as defined by the way a film director refers to the actor suggested for a part. (He said this on a George Plimpton ABC documentary about the making of Rio Lobo.) This humorous quote has also been attributed to other actors and writers, such as Harvey Miller, Ricardo Montalban and Mary Astor:

Stage 1: "Who is Jack Elam?"

Stage 2: "Get me Jack Elam."

Stage 3: "I want a Jack Elam type."

Stage 4: "I want a younger Jack Elam."

Stage 5: "Who is Jack Elam?"

I remember in my early career days the word was "Be nice to everyone you meet. You never know who you will pass on your way down."

David Sneed