Sam Elliott

He was born as Samuel Pack "Sam" Elliott on August 9, 1944, in Sacramento, California. His mother worked as a physical training instructor while his father worked for the Department of the Interior.

He went to the David Douglas High School in Portland. After graduation he enrolled at the Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, from where he completed a two-year program.

He loved watching movies from a young age and was just nine when he realized that he wanted to be an actor. While in college, he appeared in a stage production of ‘Guys and Dolls’ as one of the leads. His performance was appreciated in a local newspaper which motivated him further to follow his passion.

He studied acting in Los Angeles and worked part-time in construction in order to pay his bills. He also served in the California Army National Guard for a short while.

He started out on his career as a stage actor before moving on to films. His role as a ‘Card Player’ in the movie ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ in 1969 was one of his initial film roles.

Good-looking and talented, he was able to get several film offers in the 1970s. He played Richie Robinson in the 1970 movie ‘The Games’ which was a story concerning four marathon competitors at a fictitious Olympic Games in Rome. ‘Frogs’ (1972) and ‘Molly and Lawless John’ (1972) were some of the other movies he appeared in during the early 1970s.

He also ventured into television in the late 1960s and appeared in shows like ‘Felony Squad’ (1969), ‘Land of the Giants’ (1969), and ‘Judd, for the Defense’ (1969). In 1970 he acted in the made-for-television movie ‘The Challenge’ playing the role of Bryant.

After playing a series of minor roles in television, he finally got his first substantial role when he was chosen to play Dr. Douglas Robert in the television series, ‘Mission Impossible’ (1970-71) which chronicled the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force (IMF).

He remained active in both films and television throughout the 1970s. The year 1974 was especially a very productive one for him as he appeared in several television series such as ‘Doc Elliot’, ‘Hawaii Five-O’, ‘The Manhunter’, and ‘The Streets of San Francisco’.

His role of Maynard Finch, the Chief pilot, in the comedy-drama ‘Up in the Air’ is one of his best ever performances. The film was a huge commercial hit and was nominated for two awards.