Perhaps more than any other genre, the Western demands a specific, rugged essence from its actors to be believable. For example, character actors such as Ben Johnson, Jack Elam, Chill Wills and John ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jack Elam, a character actor and favorite Western villain who menaced good-guy cowboys with his crazy grin, wild eyes and remorseless gunslinging in films such as "Rawhide" and ...