Donald Elson(1923-2022)
- Actor
Donald Elson was raised in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, just a
"whoop and a holler" from Hollywood. He was a young college student at
the outbreak of WWII. After serving in the Air Force, he attended the
Columbia Radio School of Broadcasting on the GI Bill and pursued a
career as a radio announcer at stations in Texas and Oklahoma before
returning to college. He graduated from the University of Southern
California with a BA degree in Theatre Arts in 1949 and headed to New
York. Elson became a successful Broadway actor, appearing in "Inherit
The Wind," "Desire Under the Elms," "Peter Pan," "Threepenny Opera" and
numerous off-Broadway productions. He returned to Hollywood in the
early 1960s, "saddling up" in a string of Film and TV Westerns.
His skill and craftsmanship have enabled him to portray a wide variety of characters. Why is that craggy face so "gol'durn" familiar? Because we've seen it a thousand times in movies, television series, anthologies and Movies of the Week as well as countless television commercials.
His skill and craftsmanship have enabled him to portray a wide variety of characters. Why is that craggy face so "gol'durn" familiar? Because we've seen it a thousand times in movies, television series, anthologies and Movies of the Week as well as countless television commercials.
