Biography

In a 40-year stage, film, and television career, Weston played sleazy villains to hapless men going through midlife crises to clumsy comics. He was one of the bad guys who victimize a blind Audrey Hepburn in the 1967 cult classic Wait Until Dark (1967) but meets his end at the hands of the number one Bad Guy Alan Arkin. He appeared in much lighter fare in Cactus Flower (1969), Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960), and Dirty Dancing (1987). In the last of these, he ran the Catskills resort that set the stage for romance between Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey.

His stage work on Broadway included "California Suite" (1976) and "The Floating Lightbulb" (1971). For the latter, he received a Tony Award nomination for his role as the trashy manager. Also in 1981, Weston appeared opposite Alan Alda in The Four Seasons (1984) about the friendship between three middle-class, middle-aged couples. Other film credits include Stage Struck (1958), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), The Ritz (1976), and Ishtar (1987).
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous (updated by R.M. Sieger)

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of a shoe repairman, Jack Weston began acting at the age of ten. Encouraged by his father and a perceptive teacher in his public school, he was brought to the Cleveland Playhouse, where he joined their children's theater. He stayed with the company until he was drafted into the army at the age of 19.

After his stint in the military he moved to New York, where he appeared on Broadway in "Bells Are Ringing" with Judy Holliday. He spent 18 weeks on the road in James Leo Herlihy's "Crazy October" with Tallulah Bankhead and Joan Blondell. He later won rave reviews as Gaetsno Proclo in Terrence McNally's "The Ritz", a role he later recreated in the film version (The Ritz (1976)). He starred in the national company of Neil Simon's "The Last of the Red Hot Lovers", followed by the Broadway production of Simon's "California Suite". Next came "Cheaters" and "Break a Leg" with Julie Harris. Weston received a Tony nomination for his role in Woody Allen's "The Floating Light Bulb".

Weston made his big-screen debut in Stage Struck (1958), starring Henry Fonda, and has had an active career spanning more than 30 years and at least 25 films. His first major film role was in Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960) starring Doris Day and David Niven. His film career became firmly established as he appeared with Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), The Cincinnati Kid (1965) and The Honeymoon Machine (1961). He worked with Ingrid Bergman in Cactus Flower (1969), Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark (1967) and Burt Reynolds in several films including Fuzz (1972) and Gator (1976). He appeared in A New Leaf (1971)--Elaine May's directorial debut--and worked for her again in Ishtar (1987). Weston has said that his favorite movie was The Four Seasons (1981), written and directed by Alan Alda.

He did his first TV series, Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers (1953), during "The Golden Age of Television" when the shows were shot live. He worked on The United States Steel Hour (1953), Playhouse 90 (1956), Perry Mason (1957), The Twilight Zone (1959), Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963), Gunsmoke (1955) and The Untouchables (1959), as well as a comedy-drama special with Lucille Ball and Bob Hope. He later performed in the BBC-TV production of Roald Dahl's "Tales of the Unexpected" and the TV miniseries Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue (1977).
- IMDb mini biography by: frankfob2@yahoo.com