Sam Elliott - wikipedia Sam Elliott Sam Elliott Elliott in November 2001 Samuel Pack Elliott ( 1944 - 08 - 09 ) August 9, 1944 ( age 73 ) Sacramento, California, U.S. Occupation Actor Years active 1968 -- present Spouse ( s ) Katharine Ross ( m. 1984 ) Children Samuel Pack Elliott ( born August 9, 1944 ) is an American actor. His lanky physique, thick moustache, deep and resonant voice, and Western drawl have led to frequent roles as cowboys and ranchers. His other credits over the years have included playing The Stranger in The Big Lebowski ( 1998 ), Gar in Mask ( 1985 ), General John Buford in Gettysburg ( 1993 ), Virgil Earp in Tombstone ( 1993 ), Sergeant Major Basil L. Plumley in We Were Soldiers ( 2002 ) and Marvel Comics characters Thunderbolt Ross in Hulk ( 2003 ) and The Caretaker in Ghost Rider ( 2007 ). Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Acting 2.2 Voice acting 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 4.1 Film 4.2 Television 5 References 6 External links Early life Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to a mother who was a physical training instructor and a father who worked for the Department of the Interior. He moved to Portland, Oregon, with his family during his teenage years, graduating from David Douglas High School. He attended Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, where he completed a two - year program and was cast as one of the leads in Guys and Dolls. The local newspaper suggested that Elliott should be a professional actor. Soon after, Elliott declared he was going to Hollywood to become a star. Elliott is a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at California State University, Los Angeles. He worked in construction while studying acting and served in the California Army National Guard. He also lived for a short time in Princeton, West Virginia. He has said that he has heritage from the west, specifically the state of Texas, with a relative who was in the Battle of the Alamo. Career Acting Elliott began his career as a character actor ; his appearance, voice, and bearing were well - suited to Westerns. One of his first film roles was as a card player in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ( 1969 ). In the 1970 -- 1971 television season, Elliott starred as Doug Robert in the hit series Mission : Impossible, and played the lead character Sam Damon in Once an Eagle, an NBC miniseries during the 1976 -- 1977 season. He played Tom Keating in the mini-series Aspen in 1977. He had the starring role as Rick Carlson in the summer hit sleeper Lifeguard ( 1976 ). In 1979, he played the oldest brother in the made - for - TV miniseries The Sacketts. He later played a wife killer in the miniseries Murder in Texas ( 1981 ) and A Death in California ( 1985 ). Elliott 's breakthrough came with his supporting role in Mask ( 1985 ). He has made guest appearances on shows such as Felony Squad, Gunsmoke, Lancer, and Hawaii Five - O, and has been featured in many TV movies, including Prancer ( 1989 ) and Buffalo Girls ( 1995 ), in which he played Wild Bill Hickok. In 1986, he starred in TV movie Gone to Texas, based on a biography of Sam Houston. The role allowed him to play Houston as both fighter and a man who grew into a skillful political leader ; the film depicted his disgrace as Governor of Tennessee, his return to his Cherokee Nation friends, and his pivotal role in the liberation of Texas from Mexico in 1836. Elliott played Wade Garrett in Road House ( 1989 ) and Virgil Earp in Tombstone ( 1993 ). In 1998, Elliot was named the grand marshal of the Calgary Stampede parade and rode in the procession before an estimated 300,000 spectators. He co-starred in We Were Soldiers, which is based on the book We Were Soldiers Once... And Young, portraying Sgt. Maj. Basil L. Plumley. He portrayed General John Buford in the 1993 film Gettysburg. He played General Thunderbolt Ross in the 2003 film Hulk. Elliott played The Stranger, a character narrating the story of The Big Lebowski ( 1998 ). In 2005, he appeared in Thank You for Smoking, as a former Marlboro Man advertisement cowboy who has developed lung cancer. In 2007, Elliott joined the comic book adaptation Ghost Rider and The Golden Compass as Lee Scoresby. In 2009, Elliott had a small role in Up In The Air in which he portrayed the Chief Pilot of American Airlines. He has appeared three times on Parks and Recreation as Ron Dunn, the Eagleton equivalent of Ron Swanson ; Dunn is a hippie, compared to Swanson 's staunch survivalist and Libertarian personality. He has a supporting role in the film The Company You Keep and played a college football coach in 2014 's Draft Day. In 2015, Elliott played Karl in Paul Weitz 's film Grandma, appeared in the romance I 'll See You in My Dreams, and had a role in the independent film Digging for Fire. In 2015, he won the Critics ' Choice Television Award for best guest performer in a drama for his role in the FX Network 's show Justified. In 2015, it was confirmed that Elliot would appear in the new Netflix series The Ranch. He plays Phil Millstein in the second season of Netflix 's Grace and Frankie. In 2017 it was confirmed that Elliott will appear in the upcoming movie The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot. Voice acting Elliott has performed voice - over narration for various commercials. He has lent his voice to campaigns for Dodge, IBM, Kinney Drugs, Union Pacific, and, most notably, the American Beef Council, succeeding Robert Mitchum in the latter. Since late 2007, Elliott has done voice - overs for Coors beer, bringing his deep, rich voice and `` western '' appeal to the brand brewed in Colorado. In 2010, Ram Trucks hired Elliott to do the voice - over for their Ram Heavy Duty truck commercial ; he has been voicing their commercials since. Starting in 2008, he has voiced Smokey Bear, and shares the mascot 's birth date ( August 9, 1944 ). For animated films, Elliott lent his voice to Ben the Cow in Barnyard, Buster ( a.k.a. Chupadogra ) in Marmaduke, and Butch in The Good Dinosaur. He also narrated the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers team introductions to Super Bowl XLV, played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas at the conclusion of the 2010 NFL season for NFL on Fox. Personal life Elliott married actress Katharine Ross in 1984. Ross starred in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in which Elliott had a very small role, but the two did not meet and begin dating until 1978, when they both starred in The Legacy. They have a daughter, Cleo Rose Elliott ( born 1984 ), who is now a musician in Malibu, California. Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1969 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Card Player # 2 1970 The Games Richie Robinson 1972 Frogs Pickett Smith 1972 Molly and Lawless John Johnny Lawler I Will Fight No More Forever Captain Wood 1976 Lifeguard Rick Carlson 1978 Legacy, The The Legacy Pete Danner 1982 The Shadow Riders Dal Traven 1985 Mask Gar 1986 Gone to Texas Sam Houston 1986 Blue Lightning, The The Blue Lightning Harry Wingate The Quick and the Dead Con Vallian Fatal Beauty Mike Marshak 1988 Shakedown Richie Marks Also titled Blue Jean Cop 1989 Road House Wade Garrett 1989 Prancer John Riggs Sibling Rivalry Charles Turner Jr. 1991 Rush Dodd 1993 Tombstone Virgil Earp 1993 Gettysburg Brigadier General John Buford 1995 The Final Cut John Pierce 1995 The Desperate Trail Bill Speakes Dog Watch Charlie Falon Adventures of Mowgli Kaa English voice 1998 Big Lebowski, The The Big Lebowski The Stranger 1998 Hi - Lo Country, The The Hi - Lo Country Jim Ed Love 2000 Contender, The The Contender Kermit Newman 2001 Pretty When You Cry Detective Lukas Black 2002 We Were Soldiers Sergeant Major Basil L. Plumley 2003 Hulk General Thaddeus Ross 2003 Off the Map Charley 2005 Thank You for Smoking Lorne Lutch 2006 Barnyard Ben Voice only 2006 Alibi, The The Alibi The Mormon Also titled Lies and Alibis 2007 Ghost Rider The Caretaker / Carter Slade 2007 Golden Compass, The The Golden Compass Lee Scoresby 2009 Did You Hear About the Morgans ? Clay Wheeler 2009 Up in the Air Maynard Finch COFCA Award for Best Ensemble ( 2nd place ) Nominated -- Critics ' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble Nominated -- WAFCA Award for Best Ensemble Nominated -- DFCS Award for Best Ensemble Marmaduke Chupadogra Voice only 2011 Big Bang, The The Big Bang Simon Kestral 2012 The Company You Keep Mac McLeod 2014 Draft Day Coach Moore 2015 I 'll See You in My Dreams Bill 2015 Grandma Karl Nominated -- CFCA Award for Best Supporting Actor 2015 The Good Dinosaur Butch Voice only 2017 Rock Dog Fleetwood Yak Voice only 2017 The Hero Lee Hayden 2017 The Gettysburg Address Ward Hill Lamon Voice only ; Post-production 2018 A Star Is Born Bobby Post-production 2018 The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot Calvin Barr Filming Television Year Title Role Notes 1968 -- 1969 Felony Squad Numerous 3 episodes 1969 Land of the Giants Martin Reed Episode : `` Six Hours to Live '' 1969 The F.B.I. SAC Kendall Lisbon Episode : `` The Prey '' 1969 Judd, for the Defense Dan Kenyon Episode : `` The Crystal Maze '' 1969 -- 1970 Lancer Renslo / Canopus / Cowboy 3 episodes 1970 Challenge, The The Challenge Bryant Television film 1970 -- 1971 Mission : Impossible Dr. Douglas Robert ( Lang ) 13 episodes 1971 Assault on the Wayne Ensign William ' Bill ' Sandover TV movie 1972 Gunsmoke Cory Soames Episode : `` The Wedding '' 1972 Mod Squad, The The Mod Squad Rick Price Episode : `` Good Times Are Just Memories '' 1972 Molly and Lawless John Johnny Lawler TV movie 1973 Blue Knight, The Detective Charlie Bronski TV movie 1973 Mannix Bill Saunders Episode : `` Little Girl Lost '' 1973 Hawkins Luther Wilkes Episode : `` Die Die, Darling '' Doc Elliot Lee Barrows Episode : `` A Time to Live '' Hawaii Five - O Jack Houston Episode : `` The Two - Faced Corpse '' Evel Knievel Evel Knievel TV movie Manhunter, The The Manhunter Will Gantry Episode : `` The Ma Gantry Gang '' Streets of San Francisco, The The Streets of San Francisco Ken Johnson Episode : `` The Hard Breed '' Police Woman Michael Gregory Episode : `` Farewell, Mary Jane '' 1976 -- 1977 Once an Eagle Sam Damon 7 episodes ( miniseries ) 1977 Aspen Tom Keating TV movie 1979 Sacketts, The The Sacketts Tell Sackett TV movie 1980 Wild Times Hugh Cardiff 2 episodes 1981 Murder in Texas Dr. John Hill TV movie 1982 Shadow Riders, The The Shadow Riders Dal Traven TV movie Yellow Rose, The The Yellow Rose Chance McKenzie 22 episodes Travis McGee Travis McGee TV movie 1985 A Death in California D. Jordan Williams 2 episodes ( miniseries ) 1986 Gone to Texas Sam Houston TV movie. Also titled `` Houston : The Legend of Texas '' Quick and the Dead, The The Quick and the Dead Con Vallian TV movie 1988 The World 's Greatest Stunts : A Tribute to Hollywood Stuntmen Himself Documentary 1991 Conagher Conn Conagher Nominated -- Golden Globe Award for Best Actor -- Miniseries or Television Film He also produced and helped co-write the script. 1993 Fugitive Nights : Danger in the Desert Lyn Cutter TV movie 1993 The Making of `` Gettysburg '' Himself / `` Brig. Gen. John Buford, Federal '' Documentary ( On the making of the film Gettysburg ) 1995 The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky Bill Bell TV movie 1995 Buffalo Girls Wild Bill Hickok TV movie Nominated -- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated -- Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor -- Series, Miniseries or Television Film 1995 Blue River Henry Howland TV movie 1995 The Way West Voice Documentary Woman Undone Ross Bishop TV movie 1997 Rough Riders Capt. Bucky O'Neill TV movie 1997 Big Guns Talk : The Story of the Western Himself Documentary 1998 Texarkana N / A TV movie 1999 You Know My Name Bill Tilghman TV movie 2000 Fail Safe Congressman Raskob TV movie 2001 The Contender : The Making of a Political Thriller Himself Documentary ( short ) 2002 We Were Soldiers : Getting It Right Himself / Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley Documentary ( short ) 2002 The Making of `` Tombstone '' Himself / `` Virgil Earp '' Documentary ( short ) 2003 Hulk : The Lowdown Co-Host Documentary Anatomy of a Scene Himself Documentary ; episode : `` Off the Map '' 2006 Avenger Calvin Dexter TV movie November Christmas Jess Sanford TV movie 2012 Robot Chicken White Wine Narrator / Commander Waspax / Reporter Voice role Episode : `` Hurtled from a Helicopter into a Speeding Train '' Nominated -- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice - Over Performance ( for White Wine Narrator role ) 2013 -- 2015 Parks and Recreation Ron Dunn 3 episodes 2015 Justified Avery Markham 12 episodes Critics ' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series 2016 -- present The Ranch Beau Bennett Main role 30 episodes 2016 American Dad ! Big John Tanner Episode : `` Kiss Kiss Cam Cam '' Voice role 2016 Grace and Frankie Phil 4 episodes References ^ Jump up to : Harris, Aisha ( 2 February 2015 ). `` Sam Elliott On Being the Hollywood Embodiment of the Old West ''. Slate. Retrieved 23 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` Movies & TV : Sam Elliott Biography ''. New York Times. Retrieved July 20, 2013. `` Birthplace : Sacramento, California, USA '' -- ¶ 1. Jump up ^ `` Sam Elliott Biography ( 1944 - ) ''. Filmreference.com. 1944 - 08 - 09. Retrieved 2013 - 05 - 08. Jump up ^ `` Sam Elliott Biography ''. Perfect People. 2012. Retrieved 2013 - 01 - 22. Jump up ^ Murphy, Mekado ( 19 August 2015 ). `` ' Grandma ' ( With Movie Trailer ) : Paul Weitz Narrates a Scene ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 23 August 2015. ^ Jump up to : Buckley, Cara ( 12 August 2015 ). `` Sam Elliott, a Leading Man Again at 71, No Cowboy Hat Required ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 23 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` Elisha Cuthbert Joins Ashton Kutcher 's Netflix Comedy Series ' The Ranch ' '' Jump up ^ Busch, Anita. `` Sam Elliott, John Sayles On ' The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot ' ''. Deadline. Retrieved 14 April 2017. Jump up ^ `` Katharine Ross ''. People. 4 May 1992. Retrieved 10 August 2010. Jump up ^ Magruder, Melonie ( 31 December 2008 ). `` Straight from her heart ''. Malibu Times. Retrieved 10 August 2010. Jump up ^ `` ' Cleo : ''. Daily Mail. 12 March 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011. Jump up ^ Amanda N'Duka. `` Ron Livingston Joins ' The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot ' ''. Deadline. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 09. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sam Elliott. Sam Elliott on IMDb Hajek, Daniel ( September 6, 2015 ). `` Typecast as a Cowboy, Sam Elliott Came to Embrace That ' Western Box ' ''. My Big Break ( story series ). All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved September 7, 2015. Critics ' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series Lucy Liu ( 2012 ) Jane Fonda ( 2013 ) Allison Janney ( 2014 ) Sam Elliott ( 2015 ) Margo Martindale ( 2016 ) Jeffrey Dean Morgan ( 2016 ) VIAF : 85683334 LCCN : no97029465 ISNI : 0000 0000 9595 3306 GND : 1019237503 SUDOC : 132132206 BNF : cb13945716g ( data ) MusicBrainz : c11be0e6 - 46dd - 45d4 - 9a7b - 189fc0e3a9c4 BNE : XX1190199 IATH : w66n6049 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sam_Elliott&oldid=807049459 '' Categories : 1944 births 20th - century American male actors 21st - century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male voice actors David Douglas High School alumni Living people Male actors from Portland, Oregon Male actors from Sacramento, California Male Western ( genre ) film actors Hidden categories : Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from November 2014 Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Català Cymraeg Deutsch Eesti Español Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Latina Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Occitan Polski Português Русский Simple English Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog Türkçe 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 25 October 2017, at 15 : 37. 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Question: who plays the cowboy in the big lebowski
Answer: Samuel Pack Elliott