The Biff Elliot papers span the years 1953-2006 (bulk 1953-1977) and encompass 3.75 linear feet. The collection consists of production files, television files, stage files, subject files, and oversize material. The bulk of the material concerns Elliot’s film career.

The production files consist primarily of scripts for nearly two dozen of Elliot’s film credits, including THE FRONT PAGE (1974), HOUSE OF BAMBOO (1955), I, THE JURY (1953), KOTCH (1971), PORK CHOP HILL (1958), SAVE THE TIGER (1973), and THE TRUE STORY OF JESSE JAMES (1956). Many of the scripts are annotated. There is a small amount of call sheets, clippings, and shooting schedules for a few films. Also notable is material on WHERE DOES IT HURT? (1971), including censorship notes. Additionally, there are scripts for several unproduced projects written by such writers as R. Wright Campbell, Leo Gordon, Timothy McCanlies, Michael Pate, Arthur C. Pierce, and Barry Schneider. Of particular interest is an undated treatment by Mickey Spillane for an adaptation of his short story “The Duke Alexander,” with two notes from Spillane, and a remake of BODY AND SOUL (1947) written by John Berry and Lee Gold.

Despite Elliot’s prolific appearances on television, the television files only contain material for two ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS episodes in which Elliott appeared. There is an annotated script for “Bang! You’re Dead” (1961) and an annotated script and shooting schedules for “Make My Death Bed” (1961). The stage files contain an undated playscript for “Up, Down and Across” by Ben Hecht. The subject files include clippings, one item of fan mail, and a personal appearance schedule. The oversize material is comprised of a scrapbook covering I, THE JURY (1953) and contains clippings, certificates, and telegrams.

Biff Elliot was born Leon Shalek in Massachusetts in 1923. As a teenager, he was active in sports, especially boxing. He attended the University of Maine before his studies were interrupted by World War II, during which he served as an infantryman in North Africa and Italy. After the war, he returned to the University of Maine as an English major. He was involved in the college paper, where he worked as an associate editor and writer of the column “Scotch and Soda,” and he joined the student theater group “The Maine Masque.” He graduated in 1949 and moved to New York City.

Though he initially hoped to earn a living as a writer, Elliot eventually decided to pursue an acting career. He found work in live television, appearing on such shows as KRAFT THEATRE and THE PHILCO TELEVISION PLAYHOUSE. His work drew the attention of producer Victor Saville, who brought Elliot to Hollywood to star in I, THE JURY (1953), an adaptation of Mickey Spillane’s novel of the same name. The film was shot in 3-D and not only served as Elliot’s feature-film debut but also the first cinematic depiction of Spillane’s detective, Mike Hammer.

For the next three decades, Elliot worked steadily in film and television. His portrayal of Mike Hammer would be his only leading film role, but he went on to appear in several notable films, including HOUSE OF BAMBOO (1955), THE TRUE STORY OF JESSE JAMES (1956), and PORK CHOP HILL (1958). He acted alongside his friend, Jack Lemmon, in SAVE THE TIGER (1973) and THE FRONT PAGE (1974), and appeared in Lemmon’s sole directorial endeavor, KOTCH (1971). He worked most prolifically in television, acting in such shows as PERRY MASON, ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, STAR TREK, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, and THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO, among many others. He made his final film and television appearances in 1986 and transitioned to radio, covering Los Angeles sports for CBS Radio until his retirement in 2001.