Sam Elliott has more in common with The Dude from The Big Lebowski than most may have realized. That’s because, despite his million-dollar voice, he’s pretty laid back with keeping it protected. In fact, he doesn’t do anything to protect it. Sam Elliott abides. He explained to The Arizona Republic why he is so chill about his sonorous sound.
“I don’t think of it in terms of being a tool, I don’t think,” he said. “We all have a voice, and it’s my voice. I’ve had it for a long time. It’s certainly been good to me, in the sense that it’s distinctive, and it doesn’t sound like a lot of other people. It’s also served me well in that I’ve got kind of this southwest twang to it, that I got I think more from my mom than anybody else. I think that worked well in the Western genre over the years.”
Elliott said there are many people in his family who sound just like him. He said his aunts, uncles, and cousins all have the voice. I’m pretty sure that if a made a show of Elliott’s family talking about their days in that voice people would watch it. Myself included. But for some reason, Elliott isn’t very protective over his perfect pipes.
“The whole voice thing I think began with my mom dragging me to sing in a cherub choir when I was a kid. In terms of any vocal training, that’s what happened with me, he said. I was always involved in singing in choirs and vocal ensembles and sang with a couple of little bands in school. … I think the rest of it’s genetics, I don’t know.”
Sam Elliott Couldn’t Speak First Time He Met Wife
Sam Elliott may have a voice that could melt leather, but he was absolutely tongue-tied the first time he met his wife. It was on the set of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Sam Elliott was early in his career, but his wife, Katharine Ross, was one of the stars. He explained the story a few years ago to AARP magazine.
“My wife, Katharine Ross, and I both worked on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but I didn’t dare try to talk to her then,” he said. “She was the leading lady. I was a shadow on the wall, a glorified extra in a bar scene. It wasn’t until we made The Legacy [in 1978] that we actually interacted. We have a common sensibility, but we also work at being together. You work past the s–t; you don’t walk away from it. That’s how relationships last.”
In The Legacy, Elliott was starring alongside his wife this time. He would have to talk to her. Elliott was much more collected this time. He was able to ask her out, and she even said yes. But who would say no to that voice?
Sam Elliott was the voice for “Beef: It’s what’s for Dinner” commercials for years, which turned converted thousands of vegetarians back into meat-eaters. We don’t have a source other than his voice for this one.