Say it ain’t so, Sam Elliott. There really was a time when he went without a mustache. And, to think, he did it to impress a girl.
Now, we should add the girl Sam Elliott shaved his mustache for was the love of his life, Katharine Ross.
Ross was chatting about her relationship with Elliott back in 2019 as she did publicity for the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. The festival was honoring the 50th anniversary of the classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which starred Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Ross.
Sam Elliott got a glimpse of Ross, then. He had a very tiny part.
“She was the leading lady. I was a shadow on the wall, a glorified extra in a bar scene,” Elliott told AARP magazine in a 2015 interview.
Sam Elliott Officially Met His Love On Set In London
The two officially met in London in 1978 when they were both starring in the horror movie, The Legacy. And after they started dating, Sam Elliott made a bold move. Ross was outside her home in Malibu, talking with friends. Elliott stepped inside. He came out a different-looking man.
“Sam went inside the trailer without saying a word to anyone,” Ross said.
“Oh my gosh, it’s amazing how a face can change without a mustache.”
And Ross added about Sam Elliott: “There are two things that are iconic — his mustache and his voice.”
We agree.
The two were married in 1984 and have been together and in love ever since. They have a daughter. And Elliott has maintained the ‘stache and his voice.
If you’re curious about the type of mustache Elliott maintains, we went to a good source, Beardaholic.com. This type of mustache is known as the walrus. The description:
Plainly speaking, a walrus mustache is like having a beard on your upper lip. In this style, you let your mustache grow so long that it covers the entire upper lip. In most cases, it reaches the base of the beard as well, which resembles the muzzle of a walrus, hence the name.
The site says cowboys, in particular, embrace the walrus. And Elliott typifies cowboys in his movie roles. Although his breakthrough role was in The Lifeguard, he earned his first Golden Globe nomination in a Louis L’amour adaption. He secured his first Emmy nomination for Buffalo Girls.
Recently, Elliott’s best-known role was in the revamp of A Star is Born in 2018. He played Bradley Cooper’s older brother. And with that deep, velvet voice, Elliott secured a nomination for an Oscar, Critic’s Choice and Screen Actor’s Guild.
So, please, Sam Elliott, keep your mustache. Remember the phrase, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Or in this case, don’t shave it.