SAM ELLIOTT : MY LIFE IN 10 Pictures

"I'MA sixth-generation Texan, even though I was born in California," proclaimed Samuel Pack Elliott.

And with that pioneer spirit, iconic drawl and trademark handlebar mustache, it's easy to believe him as one of Hollywood's quintessential cowboys. But not everyone believed in Sam when he was younger. "My father once said, 'You haven't got a snowball's chance in hell in Hollywood."" And when he passed away when Sam was 18, "He died thinking, 'Man, this kid is going to go down the wrong path.' I think on some level that was either hard on me or made me more focused in my resolve to have a career." Of course, Sam, who turns 80 on Aug. 9, has enjoyed great success as an actor and much more, thanks to daughter Cleo and his wife, actress Katharine Ross, with whom he celebrates a 40th anniversary this year. "The two things that I wanted in my life were to have a movie career and to have a family.

And it's an embarrassment of riches that I've got both."

1 1970 ON A MISSION

For Sam, a big break came with a recurring part opposite Peter Graves on the fifth season of TV's Mission: Impossible. "Peter was a real mentor with me. I spent a lot of time talking to him, and he was really an encouraging character in my life at a time when I was still trying to find my way."

2 1976 GUARD UP

"I had my shot [at being a big star]," said Sam about his role in Lifeguard. But, when he disagreed about its marketing while doing press, "I think I kind of f***ed myself out of a career on that level from being too honest and too opinionated and not really very smart at the same time. I think I scared people off.

I'm lucky that I'm still working after some of the stupid s*** I said."