Elcar was born in Ferndale, Michigan, the son of Hedwig and James Aage Elcar, a carpenter and butcher. He was an alumnus of the University of Michigan where he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. At age 18, Elcar enlisted and served a tour of duty in the United States Navy at the end of World War II. He moved to New York in the 1950s to become a professional thespian. He was a student of legendary acting coach Sanford Meisner. He brought this education to bear when in 1986, with fellow character actor William Lucking, he formed the Santa Paula Theater Center. Elcar sat as artistic director for six years.
Career
In 1962, he created the role of the hit-man Ben in the U.S. premiere of Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter at the Cherry Lane Theater in Greenwich Village, New York City. That same year he was cast on the long running CBSdaytime drama, The Guiding Light as Andrew Murray, the District Attorney of Los Angeles County. Later in 1962 and 1963, due to his stint on The Guiding Light, he was cast in three episodes of the NBC sitcom, Car 54, Where Are You?, and two segments of the ABC crime drama, Naked City, both set in New York City. In 1966 and 1967, Elcar played Sheriff George Patterson on the vampire soap operaDark Shadows. He played Inspector Shiller, the supervisor, in the crime drama, Baretta, starring Robert Blake. Elcar guest starred on Get Smart, CBS's and Storefront Lawyers in 1970. In 1971, he was a guest star on Ironside. He appeared on The Waltons and Kung Fu in 1973. He had a regular role as Colonel Lard in the 1976–78 television military drama, Baa Baa Black Sheep, starring Robert Conrad, and also directed four episodes of the series. He appeared in TV disaster movies such as Heatwave! and Crisis in Mid-Air. In 1979 he played judges in Centennial and B. J. and the Bear. In 1980, he was cast in the role of "Chief" in the Get Smart feature film entitled The Nude Bomb that was based on the 1960s hit TV series. He also co-starred in two episodes of The A-Team in 1984 and 1985. In 1987, he was cast on Matlock. Elcar and his stunt/photography double, Don S. Davis, were often mistaken for each other. Elcar appeared in the hit series Knight Rider in the 1983 episode "Merchants of Death"; as a corrupt sheriff in The Incredible Hulk episode "Escape from Los Santos", in which Banner is headed to Phoenix; and as KAOS Agent Kruger in the 2-part 1969 episode of Get Smart entitled "And Baby Makes Four". In 1991, Elcar began to develop glaucoma. This condition was written into the MacGyver plotline, beginning with the sixth season episode seventeen "Blind Faith" and continuing through the remainder of that season and the entire seventh season, with Elcar's character developing the disease. The sixth season finale, Hind-Sight, was a clip show using Pete Thornton's upcoming eye surgery as a framing device. After MacGyver, Elcar made a guest appearance in "Virus", a 1993 episode of Law & Order, in which he played a man who blamed his diabetes-caused blindness on his former physician, and whose son murdered other patients as revenge. Elcar also played a blind character on episodes of The Magic School Bus and ER. Once blind, Elcar took on the challenge of playing Vladimir in Waiting for Godot complete with white cane. This was his theatrical swan song, and he retired in 2002 after his ER performance.
Personal life
Elcar married Katherine Frances Mead in 1948 and divorced her in 1950. He married Peggy Romano in 1954 and divorced in 1970. Elcar had 4 children; Marin Elcar, Nora Elcar Verdon, Dane Elcar, and Chandra Elcar. He started losing his sight on the set of MacGyver with glaucoma, though he still continued to act. His long-time partner was Thelma Garcia.
