Weston, a Cleveland, Ohio native, usually played comic roles in films such as Cactus Flower and Please Don't Eat the Daisies. He occasionally took on heavier parts, such as the scheming crook and stalker who, along with Alan Arkin and Richard Crenna, attempts to terrorize and rob a blind Audrey Hepburn in the 1967 film Wait Until Dark. Weston had numerous other character roles over 25 years, including in major films like The Cincinnati Kid, The Thomas Crown Affair, Gator, Cuba, High Road to China, Dirty Dancing and Ishtar. On television he made numerous appearances such as murderer Fred Calvert in the 1958 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Daring Decoy". In 1961, he was a guest star in the TV drama Route 66, playing the manager of a traveling group of young women nightclub dancers, who mistreats his employees. In 1963, he was a guest star in an episode called "Fatso" in the TV drama The Fugitive. In 1976, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for his performance in the film The Ritz. In 1981, Weston appeared on Broadway in Woody Allen's comedy The Floating Light Bulb, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Actor. Other stage appearances included Bells are Ringing in 1956, The Ritz in 1975, Neil Simon's California Suite and One Night Stand in 1980. Weston co-starred in Alan Alda's 1981 film The Four Seasons, and then reprised his role to star in a television series spinoff on CBS.
Personal life
Weston served in the United States Army during World War II. Weston married twice, first to actress Marge Redmond, noted for her role in the ABCsitcomThe Flying Nun. They occasionally appeared together, an example being a 1963 episode of The Twilight Zone titled "The Bard". Redmond and Weston divorced. The couple had no children. His second marriage was to Laurie Gilkes and they had one child together. They were married until his death from lymphoma on May 3, 1996, after a six-year struggle. He was 71 years old. Jack was the older brother of Anthony Spinelli, whose birth name was Sam Weinstein and whose first stage name was Sam Weston. The Westons were Jewish.
In 1949, Weston appeared as Mr. Storm in episode 5 of Captain Video and His Video Rangers. In the 1960–1961 television season, Weston appeared as Chick Adams, a reporter, on the CBS sitcom My Sister Eileen. The next season, 1961–1962, he starred in the short-lived sitcom The Hathaways, in which he and Peggy Cass adopted a trio of chimpanzees. He also made guest appearances on such television series as Peter Gunn, Perry Mason, Rescue 8, The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables, Have Gun – Will Travel, Johnny Staccato, Thriller, The Lawless Years, Route 66, Harrigan and Son, Stoney Burke, Breaking Point, The Fugitive, Bewitched, Gunsmoke, Twelve O'Clock High, Laredo, Tales of the Unexpected, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Carol Burnett Show, All in the Family, and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.
