Jim Siedow
James Nash Siedow (June 12, 1920 – November 20, 2003) was an American actor, best known for his role of Drayton "The Cook" Sawyer in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and its sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
Also recorded as James Nash Siedow
Jim Siedow
- Birth Name
- James Nash Siedow
- Born
- 12 June 1920
- Birthplace
- Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.
- Died
- 20 November 2003
- Place of death
- Houston, Texas, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actor
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
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James Nash Siedow (June 12, 1920 – November 20, 2003) was an American actor, best known for his role of Drayton "The Cook" Sawyer in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and its sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
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Jim Siedow (1920–2003) was an American actor, film actor and television actor. Born in Cheyenne, the actor died in Houston. The recorded working language is English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 02 October 2026
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Birth Name — James Nash Siedow • Born — 12 June 1920 • Birthplace — Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S. • Died — 20 November 2003 • Place of death — Houston, Texas, U.S. • Occupation — Actor • Children — 3
Life and career
Life and career
Siedow was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He began acting in his high school drama class, and later on, moved to New York City, where he started appearing in theatre productions. During World War II, Siedow served in the U.S. Army Air Forces, and after the war, Siedow moved to Chicago, Illinois and started doing radio work. In September 1946, he met and married an actress named Ruth, his wife up to his death. They had three children. They moved to Houston, Texas soon after their marriage where Siedow continued acting, creating one of Houston's original local community theatres. He directed Houston's first production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee. In 1971, Siedow appeared in his first movie, an obscure one titled The Windsplitter, playing a character named Mr Smith. He followed this with his most famous role as Drayton Sawyer in the cult film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1974. His other movie roles were as Howard Ives in the TV movie Red Alert in 1977, an unnamed role in the 1980 movie Hotwire, and as Drayton Sawyer, again, in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, the sequel to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Death
Death
Siedow died in Houston from emphysema complications in 2003, at the age of 83.
Filmography
Filmography
List of Jim Siedow film and television credits • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1971 — The Windsplitter — Mr Smith • 1974 — The Texas Chain Saw Massacre — Drayton Sawyer, the Cook • 1977 — Red Alert — Howard Ives • 1980 — Hotwire • 1986 — The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 — Drayton Sawyer, the Cook • 1987 — Amazing Stories — Totzke — 1 episode • 1988 — Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait — Himself — Documentary • 2000 — The American Nightmare — Himself (archive footage) — Documentary • 2006 — Flesh Wounds: Seven Stories of the Saw — Himself — Video Documentary, (final appearance) • 2007 — The Fearmakers Collection — Himself • 2012 — Moxina — Himself (archive footage) — Short film, as "in memory of"
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Named by the record
Places
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Cheyenne.
Birth place
Houston.
Death place
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Crowe, Robert. Siedow, 83, Texas Chainsaw Massacre actor. The Houston Chronicle. 41 Section A. November 23, 2003.
References
Citations
References
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Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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