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Born Jacob Gellman in New York City. A veteran vaudeville and revue comedian, he played comic character roles in many stage and TV productions as well as in a number of films.
Gilford and his wife, Madeline, were blacklisted during the 1950s along with his friend Zero Mostel. Madeline Gilford and Mostel were two of the names named by Jerome Robbins in his testimony before the HUAC. Neither Jack Gilford nor Mostel worked for 10 years. When Stephen Sondheim pitched Robbins to producer Hal Prince to save A Funny Thing... Forum, which was floundering out-of-town, Prince phoned Mostel to ask whether he would be prepared to work with Robbins. "Are you asking me to eat with him?" asked Mostel. "I'm just asking you to work with him," Prince replied. Mostel said, "Of course I'll work with him. We of the left do not blacklist." When Robbins showed up at rehearsal, everyone was terrified of him and his daunting reputation with dancers and actors. Robbins made the rounds of the cast, shaking hands. When he got to Mostel, there was silence. Then Mostel boomed out, "Hiya, Loose Lips!" Everyone burst out laughing, including Robbins, and the show went on. Mostel won a Tony® for his role in ...Forum, and Gilford was nominated for the Tony for Best Featured Actor for his work in the show. He received another nomination as Best Actor for Cabaret (1967). He was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar® for his performance in SAVE THE TIGER (1973).
Other notable film credits include his film debut as a specialty act in HEY, ROOKIE (1944), MISTER BUDDWING (1965), A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (1966, as Hysterium), ENTER LAUGHING (1967), THE FIXER (1968, uncredited), CATCH-22 (1970 as Capt. "Doc" Daneeka), THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS (1971), HARRY AND WALTER GO TO NEW YORK (1976), WHOLLY MOSES and CHEAPER TO KEEP HER (both 1980), as Bernie Lefkowitz in COCOON (1985) and COCOON: THE RETURN (1988), and ARTHUR 2: ON THE ROCKS (1988).
 Nominated for Supporting Actor 1973: SAVE THE TIGER
1 nomination
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