G. D. Spradlin

G. D. Spradlin
Born	Gervase Duan Spradlin (1920-08-31)August 31, 1920 Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	July 24, 2011(2011-07-24) (aged 90) San Luis Obispo, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Oklahoma
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1966–1999
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Nell Spradlin (1944–2000; her death), Frances Hendrickson (2002–2011; his death)
Children	2
Signature

Gervase Duan Spradlin (August 31, 1920 – July 24, 2011) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive accent and voice, he often played devious authority figures. He is credited in over 70 television and film productions, and performed with actors such as Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Garner, Charlton Heston, George C. Scott, and Johnny Depp.

Early life

Spradlin was born August 31, 1920, in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. His parents both worked as schoolteachers. Spradlin obtained his bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Oklahoma. He was a member of the Delta Chi fraternity. He then served in the United States Army Air Force during World War II, where he was stationed in China.

Following World War II, Spradlin returned to the University of Oklahoma, where he completed a law degree in 1948. He first began his career as an attorney working in Venezuela and then became an independent oil producer forming Rouge Oil Company. Before he turned to acting, he was active in local politics, and he campaigned for John F. Kennedy in 1959. He joined the Oklahoma Repertory Theatre in 1964.

Career

A notable break for Spradlin resulted from his work in television in the 1960s. Casting director Fred Roos had cast Spradlin in television shows such as I Spy (as the immediate superior of Pentagon spies Kelly Robinson and Alexander Scott in the episode "Tonia"), Mannix (in an uncredited role as Senator Sid Abernathy in the episode "Turn Every Stone"), and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (as visiting Colonel Driscoll in the episode "Gomer Pyle Super Chef"). Spradlin portrayed Commander Maurice E. "Germany" Curts, Communications Officer, U.S. Pacific Fleet, in an uncredited role in Tora! Tora! Tora! in 1970. He was also in the counter-culture film Zabriskie Point (1970). He worked with Jack Webb on the series Dragnet, playing multiple roles from a safecracker to a low-level con man.

When Roos co-produced The Godfather Part II, he recommended Spradlin for the role of Pat Geary, a corrupt U.S. senator from Nevada, and Spradlin played a senator in the 1976 TV miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man Book II. In 1977, he guest-starred along with Ruth Gordon and Mariette Hartley in the Columbo episode, "Try and Catch Me." Among his film credits are One on One (1977) (as an authoritarian basketball coach) and Apocalypse Now (as General Corman, the somber officer who assigns Martin Sheen's character to the search mission). He played the head football coach B.A. Strother in North Dallas Forty (1979), and "Carolina Military Institute" commandant General Durrell in The Lords of Discipline (1983).

In 1984, Spradlin played a villainous Southern sheriff in Tank. In 1985, Spradlin turned in a memorable performance as President Lyndon B. Johnson in the mini-series Robert Kennedy and His Times, based on the book of the same name by presidential historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. In 1986, he again portrayed an American president when he played Andrew Jackson in the television movie Houston: The Legend of Texas. Also in 1986, he starred in the miniseries Dream West. In 1988, he played Admiral Raymond A. Spruance in the miniseries War and Remembrance. In 1989, Spradlin played a small role in the film The War of the Roses as a divorce lawyer, with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

Spradlin played a minister in Ed Wood (1994), a conspirator in the attempted assassination of a state governor in Nick of Time (1995), Bishop Dyer in the TV movie Riders of the Purple Sage (1996), which was adapted from Zane Grey's 1912 novel of the same name, and the President of the United States in The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996).

Spradlin retired from acting after Dick (1999), in which he played Ben Bradlee. Although lending his likeness, he did not reprise his role as Pat Geary (whom in-game was voiced by Chris Edgerly) in Electronic Arts' video game adaptation of The Godfather Part II in 2009.

Death

Spradlin died of natural causes at his cattle ranch in San Luis Obispo, California on July 24, 2011 at the age of 90. His first wife, Nell, with whom he had two daughters, died in 2000. He was survived by his second wife, Frances Hendrickson, whom he married in 2002.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967	Will Penny	Anse Howard
1969	Number One	Doctor Tristler
1969	Hell's Angels '69	Detective
1970	Zabriskie Point	Lee's Associate
1970	Tora! Tora! Tora!	Cmdr. Maurice E. Curts - Kimmel's Communications Officer	Uncredited
1970	Monte Walsh	Hal Henderson
1971	The Hunting Party	Sam Bayard
1972	The Only Way Home	Philip
1974	The Godfather Part II	Senator Pat Geary
1977	One on One	Coach Moreland Smith
1977	MacArthur	General Eichelberger
1978	Maneaters Are Loose!	Gordon Hale
1979	Apocalypse Now	General Corman
1979	North Dallas Forty	B. A. Strothers
1980	The Formula	Arthur Clements
1982	Wrong Is Right	Jack Philindros
1983	The Lords of Discipline	Gen. Bentley Durrell
1984	Tank	Sheriff Buelton
1986	Dream West	Gen. Steven Watts Kearney	TV Mini-Series, 2 episodes
1989	The War of the Roses	Harry Thurmont
1994	Clifford	Parker Davis
1994	Ed Wood	Reverend Lemon
1995	Canadian Bacon	R. J. Hacker
1995	Nick of Time	Mystery Man
1996	The Long Kiss Goodnight	President
1999	Dick	Ben Bradlee	(final film role)

External links

• G. D. Spradlin at IMDb
• G. D. Spradlin at Find a Grave