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Gervase Duan Spradlin 1920 - 2011

Gervase Duan Spradlin of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, California United States was born on August 31, 1920 in Pauls Valley, Garvin County, OK, and died at age 90 years old on July 24, 2011 in San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, CA. Gervase Spradlin was buried on July 27, 2011 at Cremated..

Gervase Duan Spradlin

G.D.

San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, California United States

August 31, 1920

Pauls Valley, Garvin County, Oklahoma, United States

July 24, 2011

San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, California, United States

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Gervase Duan Spradlin Gervase Spradlin (1920 - 2011)

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Gervase Duan Spradlin's History: 1920 - 2011

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Introduction

G. D. Spradlin - Tall and Handsome Character Actor Gervase Duan Spradlin 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 Peter Falk in Columbo as Ruth Gordon's attorney, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Garner, Charlton Heston, George C. Scott, and Johnny Depp. Born: August 31, 1920, Pauls Valley, OK Died: July 24, 2011, San Luis Obispo, CA Education: The University of Oklahoma Spouse: Frances Hendrickson Spradlin (m. 2002–2011), Nell Spradlin (m. 1944–2000) Children: Wendy Spradlin and Tamara Spradlin.
08/31

1920

Birthday

August 31, 1920

Birthdate

Pauls Valley, Garvin County, Oklahoma United States

Birthplace

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Early Life & Education

University of Oklahoma.
Military Service

He then served in the United States Army Air Force during World War II, where he was stationed in China.
Professional Career

He had a law degree but worked as a Character Actor. 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"). He worked with Jack Webb on the series Dragnet, playing multiple roles from a safecracker to a low-level con man. In 1968, he appeared as a false police sergeant, Preston C. Densmore, in S10:E13, “The Phony Police Racket”. 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). 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". His film credits included 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 portrayed 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). 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 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 1981 The Greatest American Hero Nelson Corey Pilot episode 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)
Personal Life & Family

Actor. Born Gervase Duan Spradlin, he received his bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Oklahoma followed by his service with the US Army Air Force, as he was stationed in China during World War II. Upon returning home, Spradlin attained his law degree in 1948 and served as an attorney for Phillips Petroleum, advancing to the head of their legal department in Caracas. He later became an independent oil producer. Spradlin's career in acting began unexpectedly, when he landed a part in a play his daughter was to audition for. This would lead to his appearing in a number of local theater productions and an eventual move with his family to Hollywood. Now in his late-40s, he was introduced to TV audiences in such programs as "I Spy," "The Big Valley" and "Mannix." He went on to perform supporting roles in the features "Will Penny" (1968), "Monte Walsh" (1970), "The Godfather: Part II" (1974, as the corrupt Senator Pat Geary), "Apocalypse Now" (1979), "North Dallas Forty" (1979), "Wrong Is Right" (1982) and "Ed Wood" (1994). He had a memorable performance as Lyndon Johnson in the 1985 TV mini-series "Robert Kennedy & His Times." He died from natural causes. Bio by: C.S. Family Members Parents Gervase Eugene Spradlin 1895–1963 Dona Lavorah Eddings Spradlin 1899–1983 Spouses Nelle Ethelyn Hulsizer Spradlin 1922–2000 (m. 1944) Frances Barbara Hewitt Hendrickson 1924–2018 Siblings Lavora Leah Spradlin Arizaga 1927–2005 Spouse: Nell Spradlin (m. 1944–2000) Frances Hendrickson Spradlin (m. 2002–2011) Children: Wendy Spradlin
07/24

2011

Death

July 24, 2011

Death date

Unknown
Cause of death

San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, California United States
Death location

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07/27

2011

Gravesite & Burial

July 27, 2011

Funeral date
Cremated. in CA
Burial location
Obituary

GD Spradlin obituary Character actor who portrayed smarmy politicians, sadistic generals and unspeakable authoritarian figures There is a scene in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather: Part II (1974) that crystallises the entire film career of the character actor GD Spradlin, who has died aged 90. As the corrupt senator Pat Geary, Spradlin asks the mafia boss Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) for a bribe so that he can grant gaming licences to the "family" for several casinos in Nevada. During the meeting, Geary launches into an attack on the Corleones, a name he pronounces with derision. "I intend to squeeze you. I don't like your kind of people. I don't like to see you come out to this clean country with oily hair and trussed up in those silk suits trying to pass yourselves off as decent Americans. I'll do business with you, but the fact is I despise you masquerading in the dishonest way you pose yourself." Spradlin makes the speech more powerful by delivering it without venom, but in a matter-of-fact manner. Needless to say, the senator gets his comeuppance. He is blackmailed by the Corleones after waking up in bed covered in blood next to a murdered prostitute after an alcoholic blackout. The role was just one of Spradlin's many vivid portrayals of smarmy politicians, sadistic generals and other unspeakable authoritarian figures who invite retribution. The 6 ft 2 in Spradlin, with a scowl often playing on his lips, was an imposing presence in films and television for three decades. Yet he only started acting professionally in his mid-40s, having led a varied life. The son of schoolteachers, he was born in Oklahoma. He gained a degree in education from the University of Oklahoma before serving in the US Army Air Force in China during the second world war. After earning a law degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1948, he became an attorney for Phillips Petroleum. In 1951 Spradlin became an independent oil producer. He was so successful that he retired nine years later, giving himself time to direct John F Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign in Oklahoma and to earn an MA in Latin American studies from the University of Miami. After an unsuccessful run for mayor of Oklahoma City in 1965, he moved his family to Los Angeles. Spradlin's acting debut was on television in 1966, one of his first roles being a colonel in the comedy series Gomer Pyle, USMC. His first two films were both directed by Tom Gries and starred Charlton Heston, as an ageing cowboy in Will Penny (1968) and an ageing American football player in Number One (1969). Spradlin, still to make his mark, had small parts. He was more visible as tough characters in Monte Walsh (1970), starring Lee Marvin as a cowboy trying to come to terms with the end of the old west, and in the gory and repellent The Hunting Party (1971). In 1972 Spradlin directed two forgettable low-budget movies, The Only Way Home and Outside In, before his acting career gained a boost with The Godfather: Part II. In One On One (1977), Spradlin was in his element as a tyrannical basketball coach, a role very similar to his cold-hearted football coach in North Dallas Forty (1979), though the typecasting benefited his acting profile. In Apocalypse Now (1979), Coppola's nightmarish Vietnam war drama, Spradlin plays General R. Corman (an homage to the director's mentor Roger Corman), one of the men who recruits Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) to "terminate" Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) "with extreme prejudice". He spells out the reasons methodically. "Every man has got a breaking point. You and I have. Walter Kurtz has reached his. And very obviously, he has gone insane." Perhaps drawing on his days as an oil tycoon in The Formula (1980), Spradlin convincingly played an unscrupulous oilman who proposes raising his company's petrol prices. "The people will accept the 12 cents now because we can blame it on the Arabs," he tells his business partner (Brando). The latter replies: "You're missing the point. We are the Arabs." Continuing on his unprincipled way, Spradlin, still curling his lip, was equally effective as a CIA boss in The Man With the Deadly Lens (1982); a martinet commandant of a southern military academy in The Lords of Discipline (1983), and an ignorant and malicious small-town sheriff in Tank (1984). Meanwhile, he was appearing in several television mini-series, which ostensibly gave him a chance to play more sympathetic characters, notably two US presidents, Lyndon Johnson in Robert Kennedy and His Times (1985) and Andrew Jackson in Houston: The Legend of Texas (1986). His last film was the Watergate comedy Dick (1999), in which he portrayed the Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee. Spradlin is survived by his second wife, Frances; and by two daughters, Tamara and Wendy, by his first wife, Nell, who died in 2000. Gervase Duan Spradlin, actor, born 31 August 1920; died 24 July 2011

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Gervase Duan Spradlin lived 21 years longer than the average family member when died at the age of 90.

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