SOURCE: 2025. The News International
Character actor Gailard Sartain, who appeared in nine Alan Rudolph films, dies at 81
Gailard Sartain, beloved for his two-decade run on the country-themed variety show Hee Haw, has passed away at the age of 81.
The actor breathed his last on Thursday, June 19, at his home in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, his wife Mary Jo Sartain confirmed.
Gailard Sartain, beloved for his two-decade run on the country-themed variety show Hee Haw, has passed away at the age of 81.
The actor breathed his last on Thursday, June 19, at his home in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, his wife Mary Jo Sartain confirmed.
In a nod to her husband’s devotion for laughter and comedy, Sartain’s wife of 36 years shared the cause of her husband’s death, saying, “Actually, he died of silliness.”
Sartain was a widely acclaimed funny character actor with a resume spanning film, television and even cooking.
He appeared in three Ernest movies and portrayed The Big Bopper in The Buddy Holly Story.
The late actor’s long standing collaboration with director Alan Rudolph resulted in nine films: Roadie, Endangered Species, Choose Me, Songwriter, Trouble in Mind, Made in Heaven, The Moderns, Love at Large and Equinox.
Additionally, Sartain also worked with some of Hollywood’s most revered directors, appearing in Carl Reiner’s The Jerk and All of Me, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders, Stephen Frears’ The Grifters, Jon Avnet’s Fried Green Tomatoes and Michael Mann’s Ali.
Outside of acting, Sartain, famous as a menacing racist sheriff in Alan Parker’s Mississippi Burning, was a multitalented creative and is survived by his wife, their children Sarah, Esther and Ben, as well as granddaughter Chloe and great-grandson Teddy.