G. D. Spradlin
Born	Gervase Duan Spradlin (1920-08-31)August 31, 1920 Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, U.S.[1]
Died	July 24, 2011(2011-07-24) (aged 90) San Luis Obispo, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Oklahoma
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1964–1999
Political party	Independent
Spouses	Nell Spradlin ​ ​ (m. 1944; died 2000)​ Frances Hendrickson ​ (m. 2002)​
Children	2
Signature

Gervase Duan Spradlin (August 31, 1920 – July 24, 2011) was an American actor, attorney, and businessman. Known for his distinctive accent and voice, he often played devious authority figures or high ranking military officers. He is credited in over 70 television and film productions, and performed with actors such asRobby Benson,Marlon Brando,Al Pacino,James Garner,Charlton Heston,George C. Scott,Martin Sheen, andJohnny Depp. One of his best known roles was that of Senator Pat Geary inThe Godfather Part II.

Spradlin was born on August 31, 1920, inPauls Valley, Oklahoma. His parents both worked as schoolteachers. Spradlin obtained his bachelor's degree in Education from theUniversity of Oklahoma. He was a member of theDelta Chi fraternity. He then served in theUnited States Army Air Forces duringWorld War II, where he was stationed inChina.^[1]

After his military service, Spradlin returned to the University of Oklahoma, where he completed a law degree in 1948.^[1]

Spradlin's career as an attorney began inVenezuela. He became an independent oil producer, forming Rouge Oil Company.^[1] Before he turned to acting, he was active in local politics, and he campaigned forJohn F. Kennedy in 1959.

In 1964, Spradlin joined the Oklahoma Repertory Theatre.^[2]

A notable break for Spradlin resulted from his work in television in the 1960s. Casting directorFred Roos had cast Spradlin in television shows such asI 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"), andGomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (as visiting Colonel Driscoll in the episode "Gomer Pyle Super Chef").

He worked withJack Webb on the seriesDragnet, playing multiple roles from asafecracker, a pushy conventioneer caught up in a gambling sting, and a low-level con man.^[3] In 1968, he appeared as a false police sergeant, Preston C. Densmore, in S10:E13, “The Phony Police Racket”. Spradlin portrayed CommanderMaurice E. "Germany" Curts, Communications Officer, U.S. Pacific Fleet, in an uncredited role inTora! Tora! Tora! in 1970. He was also in the counter-culture filmZabriskie Point (1970).

When Roos co-producedThe Godfather Part II, he recommended Spradlin for the role of Pat Geary, a corrupt U.S. senator from Nevada,^[2] and Spradlin played a senator in the 1976 TV miniseriesRich Man, Poor Man Book II. In 1977, he guest-starred along withRuth Gordon andMariette Hartley in theColumbo episode, "Try and Catch Me". His film credits includedOne on One (1977) as an authoritarian basketball coach described byRoger Ebert as "a hard-nosed ace recruiter with a heart ofDrano" andApocalypse Now as General Corman, the somber officer who assignsMartin Sheen's character to the search mission.^[2][4] He played the head football coach B.A. Strother inNorth Dallas Forty (1979), and "Carolina Military Institute" commandant General Durrell inThe Lords of Discipline (1983).

In 1984, Spradlin played a villainous Southern sheriff inTank. In 1985, Spradlin portrayed PresidentLyndon B. Johnson in the mini-seriesRobert Kennedy and His Times, based on the book of the same name by presidential historianArthur M. Schlesinger Jr. In 1986, he again portrayed an American president when he playedAndrew Jackson in the television movieHouston: The Legend of Texas. Also in 1986, he starred in the miniseriesDream West. In 1988, he played AdmiralRaymond A. Spruance in the miniseriesWar and Remembrance. In 1989, Spradlin played a small role in the filmThe War of the Roses as a divorce lawyer, withMichael Douglas andKathleen Turner.^[1]

Spradlin played a minister inEd Wood (1994), a conspirator in the attempted assassination of a state governor inNick of Time (1995), Bishop Dyer in the TV movieRiders of the Purple Sage (1996), which was adapted fromZane Grey's 1912novel of the same name, and the President of the United States inThe Long Kiss Goodnight (1996).^[3]

Spradlin retired from acting afterDick (1999), in which he playedBen Bradlee.^[1] Although lending his likeness, he did not reprise his role as Pat Geary (whose in-game was voiced by Chris Edgerly) inElectronic Arts'video game adaptation ofThe Godfather Part II in 2009.

Spradlin's first wife, Nell, with whom he had two daughters, died in 2000. In 2002, he married Frances Hendrickson.^[1]

Spradlin died of natural causes at hiscattle ranch inSan Luis Obispo, California, on July 24, 2011. He was 90 years old.

• G. D. Spradlin atIMDb

• 1920 births
• 2011 deaths
• Male actors from Oklahoma
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• Oklahoma Democrats
• Oklahoma lawyers
• University of Oklahoma alumni
• United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
• People from San Luis Obispo, California
• People from Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
• Military personnel from Oklahoma
• 20th-century American lawyers
• Delta Chi members

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