---
name: "Gailard Sartain"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/gailard-sartain"
fi1m_id: "gailard-sartain"
imdb_id: "nm0765605"
tmdb_id: 2886
wikidata_id: "Q436503"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "18 September 1946"
died: "17 June 2025"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 76
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-10-05T20:04:58.983637+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Gailard Sartain

## Identity

Gailard Sartain

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/gailard-sartain
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** gailard-sartain
- **IMDb ID:** nm0765605
- **TMDB ID:** 2886
- **Wikidata ID:** Q436503
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gailard_Sartain, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q436503, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765605/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/2886

Actor. Born 18 September 1946 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. Died 17 June 2025.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 18 September 1946, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
- **Died:** 17 June 2025
- **Active:** 1988–2001
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 7: 5 acting, 2 other
- **Average Fi1m score:** 76, as actor, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 83 (2), 1980s 72 (1), 1990s 80 (3), 2000s 68 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 76 to 74 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 3 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Comedy 2, Crime 2, Animation 1, Family 1, Mystery 1
- **Screen time:** 9 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $255m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gailard_Sartain, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q436503, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765605/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/2886

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*King of the Hill*](https://film.one/tv/king-of-the-hill-1997.md) (82)
- **Apple TV:** [*Mississippi Burning*](https://film.one/film/mississippi-burning.md) (72)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Gailard Sartain

> Gailard Sartain was a dependable comic supporting actor who could also be frightening. His sheriff in *Mississippi Burning* is the role to seek out, showing how much his frequent casting as country characters could leave unused.

As Sheriff Stuckey in *Mississippi Burning* (1988), Gailard Sartain makes a familiar small-town figure threatening. Southern characters were regular work for him; this one offered a departure from the broad comedy. We were unsettled by his sheriff, because here the man with local authority is the source of menace. Alan Parker's thriller earns its tension, and Sartain is a persuasive reason to watch it, though our strongest praise for its acting goes to Gene Hackman.

His comic reputation came from sustained television work: he joined *Hee Haw* in 1972 and stayed for nearly twenty seasons. Sartain's comedy made use of a hearty physical presence and ad-libbing, qualities that help explain the repeated casting as country characters. An early notable film part was the Big Bopper alongside Gary Busey in *The Buddy Holly Story* (1978). The sheriff subsequently helped loosen that typecasting, although it would be a mistake to treat the comic work as merely something to escape.

*Fried Green Tomatoes* (1991), with Sartain as Ed Couch, has our score of 75, compared with a score of 72 for *Mississippi Burning*. Jon Avnet's drama earns its warmth chiefly through the women at its centre, with Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy particularly persuasive. Its predictable plotting and cautious treatment of sexuality are limitations, but the performances make the sentiment worth accepting. We recommend it for the ensemble; the sharper reason to seek out Sartain himself remains the sheriff.

Alan Rudolph worked with him on nine films. That repeated employment fits the broader impression of an actor useful across comedy and drama, even when the part was not large. It is also a reason to resist judging his whole career by the country caricatures. Start with *Mississippi Burning*, with one substantial caveat: its FBI-led story leaves the black community too little room to speak or act.

## Biography

Gailard Sartain was an American character actor and comedian. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he graduated from the University of Tulsa with a BFA and worked initially as an illustrator before entering entertainment through a local late-night comedy programme, 'Dr. Mazeppa Pompazoidi's Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting', which he created and hosted.

He became a regular cast member on the variety series *Hee Haw* for nearly 20 seasons from 1972 and appeared in numerous films, including *The Buddy Holly Story* (1978), *The Outsiders* (1983), *Mississippi Burning* (1988) as Sheriff Stuckey, *Fried Green Tomatoes* (1991) as Ed Couch, and *Elizabethtown* (2005). Sartain also featured in three Ernest films and voiced roles in animated series such as *The Simpsons* and *King of the Hill*.

Sartain died in Tulsa on 19 June 2025.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, hollywoodreporter.com.*

## On Fi1m (7)

### Performed in (5) — the average rests on these

- *Ali* (2001), Fi1m 68, as Gordon Davidson — [page](https://film.one/film/ali.md)
- *King of the Hill* (1997), Fi1m 82, as Case Manager (voice) — [page](https://film.one/tv/king-of-the-hill-1997.md)
- *Fried Green Tomatoes* (1991), Fi1m 75, as Ed Couch — [page](https://film.one/film/fried-green-tomatoes.md)
- *The Grifters* (1990), Fi1m 84, as Joe — [page](https://film.one/film/the-grifters.md)
- *Mississippi Burning* (1988), Fi1m 72, as Sheriff Stuckey — [page](https://film.one/film/mississippi-burning.md)

### Also credited (2) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *The Jerk* (1979), Fi1m 77, as Guy with Cracked Airplane Seats (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/the-jerk.md)
- *Nashville* (1975), Fi1m 89, as Man at Lunch Counter (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/nashville.md)

## Complete filmography (63)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Elizabethtown* (2005), as Charles Dean
- *The Round and Round* (2002), as Jim Stoops
- *Ali* (2001), as Gordon Davidson — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/ali.md)
- *The Replacements* (2000), as Pilachowski
- *Pirates of Silicon Valley* (1999), as Ed Roberts
- *Existo* (1999), as Colette Watchuwill
- *That Championship Season* (1999), as High School Principal (uncredited)
- *The All New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy in For Love or Mummy* (1999), as Oliver Hardy
- *The Patriot* (1998), as Floyd Chisolm
- *Joe Torre: Curveballs Along the Way* (1997), as Don Zimmer
- *RocketMan* (1997), as Mr. Randall (uncredited)
- *Murder in Mind* (1997), as Charlie
- *The Angry Beavers* (1997), series, Writer
- *King of the Hill* (1997), series, as Case Manager (voice) — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/king-of-the-hill-1997.md)
- *The Pretender* (1996), series, as Tug Beaulieu
- *The Spitfire Grill* (1996), as Sheriff Gary Walsh
- *Arli$$* (1996), series, as Hubert Lynch
- *Open Season* (1995), as George Plunkett
- *Speechless* (1994), as Lee Cutler
- *Chicago Hope* (1994), series, as Senator Thomason
- *Wagons East!* (1994), as J.P. Moreland (uncredited)
- *Getting Even with Dad* (1994), as Carl
- *Clean Slate* (1994), as Judge Block
- *The Real McCoy* (1993), as Gary Buckner
- *Walker, Texas Ranger* (1993), series, as C.D. Parker
- *Cooperstown* (1993), as Georgia State Trooper, George State Trooper
- *Sandman* (1993), as Dave
- *Equinox* (1992), as Dandridge
- *Wishman* (1992), as Dr. Abe Rogers
- *Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot* (1992), as Munroe
- *Fried Green Tomatoes* (1991), as Ed Couch — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/fried-green-tomatoes.md)
- *Guilty by Suspicion* (1991), as Chairman Wood
- *The Chase* (1991), as Hammer
- *Death Falls* (1991), as Hearse Driver
- *The Grifters* (1990), as Joe — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/the-grifters.md)
- *Ernest Goes to Jail* (1990), as Chuck
- *Love at Large* (1990), as Taxi Driver
- *The Simpsons* (1989), series, as Big Daddy (voice) — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons.md)
- *Blaze* (1989), as LaGrange
- *Mississippi Burning* (1988), as Sheriff Stuckey — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/mississippi-burning.md)
- *Ernest Saves Christmas* (1988), as Chuck
- *Hey Vern, It's Ernest!* (1988), series, as Chuck
- *The Moderns* (1988), as New York Critic
- *Made in Heaven* (1987), as Sam Morrell
- *Leader of the Band* (1987), as Elmo De Lavallard
- *Ernest Goes to Camp* (1987), as Jake
- *The Big Easy* (1986), as Chef Paul
- *Uphill All the Way* (1986), as Private
- *Trouble in Mind* (1985), as Fat Adolph
- *Songwriter* (1984), as Mulreaux
- *All of Me* (1984), as Fulton Norris
- *Choose Me* (1984), as Mueller
- *The Outsiders* (1983), as Jerry
- *Endangered Species* (1982), as Mayor
- *Hard Country* (1981), as Johnny Bob
- *Roadie* (1980), as B.B. Muldoon
- *The Hollywood Knights* (1980), as Bimbeau
- *The Jerk* (1979), as Guy with Cracked Airplane Seats (uncredited) — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/the-jerk.md)
- *Smokey and the Good Time Outlaws* (1978), as Arthur Leddy
- *Hee Haw Honeys* (1978), series, Actor
- *The Buddy Holly Story* (1978), as The Big Bopper
- *Nashville* (1975), as Man at Lunch Counter (uncredited) — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/nashville.md)
- *Hee Haw* (1969), series, Actor

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/gailard-sartain