American actor
Jack Starrett
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Born
| Claude Ennis Starrett Jr.
(
1936-11-02
)
November 2, 1936
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Died
| March 27, 1989
(1989-03-27)
(aged 52)
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Occupation(s)
| Actor, film director
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Years active
| 1961?1987
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Spouse
| Valerie Starrett
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Claude Ennis
"
Jack
"
Starrett Jr.
[1]
(November 2, 1936 – March 27, 1989) was an American
actor
and
film director
.
[2]
Starrett is perhaps best known for his role as
Gabby Johnson
, a
parody
of
George "Gabby" Hayes
, in the 1974 film
Blazing Saddles
and is also known for his role as the brutal policeman Art Galt in the 1982
action film
First Blood
. He also played the cruel foreman Swick in
The River
(1984).
Starrett acted in the biker films
The Born Losers
,
Hells Angels on Wheels
(both from 1967),
Angels from Hell
(1968) and
Hell's Bloody Devils
(1970), and directed two more:
Run, Angel, Run
in 1969 and
Nam's Angels
(1970) as well as the
horror film
Race with the Devil
(1975) - that was filmed in his home state of Texas - in which he also played a gas station attendant.
Life and career
[
edit
]
Starrett was raised in
Refugio, Texas
and worked in the
oil fields
before coming to Hollywood.
[3]
He starred in the 1961 film
Like Father Like Son
as Coach Jennings, and later reprised the role in
The Young Sinner
in 1965 and
Like Father Like Son
in 1987.
Valerie Starrett, his wife at one time, said Jack had always wished to direct rather than act. He made an uncredited first attempt at direction when the original director of
The Girls from Thunder Strip
needed assistance.
[4]
Throughout his career, Starrett directed
feature films
and episodes of television programs. In addition, he made guest appearances on TV shows including
Hill Street Blues
,
Hunter
,
The A-Team
, and
Knight Rider
(in which he made three guest appearances as different characters.) Starrett starred in three short films directed by Tony Schweikle. Starrett and Schweikle stayed close friends until Starrett's death.
[5]
He played the mumbling Gabby Johnson in
Mel Brooks
' 1974 film
Blazing Saddles
, which was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the
Library of Congress
and was selected for preservation in the
National Film Registry
.
[5]
Death
[
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]
Starrett died from
liver failure
in
Sherman Oaks, California
at the age of 52. According to his sister, he had been ill for "some time".
[6]
At the time of his death he was married to Valerie Starrett.
[
citation needed
]
Filmography
[
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]
Actor
[
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]
Film
[
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]
Television
[
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]
Year
|
Title
|
Role
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Notes
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1971
|
Cade's County
|
Wilbur Bain
|
Episode: "The Mustangers"
|
1977
|
Nowhere to Hide
|
Gus
|
TV movie
|
1979
|
Mr. Horn
|
General George Crook
|
TV movie
|
1979
|
Survival of Dana
|
Police Photographer
|
TV movie
Uncredited
|
1983
|
Hill Street Blues
|
Farley
|
Episode: "Moon Over Uranus"
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1983-1985
|
Knight Rider
|
Hagen / Lieutenant George Barth / Sheriff
|
Three episodes
|
1985
|
Wildside
|
General Abraham Wollock
|
Episode: "Well Known Secret"
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1985
|
Hunter
|
Dennis Balzer / The Bartender / The Sniper
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Three episodes
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1986
|
The A-Team
|
Wade Blackburn
|
Episode: "The Duke of Whispering Pines"
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Director
[
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]
Film
[
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]
Television
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
"Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997"
.
Familytreelegends.com
.
- ^
Staff report (March 29, 1989). Jack Starrett, 52; Adventure Film Actor, Director.
Los Angeles Times
- ^
(April 1, 1989). Jack Starrett, Actor/Director in films, TV.
San Jose Mercury News
- ^
Valerie Starrett Interview
Sixties Cinema
- ^
a
b
"Librarian of Congress Adds Home Movie, Silent Films and Hollywood Classics to Film Preservation List"
(Press release). Library of Congress. December 27, 2006.
Archived
from the original on April 12, 2020
. Retrieved
April 23,
2020
.
- ^
L.A. TIMES ARCHIVES (March 29, 1989).
"Jack Starrett, 52; Adventure Film Actor, Director"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
March 17,
2024
.
External links
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]
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International
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National
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People
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