Gailard Sartain


Gailard Lee Sartain Jr. was an American actor who frequently played characters with roots in the South. He was a regular on the country music variety series Hee Haw and was also known for his roles in three of the Ernest movies and the TV series Hey Vern, It's Ernest!, which ran for one season on CBS in 1988. He was also a successful painter and illustrator.

Early life and education

Gailard Lee Sartain, Jr. was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on September 18, 1946, the son of Elizabeth Bell Sartain and Gailard Lee Sartain, Sr. His father served as a Fire Chief in Tulsa from 1956–1964. He attended Cascia Hall Preparatory School but was expelled for poor grades, leading him to attend public Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, where he was in the Art Club and the Senior Play; it was at Will Rogers High School where Sartain, still experiencing culture shock from the far more casual environment of public school, began developing his style of humor. He was a member of the Epsilon Mu chapter of Kappa Sigma fraternity at the University of Tulsa, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. In 1968, Gailard moved to New York City, where he worked as an assistant to illustrator Paul Davis.

Acting career

Sartain's entry into entertainment was launched in Tulsa in 1970. Working originally as a cameraman at a local television station, he approached the station director when a previous disc jockey was fired from his position as the station's late-night host; the director initially intended to fire Sartain as well but relented and gave Sartain a three-episode pilot order. The result was a late night off-the-wall comedy program entitled The Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting. Dressed as a wizard, wearing a dark blue robe and pointed wizard's cap, Sartain hosted the program as "Dr. Mazeppa Pompazoidi". Other cast members included fellow Tulsa native Gary Busey and Jim Millaway. The program was broadcast on the Tulsa CBS affiliate KOTV and later the ABC affiliate KTUL. It featured B-movies, with skits written and performed by Sartain, Busey and company between the movie segments.
A year into his run as Mazeppa, Roy Clark's agent asked to be on the program, which led to an offer to join the cast of Hee Haw. Sartain initially declined but accepted in 1972 when he realized it would be a substantial increase in salary. He began as a background character but worked his way up to one of the show's most prominent stars and remained as a regular cast member of the popular show for nearly 20 seasons. He also served as a regular on other series including The Sonny & Cher Show and Shields and Yarnell. Sartain played C.D. Parker for one episode during the pilot season of Walker, Texas Ranger. He supplied the voice of a social worker in the pilot episode of the animated series King of the Hill. Sartain also portrayed an advisor to Louisiana Governor Earl Long in the movie Blaze.
Sartain appeared in more than forty motion pictures, most notably as The Big Bopper in The Buddy Holly Story, Sheriff Ray Stuckey in Mississippi Burning, The Outsiders, ''The Hollywood Knights, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Replacements as Offensive Assistant Coach Leo Pilachowski, The Big Easy, The Grifters, Getting Even with Dad, The Patriot, and an uncredited role in the 1994 comedy Wagons East starring John Candy and Richard Lewis. Sartain also appeared in a deleted scene from the Steve Martin comedy The Jerk as a Texas oil millionaire who successfully begs for $1500 to replace the cracked leather seats on his private airplane: "You know what this means? I can fly my friends to the Super Bowl like a man, not like some kinda god-danged bum!" He considered his excised role in The Jerk to be his funniest on-screen performance.
Sartain also appeared in Mel McDaniel's music video for "Stand Up" in 1985 as well as Michael Johnson's live performance video of "Give Me Wings" in 1986.
In 1999 he starred in “Existo”, as a nightclub owner and revolutionary named Collette
His final film role was in 2005, in Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown. He is also known for his roles in three of the Ernest P. Worrell films starring Jim Varney. With fellow Hey Vern co-star Bill Byrge of Nashville, the duo performed as brothers Chuck and Bobby in a series of "Me and my brother, Bobby..." pitches for local TV stations and product ads.
He was replaced by a younger brother named Tom Tulip in Ernest Scared Stupid''.

Art career

A successful illustrator, Sartain's artistic credits range from record cover designs for such artists as Leon Russell to illustrations for nationally published magazines.
In 2001, Sartain was asked to design the artwork for that year’s Mayfest festival, an art festival held annually in his hometown of Tulsa. “I wanted it to have vibrant colors, so I just let myself go with it," Sartain said. "I used all of my memories to try to capture a Tulsa flavor." His artwork was described as:

Personal life and death

Sartain and his wife, Mary Jo, were married on New Year’s Eve in 1988. They remained married for over 36 years until his death and had three children.
Sartain died of natural causes on June 19, 2025, in his hometown of Tulsa, at the age of 78. No other cause of death was stated other than his wife's humorous statement: "Actually, he died of silliness."