John Quade


John William Saunders III, better known by the stage name John Quade, was an American character actor who starred in film and in television. He was best known for his role as Cholla, the leader of the motorcycle gang the Black Widows in the Clint Eastwood films Every Which Way but Loose and its sequel Any Which Way You Can.

Early life

Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Quade attended Perry Rural High School in Perry, Kansas before transferring to Highland Park High School in Topeka on September 7, 1954. While at Highland Park, he was a football tackle and also participated in basketball and track. He was a member of the Stamp, Radio, and Chess/Checkers clubs. He graduated from Highland Park in May 1956.
Quade attended Washburn University in the fall semester of 1956. He worked for the Santa Fe Railway repair shop in Topeka. Quade met an engineer building missile silos in Kansas, which led to a job in California working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as an aerospace engineer. Some of the parts Quade constructed are still on the moon. While at a restaurant in Pasadena, a talent scout from the movie industry approached Quade to ask if he had ever done any acting.

Acting career

Quade began acting on TV in 1968 with a part on the TV show Bonanza, and made his first film in 1972. Due to Quade's gruff look, he usually played roles as a brutish villain or ruthless authority figure. He appeared opposite Clint Eastwood in High Plains Drifter, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Every Which Way but Loose, and Any Which Way You Can. Quade's wife stated that, "Clint hired him for his face and told him afterward that he felt like he got a bonus because John could act." He appeared in Papillon with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. He played the role of Sheriff Briggs in the mini-series Roots and was in the 1986 western mini-series Dream West. Quade starred in two short-lived television series, Flatbush and Lucky Luke.
He made many guest appearances on television shows ranging from Kojak, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Starsky & Hutch, Vega$, The Rockford Files, Bionic Woman, The Dukes Of Hazzard, Knight Rider, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Galactica 1980, The A-Team and On the Air, to TV miniseries such as Roots, Dream West and Return to Lonesome Dove.

Death

On August 9, 2009, John Quade died at his home in Rosamond, California, at the age of 71 due to a heart attack while sleeping.

Selected filmography

  • Melinda as Cop
  • Hammer as Riley
  • Bad Company as Nolan
  • Goodnight, My Love as Edgar
  • Deadhead Miles as Spud Holder
  • High Plains Drifter as Jake Ross
  • Brother on the Run as 'Fatback' - Hit Man
  • The Blue Knight as Knobby Booker
  • Papillon as Masked Breton
  • The Sting as Riley
  • Planet Earth as Kreeg Commandant
  • The Swinging Cheerleaders as Belski
  • Mr. Ricco as Arkansas
  • Rancho Deluxe as Circular Face
  • 92 in the Shade as Roy
  • The Last Hard Men as Gant
  • The Outlaw Josey Wales as Comanchero Leader
  • Special Delivery as Barney
  • Roots as Sheriff Biggs
  • Night Terror as the Derelict
  • Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion as Adam
  • The Ghost of Flight 401 as Marshall
  • Every Which Way but Loose as Cholla
  • Buck Rogers in the 25th Century as Jolen Quince
  • Any Which Way You Can as Cholla
  • Galactica 1980 as Sheriff
  • Cattle Annie and Little Britches as Morgan
  • No Man's Land as Henry Lambert
  • Fury to Freedom as Mr. Ries
  • The B.R.A.T. Patrol as 'Knife'
  • Gone to Texas as Senator William Stansbury
  • La Bamba as Bartender
  • Tigershark as 'Cowboy' Dave Reynolds
  • The Tracker as Lomax
  • The Giant of Thunder Mountain as Carl
  • And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird as Walter Kotzwinkle