Actor G. D. Spralin Passes On

Character actor G. D. Spralin passed on 24 July 2011 at the age of 90.

He was born Gervase Duan Spradlin on 31 April 1920 in Paul's Valley, Oklahoma. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in education. Afterwards he taught history. During World War II he served in the Army Air Force as an air traffic controller in China. Following the war he earned a degree in law from the University of Oklahoma. He became the head of the legal department in Caracas, Venezuela for the Phillips Petroleum Company, then later joined forces with a geologist to drill their own wells. Making a good deal of money, he retired in 1960.

Mr. Spralin developed an interest in acting while watching his daughter perform in local plays. He soon began to act in plays himself and eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. He made his television debut in an episode of The Iron Horse in 1966. During the Sixties he appeared in such shows as Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., Pistols 'n' Petticoats, Run For Your Life, I Spy, The Big Valley, Mannix, Bonanza, and The Virginian. He made his movie debut in Will Penny in 1968. He also appeared in Tora, Tora, Tora (1970) and Monte Walsh (1970).

In the Seventies he appeared on such shows as Alias Smith and Jones, Kung Fu, Hec Ramsey, Search, Adam 12, and Columbo. He appeared in the movies The Hunting Party (1971), The Only Way Home (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), Apocalypse Now (1979), North Dallas Forty (1979), and The Formula (1980). From the Eighties into the Nineties he appeared in such movies as Wrong is Right (1982), The Lords of Discipline (1983), Tank (1984), The War of the Roses (1989), , Ed Wood (1994), Canadian Bacon (1995), and Dick (1999). He appeared on such shows as Hallmark Hall of Fame and Dark Skies.