# Jack Starrett

Claude Ennis "Jack" Starrett Jr. (November 2, 1936 – March 27, 1989) was an American actor and film director.
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

Starrett was raised in Refugio, Texas and worked in the oil fields before coming to Hollywood. 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.
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.
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.

## Death

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". At the time of his death he was married to Valerie Starrett.

## Filmography
### Film

Director
* Run, Angel, Run! (1969)
* House of Zodiac (1969)
* Nam's Angels (1970)
* Cry Blood, Apache (1970)
* The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie (1972)
* Slaughter (1972)
* Cleopatra Jones (1973)
* The Gravy Train (1974)
* Race with the Devil (1975)
* The New Spartans (1975)
* A Small Town in Texas (1976)
* Hollywood Man (1976)
* Walking Tall: Final Chapter (1977)
* Kiss My Grits (1982)
Actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1965 | The Young Sinner | Coach Jennings | |
| 1967 | Hells Angels on Wheels | Sergeant Bingham | |
| 1967 | The Born Losers | Deputy Fred | |
| 1968 | Angels from Hell | Bingham | |
| 1969 | The Gay Deceivers | Colonel Dixon | |
| 1970 | Hell's Bloody Devils | Rocky | |
| 1970 | The Girls from Thunder Strip | Sheriff | |
| 1970 | Nam's Angels | Chet Davis | Uncredited |
| 1970 | Cry Blood, Apache | The Deacon | |
| 1973 | Kid Blue | Tough Guy | |
| 1974 | Blazing Saddles | Gabby Johnson | |
| 1974 | The Gravy Train | Gentleman Rancher | |
| 1975 | Race with the Devil | Gas Station Attendant | |
| 1976 | A Small Town in Texas | Buford Tyler | |
| 1979 | The Rose | Dee | |
| 1982 | First Blood | Deputy Sergeant Art Galt | |
| 1983 | Grizzly II: The Concert | Papas | Unreleased film |
| 1984 | The River | Swick | |
| 1987 | Like Father Like Son | Coach Jennings | Uncredited |
| 1988 | Death Chase | Lieutenant MacGrew | |
| 1988 | Brothers in Arms | Father | |
| 1989 | Family Reunion | Charlie | |
| 1989 | Nightwish | Professor | |
| 1990 | Hollywood Heartbreak | Lou Budowski | (final film role) |

### Television
#### TV series

Director
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1969 | The Bold Ones: The New Doctors | 2 episodes |
| 1974 | Planet of the Apes | Episode: "The Horse Race" |
| 1975-1977 | Starsky & Hutch | 3 episodes |
| 1978 | What Really Happened to the Class of '65? | Episode: "Class Underachiever" |
| 1979 | Paris | Episode: "Decisions" |
| 1979 | A Man Called Sloane | Episode: "Sweethearts of Disaster" |
| 1979-1980 | The Dukes of Hazzard | Two episodes |
| 1980 | Beyond Westworld | Episode: "The Lion" |
| 1980 | Eischied | Episode: "Powder Burn" |
| 1981 | Hill Street Blues | Episode: "Life, Death, Eternity" |
Actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1971 | Cade's County | Wilbur Bain | Episode: "The Mustangers" |
| 1983 | Hill Street Blues | Farley | Episode: "Moon Over Uranus" |
| 1983-1985 | Knight Rider | Hagen / Lieutenant George Barth / Sheriff | 3 episodes |
| 1985 | Wildside | General Abraham Wollock | Episode: "Well Known Secret" |
| 1985 | Hunter | Dennis Balzer / The Bartender / The Sniper | 3 episodes |
| 1986 | The A-Team | Wade Blackburn | Episode: "The Duke of Whispering Pines" |

#### TV movies

Director
* Night Chase (1970)
* Roger and Hary: The Mitera Target (1977)
* Nowhere to Hide (1977)
* Thaddeus Rose and Eddie (1978)
* Big Bob Johnson and His Fantastic Speed Circus (1978)
* Mr. Horn (1979)
* Survival of Dana (1979)
Actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1977 | Nowhere to Hide | Gus | |
| 1979 | Mr. Horn | General George Crook | |
| 1979 | Survival of Dana | Police Photographer | Uncredited |