Latest news with #ScreenTest:TakeOne
News18
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Gailard Sartain, Hee Haw And Mississippi Burning Actor, Dies At 81
Last Updated: Gailard Sartain, known for his roles in Hee Haw, Ernest films, The Buddy Holly Story, and Mississippi Burning, has died at 81. Veteran actor Gailard Sartain, whose career spanned decades of television, stage, and film, including a 20‑year run on Hee Haw and memorable roles in Spider‑Man and Mississippi Burning, has passed away at the age of 81. His wife of 36 years, Mary Jo Sartain, shared the news with The Hollywood Reporter, saying he died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 'Actually, he died of silliness," she added. His friendship with Everybody Loves Raymond star Doris Roberts stood out as one of his most long‑lasting bonds; they lived together until Roberts's death in 2016. She even directed his play Screen Test: Take One, based on his love for soap operas. Sartain first captured attention on local Tulsa television as Dr. Mazeppa Pompazoidi, he hosted the spooky The Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting—before finding fame on Hee Haw in 1972. He stayed on the show for nearly two decades, playing everything from Orville the cook to rambling clerks. His film résumé is vast and varied: he debuted in Nashville (1975), portrayed Jerry 'The Big Bopper" Richardson in The Buddy Holly Story (1978), and dabbled in spaghetti Westerns. On TV, audiences loved his cameos on shows like Seinfeld, Frasier, and Friends. A key turning point came with his chilling depiction of a racist sheriff in Mississippi Burning (1988), a role he felt broke his comedy mold. 'Nobody likes to be typecast as a barefooted hillbilly… that kind of turned things around," he told the Tulsa World in 2017. Sartain's film career included nine collaborations with director Alan Rudolph (Choose Me, Songwriter, Love at Large, and more), as well as roles under Carl Reiner in The Jerk and All of Me, Francis Ford Coppola in The Outsiders, Stephen Frears in The Grifters, and Michael Mann in Ali. In the 1980s, he teamed up with Bill Byrge to play Chuck in Hey, Vern, It's Ernest!—a role born from local commercials and later featured in Ernest films like Ernest Goes to Camp, Ernest Saves Christmas, and Ernest Goes to Jail. He even took on Broadway, starring in Dracula beginning in 1977, and lent his voice to creating Leon Russell's album art in 1975. But by 2005, with Elizabethtown, Sartain quietly stepped away from acting. Survived by his wife Mary Jo, their three children – Sarah, Esther, and Ben- along with granddaughter Chloe and great‑grandson Teddy, Sartain leaves behind a legacy. The Beverly Hills Playhouse paid tribute to his memory on Instagram, writing: 'There was only ever one like this, and we are the richer for having his presence in our theatre. Rest in peace, Jack." May his soul rest in peace! First Published:
New York Post
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘Spider-Man' and ‘One Life to Live' star Jack Betts dead at 96
Jack Betts has passed away at 96 years old. The actor starred on the soap opera 'One Life to Live' from 1979 to 1985, appearing in 20 episodes as Llanview Hospital's Dr. Ivan Kipling. Betts' nephew, Dean Sullivan, told The Hollywood Reporter that the star died in his sleep at his house in Los Osos, California, on Thursday. 7 Jack Betts at The Cocktail Hour play opening, LA, California, April 19, 1990. MediaPunch via Getty Images 7 Doris Roberts and Jack Betts arrive at the party celebrating the 200th Episode of 'Everybody Loves Raymond' on October 14, 2004 at Spago in Beverly Hills, California. Getty Images Betts lived with 'Everybody Loves Raymond' actress Doris Roberts before her death at age 90 in 2016. The two would attend events together over the years and Roberts even directed a play written by Betts, about a soap opera, titled 'Screen Test: Take One.' The close pals first met in 1954 at The Actors Studio in New York City in 1954. Decades later, in 1988, Betts accepted Roberts' offer to move from the Big Apple into the downstairs apartment at her Hollywood Hills home. 7 Actor Jack Betts. Columbia Pictures 'We were best friends to the very end, we had wonderful times together,' he gushed following her death. Betts was also known for starring as Henry Balkan – the Oscorp board chair who fired Norman Osborn (Willem Defoe) – in Sam Raimi's 2002 'Spider-Man.' Norman then became the villainous Green Goblin and vaporized Henry and the board. While on 'The Dev Show' in 2020, Betts spoke about filming the Oscorp boardroom shot and how he asked Raimi, 65, if he could add some of his own spin onto the scene. 7 Jack Betts is seen on May 6, 2016. GC Images 'I really looked [Defoe] right in the eye, and I had kind of a smile in my eye — you know, like, 'You're fired, you motherf–ker,'' the actor explained. 'After, I finished it, [Raimi] said, 'That's it. Terrific. Print that one.'' 'My point being is that I wanted to add something just a little different to it instead of doing it the same way over and over and over and over. [Raimi] he was willing to do that. He really was. Wonderful man to work with.' The Hollywood vet was raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, before moving to Miami with his family at age 10. The actor received his degree in theater from the University of Miami, and shortly after graduation, relocated to New York to begin acting. 7 Jose Ferrer, Jack Betts in 'Another World.' Courtesy Everett Collection Betts landed his first role as a supporting actor in the 1953 Broadway adaptation of William Shakespeare's 'Richard III.' For two seasons, from 1960 to 1962, Betts played detective Chris Devlin in the CBS mystery series 'Checkmate' opposite Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot and Doug McClure. The show, created by Eric Ambler, followed private detectives solving cases in San Francisco with the help of a British criminologist. Betts appeared four times on CBS' Perry Mason from 1961-66 before he met Giraldi about starring in Sugar Colt. He told the director that he could ride a horse and had just won a shooting contest — of course, he had never been on a horse or handled a gun — but he spent the next three weeks learning those skills at John Wayne's ranch before reporting for duty at Cinecittà in Rome. Shortly after, he entered the soap opera world, landing a role on 'General Hospital' from 1963 to 1965. 7 Jack Betts, Barbara Lord, Peter Falk in 'The Bloody Brood.' Courtesy Everett Collection From there, Betts made his mark on the franchises, and along with 'One Life to Live,' he had parts on 'The Edge of Night,' 'The Doctors,' 'Another World,' 'All My Children,' 'Search for Tomorrow,' 'Guiding Light,' 'Loving,' 'The Young and the Restless,' and 'Generations.' Some of Betts most memorable television roles included 'Seinfeld,' 'Frasier,' 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' 'Monk,' and 'Friends.' His last credited series was on the Freeform drama 'Good Trouble' in 2019. 7 Barbara Bain, Jack Betts in 'Silver Skies.' Courtesy Everett Collection When Betts stepped onto the spaghetti Western scene in 1966 as the title character Hunt Powers in Franco Giraldi's 'Sugar Colt,' he was able to turn that film into 15 others until 1973. But Betts didn't get the same credit as a certain fellow western star did. 'In the hotel next to mine was Clint Eastwood,' he recounted in a 2021 interview. 'He'd go up to his mountain and do his Western and I'd go up to my mountain and do my Western. But while his films had distribution all over the world, my films were distributed [everywhere] except Canada and America.' Betts is survived by his sister, Joan – who is set to turn 100 this year – nephew Dean, and nieces, Lynee and Gail.
Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Jack Betts, best known for Spider-Man and spaghetti Westerns, dies at 96
Veteran actor Jack Betts has passed away at the age of 96. According to People, his nephew Dean Sullivan confirmed that Betts died in his sleep on June 19 at his home in Los Osos, California. The actor was widely known for his roles in classic spaghetti Westerns and as Henry Balkan in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002). Jack Betts shared a close friendship with actress Doris Roberts of Everybody Loves Raymond fame. They lived together until Roberts died in 2016. She also directed Screen Test: Take One, a play written by Betts based on a soap opera. Jack Betts, renowned for his role as Henry Balkan in Spider-Man and various spaghetti Westerns, passed away at 96.(@cosmic_marvel/X) Also Read: Disney's Moana 2 joins $1 billion club: Top 10 films to reach this box office milestone Born in New Jersey, Jack Betts moved to Miami with his family at the age of 10. His love for acting began early, after watching Laurence Olivier's performance in Wuthering Heights in 1939. He studied theater at the University of Miami and later debuted on Broadway in Richard III. In the 1960s, he starred in several Italian Westerns, including Sugar Coat (1966), directed by Franco Giraldi. He also took the lead in Broadway's Dracula for three years starting in 1977. His television appearances included hits like Seinfeld, Frasier, Friends, and Everybody Loves Raymond. Betts is perhaps best recognized for playing Henry Balkan in Spider-Man, where he shared the screen with Willem Dafoe's Norman Osborn. His later appearances included roles in My Name Is Earl, Recovery Road, and Good Trouble in 2019. Also read: Billy Strings continues show after mother's passing: 'my mom would have wanted…' Tributes pour in after Betts' passing Following news of his death, the Beverly Hills Playhouse paid tribute to the actor with a heartfelt Instagram post. 'Our beloved Jack Betts passed away peacefully at home,' the caption read. The post concluded, 'There was only ever one like this, and we are the richer for having his presence in our theatre. Rest in peace, Jack.' A fan account of Everybody Loves Raymond shared their grief over Betts' demise. Several fans also praised Jack Betts' range and his role in spaghetti Westerns. Betts is survived by his nephew Dean, nieces Lynee and Gail, and his sister Joan, who turns 100 in November. FAQs Who was Jack Betts? Jack Betts was a veteran character actor known for his roles in spaghetti Westerns and the 2002 film Spider-Man. How did Jack Betts die? He passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in California's Los Osos on June 19, 2025. What was Jack Betts' most famous role? He was best known for playing Henry Balkan in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man.
