Gailard Sartain Dead at 78: ‘Hee Haw’ and ‘Fried Green Tomatoes’ Actor “Died of Silliness,” Says Wife

Actor Gailard Sartain, who spent two decades on the country variety show Hee Haw and appeared in three Ernest films with Jim Varney, died this week of natural causes. Reports differ on what day he died and his age, although most claim he was 78 years old.

His wife, Mary Jo Sartain, told The Hollywood Reporter that “he died of silliness.” The couple was married for more than 30 years. He was born and died in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Church Studio, where Mary Jo Sartain volunteered, also shared the news and later confirmed to TMZ that Sartain died earlier after a “long decline in health.”

“We are saddened by the loss of Gailard Sartain, an extraordinary actor, artist, and comedian,” the statement read. “His late-night visits in the 1970s to the studio after filming Mazeppa are fondly remembered. Gailard’s artwork is showcased on the cover of Leon Russell’s 1975 album Will O’ the Wisp.”

Misty Rowe, who co-starred with Sartain on Hee Haw, shared a tribute to her friend on Facebook.

“God Bless You, Gailard Sartain,” she wrote. “You were my brother on ‘Hee Haw Honeys’ and my friend on ‘Hee Haw’ for 19 years! I will never forget you.”

Videos by American Songwriter

Gailard Sartain Died Following “Long Decline in Health”

Victoria Hallman, who also co-starred with Sartain on Hee Haw, told TMZ he was like a big brother who was so funny they often had to reshoot scenes because they couldn’t stop laughing.

“I knew he wasn’t in good health and hadn’t been for a while,” she said. “We always fool ourselves that people will hang on. I wasn’t expecting to find out in the wee hours of the morning.”

Sartain joined the cast of Hee Haw in 1972 as Sheriff Orville P. Bullmoose.

In addition to Hee Haw and Ernest films, Sartain also appeared as The Big Bopper in The Buddy Holly Story, as well as characters in Mississippi Burning, Fried Green Tomatoes, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, The Patriot, and Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown.

When Alan Parker cast him as a racist sheriff in “Mississippi Burning,” Sartain called it a career milestone.

“Nobody likes to be typecast as a barefooted hillbilly, so when I had the opportunity to do other roles, I happily did it,” Sartain told Tulsa World in 2017. “I was cast in that, and that kind of turned things around. I wasn’t just typecast as a funny guy. That was a little bit pivotal.”

Not a “Barefooted Hillbilly”

Born to a fire chief on September 18, 1943, Gailard Sartain Jr. was expelled from private school, graduated from Will Rogers High School, and earned a degree from the University of Tulsa. He moved to New York in 1968, where he worked as an assistant to fellow Oklahoman Paul Davis, an illustrator featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Playboy. Sartain moved back to Tulsa to get his master’s degree and worked as a cameraman at a local station. He created and hosted the late-night show The Uncanny Film Festival And Camp Meeting.

From there, he moved on to Hee Haw and then launched his film career.

In addition to his wife, survivors include his children, Sarah, Esther, and Ben; his granddaughter, Chloe; and his great-grandson, Teddy.

Photo by Jerry Fitzgerald /American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images