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

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

.Staff report (March 29, 1989). Jack Starrett, 52; Adventure Film Actor, Director. ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' Starrett is perhaps best known for his role as ''Gabby Johnson'', a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

George "Gabby" Hayes George Francis "Gabby" Hayes (7 May 1885 – 9 February 1969) was an American actor. He began as something of a leading man and a character player, but he was best known for his numerous appearances in B-Western film series as the bewhiskered, c ...

, in the 1974 film '' Blazing Saddles'' and is also known for his role as the brutal deputy Art Galt in the 1982

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

First Blood ''First Blood'' (also known as ''Rambo: First Blood'') is a 1982 American action film directed by Ted Kotcheff, and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also stars as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. It co-stars Richard Crenna as Rambo's mentor ...

''. He also played the cruel foreman Swick in '' The River''. Starrett acted in the biker films ''

The Born Losers ''The Born Losers'' is a 1967 American outlaw biker film.Gary A. Smith, ''The American International Pictures Video Guide'', McFarland 2009 p 32 The film introduced Tom Laughlin as the half-Indian Green Beret Vietnam veteran Billy Jack. Since 19 ...

'', ''

Hells Angels on Wheels ''Hells Angels on Wheels'' is a 1967 American biker film directed by Richard Rush, and starring Adam Roarke, Jack Nicholson, and Sabrina Scharf. The film tells the story of a gas-station attendant with a bad attitude who finds life more exciting ...

'' (both from 1967), '' Angels from Hell'' (1968) and ''

Hell's Bloody Devils ''Hell's Bloody Devils'' (also known as ''The Fakers'' and ''Operation M'') is a 1970 American film directed by Al Adamson and written by Jerry Evans. Plot FBI agent Mark Adams (John Gabriel) poses as a member of a Las Vegas crime syndicate in ord ...

'' (1970), and directed two more: ''Run, Angel, Run'' in 1969 and ''

Nam's Angels ''The Losers'' released on video as ''Nam's Angels'' is a 1970 American biker war film directed by Jack Starrett. Plot The plot involves a gang of Hells Angels-type bikers called "The Devil's Advocates" involved in the Vietnam War. They are sen ...

'' (1970) as well as the

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

Race with the Devil ''Race with the Devil'' is a 1975 American action horror film directed by Jack Starrett, written by Wes Bishop and Lee Frost, and starring Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit, and Lara Parker. This was the second of three films Fonda and ...

'' (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 Refugio ( ) is a town in Refugio County, Texas, Refugio County, of which it is the county seat, in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 2,890 as of the 2010 United States census, 2010 Census. Refugio is the birthplace of National Baseball H ...

and worked in the

oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

s before coming to Hollywood.(April 1, 1989). Jack Starrett, Actor/Director in films, TV. ''

San Jose Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidiar ...

'' 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 ''The Girls from Thunder Strip'' is an exploitation film in the biker genre. It is directed by David L. Hewitt. Hewitt also co produced it with Michael Mehas. It was released in 1966. It also featured American Top 40 DJ Casey Kasem. Story Th ...

''.''Valerie Starrett Interview'' ''Sixties Cinema'' Throughout his career, Starrett directed

feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

and episodes of television programs. In addition, he made guest appearances on TV shows including ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

'', ''

Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

'', ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court marti ...

'', and ''

Knight Rider ''Knight Rider'' is an American entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three television series: the original ''Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequel series ''Team Knight Rider'' (1997–1998) ...

'' (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 Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began h ...

' 1974 film '' Blazing Saddles'', which was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

and was selected for preservation in the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...

Death

Starrett died from

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

Sherman Oaks, California Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...

at the age of 52. At the time of his death he was married to Valerie Starrett. His daughter is Jennifer Starrett, who is also an actress.

Filmography

Actor

Film

Television

Director

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Jack Starrett
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Starrett, Jack 1936 births 1989 deaths American male film actors American male television actors Deaths from kidney failure People from Refugio, Texas Film directors from Texas Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American male actors Blaxploitation film directors