William sanderson actor biography
Prolific and versatile character actor William Sanderson was born on January 10, 1944, in Memphis, Tennessee. His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father was a landscape designer. William served two years in the US Army. Following his military service he attended Southern Methodist University. He earned both a BBA degree and a JD law degree from Memphis State University. William went to New York to try his luck as an actor. He studied his craft with Herbert Berghof and William Hickey.
Sanderson began his acting career in off-Broadway stage productions and appeared in several independent pictures. He gave a superbly lively and intense performance as vicious racist and escaped convict Jessie Lee Kane in the brutal exploitation feature Fight for Your Life (1977). William was likewise marvelous as gentle toymaker J.F. Sebastian in the fantastic science-fiction cult favorite Blade Runner (1982). He has played his fair share of loathsome bad guys (he refers to these particular characters as "prairie scum"), such as nasty lout Calvin in Raggedy Man (1981), lowlife hick Lee Dollarhide in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) and weaselly criminal Snow in Lone Wolf McQuade (1983). Not surprisingly, considering his distinctive Southern drawl, he has also appeared in such westerns as the comedy Wagons East (1994), Crossfire Trail (2001), Monte Walsh (2003), Andersonville (1996), Gods and Generals (2003) and the acclaimed TV mini-series Lonesome Dove (1989) (one of several projects in which Sanderson has acted alongside Tommy Lee Jones). Sanderson gave a lovely and touching portrayal in a rare lead role as emotionally dysfunctional recovering alcoholic ukulele minstrel Stanley Myer in the poignant indie drama Stanley's Gig (2000). He achieved his greatest popularity, however, as flaky backwoodsman Larry on the hit sitcom Newhart (1982) on which he uttered the memorable catchphrase, "I'm Larry. This is my brother Darryl and this is my other
William Sanderson
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January 10, 1944 (1944-01-10) (age 81)
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Memphis, Tennessee, USA
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William Sanderson, born January 10, 1944 in Memphis, Tennessee, is an American actor who plays the role of Sheriff Bud Dearborne on the HBO original series True Blood. Making his debut in the series' premiere episode, "Strange Love", in the series' first season, William was a starring actor who plays the role of the former sheriff of Bon Temps,Louisiana. A once major pillar of the Bon Temps Police Station, William was the working partner of the town's current sheriff, Andy Bellefleur. A man of few words, the former sheriff was a bit smarter, and much more contemplative than his co-worker Andy, but remained suspicious of vampires, just because they were vampires. In his spare time, he enjoyed square dancing with his wife, and plays a recurring role through the series' first, second, third and fifth seasons. Originally retiring from the Police Department in the series' third season, William met an untimely demise on the Season 5 episode "Everybody Wants to Rule the World".
Biography[]
William Sanderson was born on January 10, 1944 in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. to an elementary school teacher mother and a landscape designer father. He is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. He holds business (B.B.A., 1968) and law (J.D., 1971) degrees from the University of Memphis (then known as Memphis State University). The Law School at Memphis State was then located just a few yards from the Theatre Building and of course the Theatre Department. He was bit by the acting bug and started acting in college productions while at Memphis State University, where he is still today r
By Gabrielle Maxey
You may not know his name, but you’ve likely seen his face with the puppy-dog-sad eyes and heard his distinctive moonshine-and-molasses Tennessee twang. Chances are you would recognize William Sanderson instantly from his many notable acting roles.
You might know him as Larry, the chatty member of a trio of brothers (the others being Darryl and Darryl) on the classic ’80s sitcom Newhart, a role that planted him firmly in pop-culture consciousness. Or as E.B. Farnum in the Emmy-nominated Deadwood, Sheriff Bud Dearborne in the vampire series True Blood, J.F. Sebastian in the science fiction masterpiece Blade Runner or a moonshiner in the Loretta Lynn biopic Coal Miner’s Daughter.
In his recently published book Yes, I’m That Guy: The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Character Actor, the two-time UofM alumnus details five decades of work in hundreds of feature films, made-for-TV movies and series, plays, commercials and voiceovers.
The versatile and prolific actor’s success is even more remarkable considering his apparent determination to torpedo his career. He’s very open about his past tendency to drink too much, triggering a quick temper and leading to a spate of arrests and forcible ejections from bars.
Sanderson was born in Memphis, living in the attic of a boarding house when he was young.
He was a teenager when Elvis rocketed to fame and became obsessed with the singer’s music, style and aura. Through a music contact, Sanderson was even able to crash some of Elvis’ parties, including pickup football games in Whitehaven and late-night trips to the Memphis Fairgrounds to ride bumper cars and the Zippin Pippin.
“It was great to be able to be around him,” Sanderson remembered. “He was always polite and generous to fans. He sparked dreams in so many people.”
There were a few bumps in the road. A youthful arrest for hotwiring a car and taking it for a joyride earned him a few days in juvenile hall. After high school, he joined th
William Sanderson
American actor
This article is about the American actor. For other people named William Sanderson, see William Sanderson (disambiguation).
William Sanderson | |
|---|---|
Sanderson in 2019 | |
| Born | (1944-01-10) January 10, 1944 (age 81) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1976–2020 |
| Spouse | Sharon Sanderson (m. 1993) |
| Children | 1 |
William Sanderson (born January 10, 1944) is a retired American actor. He played J. F. Sebastian in the feature film Blade Runner (1982), and had regular roles on several television series, playing Larry on Newhart (1982–1990), E. B. Farnum on Deadwood (2004–2006, 2019), and Sheriff Bud Dearborne on True Blood (2008–2010, 2012).
Early life
Sanderson was born on January 10, 1944 to an elementary school teacher mother and a landscape designer father. He is a 1962 graduate of Memphis Central High School.
Sanderson volunteered for the U.S. Army when he was 18 years old in 1962. After his discharge, he attended college using the G.I. Bill, first at Southern Methodist University for a year, then at Memphis State University. He earned B.B.A. (1968) and J.D. (1971) degrees there, though he did not take the bar exam.
Career
Sanderson appeared as one of the mechanics and regulars of the diner in The Rocketeer, who defies Nazi agents looking for the top secret rocket pack. He also portrayed a character named Deuce in an episode of Babylon 5 and later reprised the role in Babylon 5: Thirdspace. Sanderson voiced Dr. Karl Rossum in Batman: The Animated Series. Sanderson starred in Fight for Your Life, which has a strict ban in the United Kingdom. He also played a supporting role as J. F. Sebastian in Ridley Scott's 1982 cyberpunk-noir film Blade Runner.
As a guest, he made appearances in television shows, and his credits include The Pretender, The X-Files,