William Sanderson(I)
- Actor
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 brother Darryl." More recently Sanderson
had a terrific role as conniving hotel proprietor E.B. Farnum on the
sensationally gritty cable western TV series
Deadwood (2004). Among the TV shows
William has done guest spots on are
The Practice (1997),
The Pretender (1996),
ER (1994),
The X-Files (1993),
Walker, Texas Ranger (1993),
Sirens (1993),
Matlock (1986),
Babylon 5 (1993),
Married... with Children (1987),
The Twilight Zone (1985),
Knight Rider (1982),
Coach (1989),
The Dukes of Hazzard (1979)
and
Starsky and Hutch (1975).
He has also done voices for numerous cartoon characters, radio
commercials and books on tape. Outside of his substantial film and TV
credits, William has acted on stage in productions of such plays as
"The Taming of the Shrew," "When Ya Comin' Back, Red Ryder?," "Insect
Comedy," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Dutchman," "Fishing," "Authentic
Life of Billy the Kid," "Tobacco Road," and "Scotch Rocks." William
Sanderson lives in Burbank, California, with his wife Sharon Wix.
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 brother Darryl." More recently Sanderson
had a terrific role as conniving hotel proprietor E.B. Farnum on the
sensationally gritty cable western TV series
Deadwood (2004). Among the TV shows
William has done guest spots on are
The Practice (1997),
The Pretender (1996),
ER (1994),
The X-Files (1993),
Walker, Texas Ranger (1993),
Sirens (1993),
Matlock (1986),
Babylon 5 (1993),
Married... with Children (1987),
The Twilight Zone (1985),
Knight Rider (1982),
Coach (1989),
The Dukes of Hazzard (1979)
and
Starsky and Hutch (1975).
He has also done voices for numerous cartoon characters, radio
commercials and books on tape. Outside of his substantial film and TV
credits, William has acted on stage in productions of such plays as
"The Taming of the Shrew," "When Ya Comin' Back, Red Ryder?," "Insect
Comedy," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Dutchman," "Fishing," "Authentic
Life of Billy the Kid," "Tobacco Road," and "Scotch Rocks." William
Sanderson lives in Burbank, California, with his wife Sharon Wix.