Oklahoma-born character actor G.D. Spradlin dies1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteOklahoma-born character actor, former oilman and one-time Oklahoma City mayoral candidate G.D. Spradlin, best known as the corrupt senator in “The Godfather: Part II” and an Army intelligence officer in “Apocalypse Now,” has died. He was 90.
Native Oklahoman Actor G.D. Spradlin. Oklahoman print archive dated October 24, 1988. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman ORG XMIT: KOD
Spradlin died Sunday of natural causes at his cattle ranch in San Luis Obispo, Calif., his family reported.
Born Aug. 31, 1920, in Daylight Township near Pauls Valley, Spradlin grew up on a farm, earned an education degree from the University of Oklahoma, served in the U.S. Army Air Force in China during World War II and returned to OU to earn a law degree in 1948.
Spradlin became an attorney for Phillips Petroleum Co., advancing to the head of the company’s legal department in Caracas, Venezuela.
