Gail Strickland

Acting

Gail Strickland

Born 1945-05-18 · Birmingham, Alabama, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Gail Strickland (born May 18, 1947) is an American character actress. Strickland was born in Birmingham, Alabama, the daughter of Theodosia and Lynn Strickland, who owned a tire shop. She had featured roles in 1970s films such as Bound for Glory, The Drowning Pool and Norma Rae. In a memorable Drowning Pool scene, Strickland and Paul Newman are trapped in a room filling with water from floor to ceiling, stripped to their underwear, with no apparent escape. Strickland appeared on the U.S. Navy series JAG first season episode "War Crimes". She played Ambassador Bartlett, the U.S. ambassador to Peru. She appeared in the pilot episode of the television series Night Court as the public defender. She guest starred in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Paradise" as the character Alixus. In 1994-1995, she appeared as Ms. Landis of Doubleday in the Seinfeld Season 6 episodes "The Chaperone" and "The Switch". Strickland played nurse practitioner Marilyn McGrath in the 1988 TV series HeartBeat. This was one of the earliest portrayals of a lesbian character on American network television. She also had a memorable appearance on the television series M*A*S*H as Captain Helen Whitfield, a nurse in an ongoing battle with alcoholism. She appeared in 11 episodes of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman from 1993-94 as the character Olive Davis. She played Esther MacInerney, the wife of A.J. MacInerney (Martin Sheen), Chief of Staff for President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas), in the 1995 blockbuster movie The American President, which also starred Annette Bening, Michael J. Fox, and Richard Dreyfuss. Strickland was a cast member in the brief run of the 2002 CBS television series First Monday, playing a Supreme Court justice. Description above from the Wikipedia article Gail Strickland, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.​

Acting credits

Uncommon Valor poster
6.3

A group of Vietnam War veterans re-unite to rescue one of their own left behind and taken prisoner by the Vietnamese.

Uncommon Valor

1983

The American President poster
6.5

Widowed U.S. president Andrew Shepherd, one of the world's most powerful men, can have anything he wants -- and what he covets most is Sydney Ellen Wade, a Washington lobbyist. But Shepherd's attempts at courting her spark wild rumors and decimate his approval ratings.

The American President

1995

The Man in the Moon poster
7.4

Maureen Trant and her younger sibling Dani share a strong connection, but local boy Court Foster threatens to throw their bond off balance. Dani and Court meet first and have a flirtatious rapport -- but when he meets Maureen, he falls hard and they begin a passionate affair. The new couple try to keep their love hidden from Dani, but she soon learns the truth, disavowing her sister. But a heartbreaking accident later reunites the girls.

The Man in the Moon

1991

When a Man Loves a Woman poster
6.6

An airline pilot and his wife are forced to face the consequences of her alcoholism when her addictions threaten her life and their daughter's safety. While the woman enters detox, her husband must face the truth of his enabling behavior.

When a Man Loves a Woman

1994

Norma Rae poster
7.2

Norma Rae is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. This concern about the situation gives her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labor union organizer. Together, they undertake the difficult, and possibly dangerous, struggle to unionize her factory.

Norma Rae

1979

How to Make an American Quilt poster
6.4

Soon-to-be-wed graduate student Finn Dodd develops cold feet when she suspects her fiancé is cheating on her. In order to clear her head, Finn visits her grandmother, Hy, and great aunt, Glady Joe Cleary, in Grasse, Calif. There, Finn learns that Hy and Glady Joe are members of a group of passionate quilters, and over the course of her visit she is regaled with tales of love and life by women who have collected rich experiences and much wisdom.

How to Make an American Quilt

1995

The Drowning Pool poster
6.3

Harper is brought to Louisiana to investigate an attempted blackmail scheme. He soon finds out that it involves an old flame of his and her daughter. He eventually finds himself caught in a power struggle between the matriarch of the family and a greedy oil baron, who wants their property. Poor Harper! Things are not as straight-forward as they initially appeared.

The Drowning Pool

1975

Protocol poster
5.5

A Washington waitress saves the Emir of Ohtar's life, launching her diplomatic career and a scandal.

Protocol

1984

Three of Hearts poster
4.9

A lesbian hires a male escort to break the heart of the bisexual woman who has just dumped her.

Three of Hearts

1993

Who'll Stop the Rain poster
6.5

John, a disillusioned Vietnam War journalist, turns to heroin smuggling. He cons Ray, an equally burnt out veteran into delivering the drugs stateside to his wife. Everything soon falls apart and Ray ends up on the run with John's wife trying to evade crooked narcotics agents.

Who'll Stop the Rain

1978

The Gathering poster
4.8

When Adam Thornton learns that he only has a little time left, he decides that he wants to make peace with his family. Only problem is that most of his family are not exactly fond of him because he walked out on his wife and of his stubborn nature and he hasn't spoken to his youngest son after having an argument with him which he was in the wrong but only realize after his son left and has not been heard from since. But he goes to her to help him find him. But when his doctor says that it won't be good for him to travel, she suggests that they invite them all for Christmas. While most of them come, Adam's attempt at reconciliation won't be easy.

The Gathering

1977

Oxford Blues poster
5.5

A young American hustler in Las Vegas spots a rich English Lady. Smitten, he pursues her to England, where his only chance of getting together with her is to enroll in Oxford and join the rowing team.

Oxford Blues

1984

Bound for Glory poster
6.9

A biography of Woody Guthrie, one of America's greatest folk singers. He left his dust-devastated Texas home in the 1930s to find work, discovering the suffering and strength of America's working class.

Bound for Glory

1976

My Apocalypse poster
5.5

In an apocalyptic future, a serial killer holds his family and another family hostage in an attempt to change his life.

My Apocalypse

2008

Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land poster
5.0

Starflight One, a commercial aircraft that can whisk passengers around the globe in a matter of hours, embarks on its maiden voyage. The trip goes horribly awry, however, when the aircraft is forced out of the atmosphere and into outer space. As it is too dangerous to attempt reentry, Captain Cody Briggs, his passengers and his crew brave declining levels of oxygen while NASA scientists scramble to launch a rescue mission in a race against time.

Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land

1983

Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star poster
4.6

Three aliens from the planet Taros land on Earth and are befriended by a Wyoming rancher's son.

Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star

1986

Spies poster
10.0

Long Island, 1942. 12-year-old Harry detects spies everywhere. But suddenly things get serious, as he and two evacuated London kids, Ned and Flo, stumble onto a real adventure. The children end up with America's destiny in their hands.

Spies

1993

One on One poster
5.9

Henry Steele is a basketball phenom at his small town high school, but when he matriculates to a big city university on a scholarship, soon realizes that he has few skills outside the sport. Expected by his coach to contribute significantly to the team, Henry is overwhelmed by the demands on his time, the "big business" aspect of college sports, and the fact that he never fully learned to read. Things look bleak for Henry when Janet Hays, a pretty graduate student, is assigned as Henry's tutor. Her intellect and strength lift Henry out of his doldrums just in time to battle the coach, who attempts to rescind Henry's scholarship.

One on One

1977

Silent Cries poster
5.0

In 1942, the Japanese occupied the island of Singapore. During the take-over, not only military soldiers were taken prisoner, but also innocent civilians, particularly women and children. This is the story of a group of women who band together to face brutal treatment, harsh conditions, and ruthless captors to survive their internment.

Silent Cries

1993

My Body, My Child poster
9.0

A woman must choose between having an abortion or giving birth to a deformed child.

My Body, My Child

1982

Bittersweet Love poster
4.0

A pregnant woman and her husband discover they are half-brother and half-sister, thanks to his father and her mother.

Bittersweet Love

1976

A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story poster
9.5

One of the most moving stories in the annals of sports is presented in this true drama documenting the love affair of baseball immortal Lou Gehrig and his wife Eleanor. Their romance spans the time period from his days of glory with Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees to his unsuccessful battle with an incurable disease. As the story begins, the talented but shy Gehrig is already a popular Yankee slugger when he meets the outgoing Eleanor. Their romance begins hesitantly, but blossoms as they exchange letters while Gehrig is on the road with the team. However, Gehrig's possessive mother becomes a formidable obstacle, first to their marriage and later to their happiness. But their love for one another proves triumphant. In the midst of their happiness, when Gehrig is at the peak of his career, he learns that he is suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The courage and dignity exhibited by the Gehrigs during this crisis make this a powerful, memorable film.

A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story

1978

The President's Mistress poster
6.8

A government courier is caught in a deadly cover-up after discovering that his murdered sister was not only the mistress of a U.S. president, but also a Soviet spy.

The President's Mistress

1978

A Matter of Life and Death poster
8.0

The true story of a nurse who spent her life caring for terminally ill patients.

A Matter of Life and Death

1981