William Sanderson

William Sanderson (born January 10, 1944) is an American retired 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 in Memphis, Tennessee^[1] on January 10, 1944^[2] to an elementary school teacher mother and a landscape designer father.^[3] He is a graduate of Memphis Central High School.^[4]

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.^[5] He earned B.B.A. (1968) and J.D. (1971) degrees there, though he did not take the bar exam.^[6]

In a 1972 episode of To Tell the Truth, Sanderson described himself as "a full-time bartender ... and a part-time actor."

Career

Sanderson appeared in many science fiction films, as one of the mechanics and regulars of the diner in The Rocketeer, who defies Nazi agents looking for the top secret rocket pack. As a single episode character, Deuce, in the television show Babylon 5 later reprising the role in Babylon 5: Thirdspace. Sanderson voiced Dr. Karl Rossum in Batman: The Animated Series.

Sanderson starred in the 1977 blacksploitation thriller Fight for Your Life, which is banned in the United Kingdom. He played the key supporting role of timid, genius inventor J. F. Sebastian in Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi-noir film Blade Runner.

As a guest, he made appearances in many television shows, his credits include The Pretender, The X-Files, Knight Rider, Married... with Children, Babylon 5, ER, Coach, and Walker, Texas Ranger. He plays a key role in an audio dramatization of Ursula K. Le Guin's Vaster than Empires and More Slow in NPR's 2000X series. In 2001, Sanderson played the courageous bartender Dewey in the TNT film Crossfire Trail.^[7]

Sanderson's fame peaked in a comic-relief role, as the soiled, societally-awkward, backwoodsman Larry in Newhart from 1982 to 1990, famous for the absurd catchphrase, "Hi. I'm Larry. This is my brother Darryl. This is my other brother Darryl" – a reoccurring character until the end of the second season, when he and his brothers purchased the cafe next to the Stratford Inn.

Sanderson had a minor role as the abusive and cruel junkyard dealer Ray in Man's Best Friend.

He returned to television playing E. B. Farnum in the HBO television series Deadwood from 2004 to 2006, later reprising the role in its film continuation. In 2008, Sanderson joined the cast of True Blood, playing Sheriff Bud Dearborne. He played Oldham, the resident interrogation expert of the DHARMA Initiative in an episode of the fifth season of the ABC series Lost.

In May 2019, Sanderson released an autobiography about his career, Yes, I'm That Guy: The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Character Actor.^[8] Following the release of his book, Sanderson and Nick "Saucey" Katsouros released a six-episode limited-run podcast, Sanderson Says, to discuss and expound on the autobiography.^[9]

Sanderson announced his retirement from acting on his Facebook page on May 13, 2020.^[10]

Personal life

Sanderson lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with his wife. He has one son, Andrew Sanderson, and two grandchildren, William and Jaxon Sanderson who live in Wake Forest, North Carolina. ^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

Television

References

1. ^ Maxey, Gabrielle (Spring 2020). "I've Seen The Guy Somewhere". University of Memphis Magazine. Archived May 25, 2025 at the Wayback Machine.
2. ^ "UPI Almanac for Friday, Jan. 10, 2020". United Press International. January 10, 2020. Archived January 15, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 1, 2020. … actor William Sanderson in 1944 (age 76)
3. ^ King, Susan (June 11, 2006). "Reluctantly, He'll Find His Next Train". Los Angeles Times. Archived February 4, 2020 at the Wayback Machine.
4. ^ Beifuss, John (May 30, 2019). "William Sanderson: Memphis actor tells all". Memphis Commercial Appeal. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
5. ^ Peters, Jamie (April 2006). "Acting most peculiar". The University of Memphis Magazine. 27 (2). Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
6. ^ Brinkley, Aaron (March 2000). "Blade Zone Presents: An Interview with William Sanderson". BladeZone. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
7. ^ Speier, Michael (2001-01-19). "Crossfire Trail". Variety. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
8. ^ Vakulskas, Brian (May 18, 2019). "Yes, I'm That Guy: The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Character Actor". KSCJ Radio. Retrieved May 27, 2019.^{[dead link]}
9. ^ "Sanderson Says". SoundCloud. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
10. ^ "William Sanderson on Facebook Watch". May 13, 2020. – via Facebook.
11. ^ "William Sanderson (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved October 19, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.

Further reading

• Voisin, Scott, Character Kings: Hollywood's Familiar Faces Discuss the Art & Business of Acting. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN 978-1-59393-342-5.

External links

• William Sanderson at IMDb