{{short description|American actress (born 1945)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2015}} {{BLP sources|date=March 2013}} {{Infobox person | name = Gail Strickland | image = | image size = | caption = Strickland in trailer to "The Drowning Pool" (1975) | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1945|5|18}} | birth_place = Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | spouse = {{marriage|Neil Baker|1990}} | children = 1 | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1966–2008 }}
'''Gail Strickland''' (born May 18, 1945)<ref name="maurice">Maurice, Dick (July 27, 1975). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/855132122/?clipping_id=166856314 "Celebrities on the Couch – Interview: Gail Strickland"]. ''The St. Tammany News-Banner''. p. 4. Retrieved February 27, 2025.</ref> is a retired American actress who had prominent supporting roles in such films as ''{{sortname|The|Drowning Pool|The Drowning Pool (film)}}'' (1975), ''Bound for Glory'' (1976), ''Who'll Stop the Rain'' (1978), ''Norma Rae'' (1979), and ''Protocol'' (1984), and appeared regularly on various network television shows.
== Early years == Born in Birmingham, Alabama,<ref name="maurice"/> Strickland is one of five children of Theodosia and Lynn Strickland, who owned a large tire dealership. She was tall for her age in her youth, and she said, “When boys started looking differently at girls, I wasn’t one of the ones they looked differently at.” She turned to writing and performing plays as a way of attracting attention.<ref name=people>{{cite journal |last1=Toepfer |first1=Susan |last2=Hutchings |first2=David |date=April 25, 1988 |title=Is Prime Time Ready for Its First Lesbian? Gail Strickland Hopes So—and She's About to Find Out |url=https://people.com/archive/is-prime-time-ready-for-its-first-lesbian-gail-strickland-hopes-so-and-shes-about-to-find-out-vol-29-no-16/ |url-status=live |journal=People |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117144815/http://people.com/archive/is-prime-time-ready-for-its-first-lesbian-gail-strickland-hopes-so-and-shes-about-to-find-out-vol-29-no-16/ |archive-date=January 17, 2018 |access-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref>
Strickland graduated from Brooke Hill School in Birmingham. She went to Florida State University,<ref name="bn"/> where she was a gymnast,<ref name=people/> was the first female clown with the university's circus, and received a teaching certificate in English. During her college summers she worked in community theater in Sarasota, Florida.<ref name="bn">{{cite news |last1=Washburn |first1=Dennis |title=Birminghamian lands roles in TV movies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news-gail-strickland/166845963/ |access-date=February 27, 2025 |work=The Birmingham News |date=February 10, 1978 |page=28|via = Newspapers.com }}</ref>
Following college, Strickland was a governess in Spain for two months, and then worked as a waitress in Cape Cod. After that she moved to New York, working as a receptionist for an advertising agency while she studied improvisational acting. That was followed by her attendance at Sanford Meisner Drama School. During those times she did some acting in commercials and soap operas.<ref name="bn" />
==Career== {{BLP one source|section|date=November 2016}} In 1973, Strickland appeared as Sister Ann in the season four episode, "Almost a Nun's Story", on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''. She appeared on the television series ''M*A*S*H'' as Captain Helen Whitfield, a nurse in an ongoing battle with alcoholism. She appeared as Courtney, Jerry's love interest, in the episodes titled "Jerry Robinson Crusoe" (3.13) and “My Boy Guillermo” (4.19) of ''The Bob Newhart Show.'' She appeared in the pilot episode of the television series ''Night Court'' as the public defender. She also guest-starred in the ''Cagney & Lacey'' episode "Suffer the Children" season one, episode four. Strickland played a struggling rancher's daughter in the 1987 ''Highway to Heaven'' episode "A Dream of Wild Horses", alongside actor Richard Farnsworth. She played nurse practitioner Marilyn McGrath in the 1988 TV series ''HeartBeat''. This was one of the {{Citation needed span|earliest portrayals of a lesbian character on American network television.|date=December 2024}}
Strickland appeared in 11 episodes of ''Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'', from 1993 to 1994, as the character Olive Davis. She guest-starred in the ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' episode "Paradise", as the character Alixus. In 1994–95, she appeared as Mrs. Landis of Doubleday in the ''Seinfeld'' season six episodes "The Chaperone" and "The Switch". She appeared on the U.S. Navy series ''JAG'' first-season episode "War Cries" as Ambassador Bartlett, the U.S. ambassador to Peru. Strickland also played Esther MacInerney, the wife of Martin Sheen's presidential chief of staff character, in the 1995 movie ''The American President''. She played Dr. Rene Spielman on ''ER'' season six, episode six, "The Peace of Wild Things".
Strickland was a cast member in the brief run of the 2002 CBS television series ''First Monday'', playing an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
== Personal life == Strickland married Neil Baker, and they have a daughter together named Maisy. She also has a stepson named Chris Baker.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 29, 2007 |title=It's All about the Light |url=https://www.palipost.com/its-all-about-the-light/ |newspaper=Palisadian-Post |location=Pacific Palisades, Calif}}</ref>
She was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia in the early 1990s.<ref name="ArtSpeak">{{cite interview |subject-first=Gail |subject-last=Strickland |interviewer-first=Raymond |interviewer-last=Elman |title=Gail Strickland: Consummate Actress |work=Art Speak |chapter=Introduction to Gail Strickland |publisher=Florida International University College of Communication, Architecture and the Arts |date=2021-07-06 |format=YouTube Video #1 |url=https://artspeak.fiu.edu/interviews/gail-strickland/ |access-date=2025-02-26}}</ref> The condition affects her speech; she continued working for 15 years before it became too debilitating for her to deliver her lines, resulting in her retirement from acting.<ref name="ArtSpeak" />
==Filmography== <!-- Please note: "rowspan" breaks table sortability. -->
===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role |- |1975 |''{{sortname|The|Drowning Pool|The Drowning Pool (film)}}'' |Mavis Kilbourne |- |1976 |''Bittersweet Love'' |Roz |- |1976 |''Bound for Glory'' |Pauline |- |1977 |''One on One'' |B.J. Rudolph |- | 1977 | ''The Gathering'' | Peggy Thornton |- |1978 |''Who'll Stop the Rain'' |Charmian |- |1979 |''Norma Rae'' |Bonnie Mae |- |1983 |''Uncommon Valor'' |Helen Rhodes |- |1983 |''Lies'' |Jessica Brenner |- |1984 |''Oxford Blues'' |Las Vegas Lady |- |1984 |''Protocol'' |Mrs. St. John |- |1986 |''Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star'' |Myrna King |- |1991 |''The Man in the Moon'' |Marie Foster |- |1993 |''Three of Hearts'' |Yvonne |- |1994 |''When a Man Loves a Woman'' |Pam |- |1994 |''Last Time Out'' |Becky Davis |- |1995 |''How to Make an American Quilt'' |The Mrs. |- |1995 |''{{sortname|The|American President}}'' |Esther MacInerney |- |2008 |''My Apocalypse'' |Victoria Eastman |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- |1969 |''Dark Shadows'' |Dorcas Trilling |"1.751", "1.766" |- |1973 |''{{sortname|The|Mary Tyler Moore Show}}'' |Sister Ann Hutchins |"Almost a Nun's Story" |- |1974 |''Barnaby Jones'' |Susan Taylor |"Friends Till Death" |- |1974 |''Police Story'' |Julie Keegan |"Country Boy" |- |1974 |''Hawaii Five-O'' |Elena Lewis / Forbes |"Killer at Sea", "How to Steal a Masterpiece" |- |1974–75 |''{{sortname|The|Bob Newhart Show}}'' |Courtney Simpson |"Jerry Robinson Crusoe", "My Boy Guillermo" |- |1975 |''Harry O'' |Laura Mayo |"Silent Kill" |- |1975 |''Ellery Queen'' |Gail Stevens |"Too Many Suspects" |- |1975 |''My Father's House'' |Paula |TV film |- |1975 |''{{sortname|The|Rookies}}'' |Beverly Shore |"The Voice of Thunder" |- |1976 |''Kojak'' |Monica |"Justice Deferred" |- |1976 |''{{sortname|The|Dark Side of Innocence|nolink=1}}'' |Heather |TV film |- |1977 |''Westside Medical'' |Aileen Baker |"The Devil & the Deep Blue Sea" |- |1977 |''{{sortname|A|Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story|nolink=1}}'' |Dorothy |TV film |- |1977 |''{{sortname|The|Gathering|The Gathering (1977 film)}}'' |Peggy |TV film |- |1978 |''{{sortname|The|President's Mistress}}'' |Gwen Bowers |TV film |- |1978 |''Lou Grant'' |Liz Harrison |"Scandal" |- |1978 |''Ski Lift to Death'' |Vicki Gordon |TV film |- |1979 |''Letters from Frank'' |Marlene |TV film |- |1979 |''{{sortname|The|Gathering, Part II|The_Gathering_(1977_film)#Sequel}}'' |Peggy |TV film |- |1980 |''King Crab'' |Vicky |TV film |- |1980 |''Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case'' |Jean Christensen |TV film |- |1981 |''{{sortname|A|Matter of Life and Death|nolink=1}}'' |Mary Coggins |TV film |- |1981 |''M*A*S*H'' |Capt. Helen Whitfield |"Bottoms Up" |- |1981 |''Walking Tall'' |Lynn Hudson |"Deadly Impact" |- |1981 |''Darkroom'' |Helen |"Siege of 31 August" |- |1982 |''Trapper John, M.D.'' |Dr. Curtis |"Doctors and Other Strangers" |- |1982 |''Alice'' |Julia Roberts |"Give My Regrets to Broadway" |- |1982 |''My Body, My Child'' |Adele |TV film |- |1982 |''Eleanor, First Lady of the World'' |Anna Roosevelt |TV film |- |1982 |''{{sortname|The|Six of Us}}'' |Sally Benjamin-Tree |TV film |- |1982 |''ABC Afterschool Special'' |Mrs. Watson |"Amy & the Angel" |- |1982 |''Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice'' |Abbie |TV film |- |1982, 1984 |''Hill Street Blues'' |Gail Kennedy |"Invasion of the Third World Body Snatchers", "The Other Side of Oneness" |- |1982, 1984 |''Cagney & Lacey'' |Ruth Dawes / Mrs. Tanton |"Suffer the Children", "Fathers & Daughters" |- |1983 |''Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land'' |Nancy Gilliam |TV film |- |1983 |''Hardcastle and McCormick'' |Agatha 'Aggy' Wainwright |"Flying Down to Rio" |- |1984 |''Night Court'' |Sheila Gardiner |"All You Need Is Love" |- |1984 |''Family Ties'' |Dorothy Canell |"Ladies' Man" |- |1984 |''Emerald Point N.A.S.'' |Dr. Robards |Recurring role |- |1984 |''Fame'' |Becky Guest |"The Ballad of Ray Claxton" |- |1985 |''Dallas'' |Veronica Robinson |"Winds of War", "Shattered Dreams", "Terms of Estrangement" |- |1985 |''On Our Way'' |Melinda |TV film |- |1985–86 |''{{sortname|The|Insiders|The Insiders (TV series)}}'' |Alice West |Main role |- |1986 |''Spenser: For Hire'' |Mildred Frances |"She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not" |- |1986–87 |''What a Country!'' |Principal Joan Courtney |Main role (season 1) |- |1987 |''CBS Schoolbreak Special'' |Kay Webb |"An Enemy Among Us" |- |1987 |''Highway to Heaven'' |Billie Harwood |"A Dream of Wild Horses" |- |1987 |''Murder, She Wrote'' |Kate Hollander |"Steal Me a Story" |- |1988–89 |''Heartbeat'' |Marilyn McGrath, N.P. |Main role |- |1991 |''Civil Wars'' |Lisa Wharton |"The Pound and the Fury" |- |1991 |''WIOU'' |Beatrice Hudson |"Three Women and a Baby", "One Flew Over the Anchor Desk" |- |1992 |''{{sortname|The|Burden of Proof|The Burden of Proof (miniseries)}}'' |Fiona Cawley |TV miniseries |- |1992 |''Spies'' |Mrs. Mills |TV film |- |1993 |''Silent Cries'' |Roberta Hampton |TV film |- |1993 |''Law & Order'' |Ellen Gorham |"Promises to Keep" |- |1993 |''Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'' |Olive Davis |Recurring role (season 1) |- |1993 |''Remember'' |Amanda |TV film |- |1994 |''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' |Alixus |"Paradise" |- |1994 |''Murder, She Wrote'' |Edith Peabody |"To Kill a Legend" |- |1994–95 |''Seinfeld'' |Ms. Landis |"The Chaperone", "The Switch" |- |1994–1998 |''Melrose Place'' |Katherine Andrews |Recurring role (seasons 2–7) |- |1995 |''{{sortname|A|Mother's Prayer}}'' |Ruth |TV film |- |1995 |''JAG'' |Ambassador Bartlett |"War Cries" |- |1997 |''Walker, Texas Ranger'' |Dr. Janet Monroe |"Forgotten People" |- |1997 |''{{sortname|The|Pretender|The Pretender (TV series)}}'' |Grace Carter-Welman |"Over the Edge" |- |1998 |''Profiler'' |Melinda Moscone |"Birthright" |- |1998 |''Michael Hayes'' |Rose |"Imagine: Parts 1 & 2" |- |1998 |''Life of the Party: The Pamela Harriman Story'' |Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney |TV film |- |1999 |''Chicago Hope'' |Shirley Fleming |"Playing Through" |- |1999 |''Providence'' |Evelyn Lombard |"You Can't Hurry Love" |- |1999 |''ER'' |Dr. Renee Spielman |"The Peace of Wild Things" |- |2002 |''First Monday'' |Justice Deborah Szwark |Main role |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name}} *{{IBDB name}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Strickland, Gail}} Category:1945 births Category:American film actresses Category:American television actresses Category:Living people Category:Actresses from Birmingham, Alabama Category:20th-century American actresses Category:21st-century American actresses