John Quade dies at 71; character actor specialized in playing heavies

Quade appeared in several Clint Eastwood films, including 'Every Which Way But Loose' and 'The Outlaw Josey Wales,' and he played Sheriff Biggs in the TV miniseries 'Roots.'

By Dennis McLellan

John Quade, a veteran character actor who specialized in playing heavies and appeared in several Clint Eastwood movies, including "Every Which Way But Loose" and its sequel "Any Which Way You Can," died on August 13, 2009. He was 71.

Quade died in his sleep of natural causes Sunday at his home in Rosamond, near Lancaster, said his wife, Gwen Saunders. In a more than two-decade career in films and television that began in the late 1960s, Quade played character roles in numerous TV series and in films such as "Papillon," "The Sting" and Eastwood's "High Plains Drifter" and "The Outlaw Josey Wales." He also played Sheriff Biggs in the 1977 TV miniseries "Roots."

"Everybody remembers him for 'Every Which Way But Loose' and 'Any Which Way You Can,' " Quade's wife said Wednesday. "He played Chola, the leader of the motorcycle gang. It was more of a comic relief of the movie; they were a bumbling motorcycle gang."

Although Quade's name might not be familiar to many moviegoers, his face was. In fact, he had a face made for playing heavies.

"He was one of the nicest men you'd ever want to know, but he looked mean and nasty," his wife said. "He looked like he could do murder and mayhem at any moment, but he was a big teddy bear -- the kind that he just loved little kids, but they were always afraid of him.

"His face definitely stands out in a crowd. He had to be careful he didn't overshadow scenes just by the way he looked. The first film he did with Clint Eastwood, Clint hired him for his face and told him afterward that he felt like he got a bonus because John could act."

*The Los Angeles Times