Gail Strickland

Gail Strickland (born May 18, 1947) is an American actress. 2Life and career 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 1973, she appeared as Sister Ann, in the season four episode, "Almost a Nun's Story", on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Strickland 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 the pilot episode of the television series Night Court as the public defender. She also guest starred in the Cagney & Lacey episode "Fathers and Daughters" (4.5). Strickland played a struggling rancher's daughter in the 1987 Highway to Heaven episode "A Dream of Wild Horses", alongside legendary actor Richard Farnsworth. She 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 televisio