Alan Autry has had a vastly varied career. In 2000, after more than 20 years of acting, he became the Mayor of Fresno, California, serving the city for two full terms. He then worked in radio before returning to acting — and art imitated life as he was cast as the fictional Mayor Gainey in The CW’s comedy-drama series, Hart of Dixie.

Even before Autry became an actor in the mid-1970s, he’d already enjoyed a brief career as a professional footballer. After graduating from the University of the Pacific in California, he was drafted by NFL side the Green Bay Packers. However, he only played three games before being cut. He then decided to hang up his helmet and head to Los Angeles and become an actor instead. He made his screen debut in 1978 and spent a decade with minor roles in the likes of Cheers, The A-Team, and The Dukes of Hazzard before being cast as ‘Bubba’ Skinner in In the Heat of the Night, a hard-hitting police drama series that ran for seven seasons and won many major awards, including two consecutive NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Drama Series.

In 2000, Autry stood as an independent mayoral candidate in his adopted hometown of Fresno, California. He served for eight years and joined the select group of actors who have also had successful political careers. A devout Christian since the mid-1980s, Autry returned to filmmaking after leaving office and helped to produce faith-based films as well as reviving his own acting career in Hart of Dixie.