Who is Gerald McRaney?
Being an actor with nearly 150 acting credits to his name, for Gerald McRaney certainly means that he has left a trace in the entertainment industry. He’s had numerous movie and television roles, however, he’s still perhaps known best for his portrayal of Rick Simon in the series “Simon & Simon”, which aired from 1981 until 1989.
Gerald was seen starring in 156 episodes of this action crime-drama about two brothers who run a private detective agency together, which had two Primetime Emmy nominations.
Early life, family, and education
Gerald Lee McRaney, to his family and friends known as ‘Mac’, was born on 19 August 1947, so recently celebrated his 75th birthday. Born and raised in Collins, Mississippi USA, he holds American nationality – his ethnicity is of mixed Scottish and Choctaw (Native American people) descent.
His parents, Clyde and Edna, raised him alongside his brother Buddy, who is also an actor, and was seen in the 1995 movie “Simon & Simon: In Trouble Again”. There isn’t much information regarding his family, except that they were hard-working people.
Gerald was into sports from an early age, and played football, dreaming of becoming a famous football player. However, he injured his knee, and so decided to join the drama club. There he realized that he enjoyed acting, and now his dream was a Hollywood career.
To provide for himself and his family, Gerald worked in the Louisiana oil fields, and played support roles before he got his breakthrough role as Rick Simon.
Speaking of his educational background, he attended a local high school, and upon matriculating in 1965, he enrolled at the University of Mississippi, from which he graduated with a BA degree in 1968.
Roles in movies
Gerald made his acting debut playing Wesley Stuart in the 1969 movie “Night of Bloody Horror”, followed in 1970 with his role as Terrance Bradford in “Women and Bloody Terror”.
His next role came two years later, in the science-fiction thriller “The Brain Machine”, and in the following years, Gerald was seen co-starring in “Keep Off My Grass” (1975), while the early ‘80s saw him mostly in TV movies.
In 1985, he had a supporting role in the Warner Bros’ fantasy drama “The Never-Ending Story” before his first lead role in “Jackals” (also known as “American Justice”) in 1986, co-starring with Jack Lucarelli in this action crime-drama, directed by Gary Grillo.
Gerald appeared in numerous TV movies in the early ‘90s, including “Blind Vengeance” (1990), “Scattered Dreams” (1993), and “Armed and Innocent” (1994). In the following year, he starred in the spin-off “Simon & Simon: In Trouble Again”.
📺’Simon & Simon’ DEBUT (TV Guide, November 24, 1981) pic.twitter.com/eRnk84QvBX
— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) November 25, 2020
The list of his movie roles is too long to mention – from 1995 until 2005, he mostly starred in TV movies, so we will highlight some of his most notable achievements, such as his portrayal of Ray Preston in the 2006 family drama “Saving Shiloh”. This movie was based on the novel of the same title by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, and was rated as an emotional story with a nice ending, so it isn’t surprising that it won the Heartland Film Truly Moving Picture Award.
In 2009, Gerald co-starred in “Get Low”, a mystery drama about a real-life legend from Tennessee who threw his own funeral. The movie had 28 award nominations, and won four.
Worth mentioning is Gerald’s lead role in the 2012 historic drama “Red Tails”, also starring Cuba Gooding Junior, which was nominated for the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA (Saturn Award) for Best Action/Adventure Film.
In 2015, Gerald was seen in the crime drama “Focus”, starring Will Smith, followed by his role in “The Disappointments Room” in 2016. His most recent movie appearance was in the 2019 crime thriller “A Violent Separation”, which followed the story of two brothers who try to deal with the terrible truth behind a family tragedy. Although the movie had no nominations, the public loved the characters, the location, and the interesting story.
Roles in series
Gerald made his first television appearance in an episode of the series “Night Gallery” in 1972, and in the following years he continued with support roless in various series, including “Gunsmoke” (1973-1975), “The F.B.I” (1974), and “Most Wanted” (1977), among others.
In 1981, came his breakthrough role in “Simon & Simon”, and then from 1989 until 1993, he was seen as Major John D. MacGillis in the series “Major Dad”, one of Gerald’s notable roles, playing in 96 episodes of this family comedy, which was nominated for a Primetime Emmy. It followed the story of a conservative Marine who married a liberal reporter, and who are now raising her three daughters together.
In the following years, Gerald mostly guest-starred in numerous series; during 1995 and 1996, he had a recurring role as Adam Brock in “C. P. W.” Concurrently, he was seen as Russell Greene in “Touched by an Angel” (1995-1998), a role he reprised in the spin-off “Promised Land”, in 69 episodes from 1996 through 1999.
The early 2000s saw Gerald as George Hearts in “Deadwood” (2005-2006), an historic crime-drama that followed the story of a deeply corrupted small town in South Dakota in the late 1800s. The series had 85 award nominations and won 28, including eight Primetime Emmys; Gerald was nominated for the Online Film & Television Association Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2007.
From 2006 until 2008, Gerald was seen as Johnston Green in “Jericho”, and from 2010 until 2012, he portrayed Carlton Shaw in “Undercovers”.
Gerald was seen in the hit series “Longmire” (2012-2015), and concurrently was cast to play Raymond Task in “House of Cards” (2013-2017), starring Kevin Spacey, and had a recurring role as Retired Admiral Hollace Kilbride in “NCIS: Los Angeles” (2014-2022), while in 2017, Gerald portrayed Henry Donovan in “24: Legacy”.
One of his most notable television roles is his recurring portrayal of Doctor Nathan Katowski in “This Is Us” since 2016, a romantic comedy-drama about a unique set of triplets, which had 282 award nominations, and won 65, including four Primetime Emmys.
Gerald won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2017, and the following year, he was nominated for the same award. He also won the Gold Derby Award for Drama Guest Actor in 2017 and was nominated for the Gold Derby Award-Drama Guest Actor of the Decade in 2019.
His most recent role was his voicing of Dick Harris in the animated comedy “Duncanville” (2020-2022) centered on a spectacular teenager, Duncan, who has a wild imagination. The series was nominated for the Kidscreen Award for Best New Series: Tweens/Teens in 2021.
Love life, wife, children
As seen, Gerald has an interesting acting career, and we could say the same for his love life. It seems that his piercing blue eyes were irresistible to many girls, so besides his affairs and short-lived relationships, Gerald has been married twice before he met his now-wife.
His first wife was Beverly A. Root – two were in marriage from 1966 until 1971, and have two children together, namely Agnus and Jessica.
Ten years later, Gerald married Pat Moran, a three times Primetime Emmy-awarded casting director. The two divorced in 1989, and have a daughter together named Kate.
Soon after his divorce, Gerald married Delta Burke, an American actress whom he met on the set of the series “Simon & Simon”. The couple is still together; they don’t have children.
https://www.facebook.com/gettv/photos/a.275300759289128/1921885767963944/
What happened to him?
In early 2004, the news about Gerald being ill was all over the internet and in newspapers. His fans were worried and so he shared his story with them. Gerald was on a haunting trip when he twisted his right knee, and since he thought that it was a minor trauma, he didn’t go to the hospital and continued his trip.
When he came home, his wife Delta, took him to the doctor, who said that he needed surgery, but doing some preparations, including a chest X-Ray, showed that he had stage 1 lung cancer. Gerald went under surgery in August 2004, and the cancer was removed. Luckily, for over 15 years today, there hasn’t been any recurrence.
Net Worth
Although he might never reach the top of Hollywood fame, Gerald has managed to build a quite successful acting career. Thanks to his talent and his hard work, he has earned a decent wealth for himself, and according to sources, Gerald’s net worth has been estimated at over $8 million, as of late 2022.
