Gerald Lee McRaney (born August 19, 1947) is an American television and film actor. McRaney is best known as one of the stars of the television shows ''
Simon & Simon
''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who ope ...
'', ''
Major Dad'', ''
Promised Land
In the Abrahamic religions, the "Promised Land" ( ) refers to a swath of territory in the Levant that was bestowed upon Abraham and his descendants by God in Abrahamic religions, God. In the context of the Bible, these descendants are originally ...
'' and ''
House of Cards''. He most recently starred as Admiral Hollace Kilbride on ''
NCIS: Los Angeles''. He was a series regular in the first season of the
CBS drama series ''
Jericho
Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017.
F ...
'' and the final season of the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
series ''
Deadwood''. He appeared in a recurring role as main antagonist Mason Wood in season eight of ''
Castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
''. Recently, he played Barlow Connally in the
A&E series ''
Longmire'' and had a recurring role in the
NBC series ''
This Is Us'' as Dr. Nathan Katowski, a role which earned him the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
Early life
McRaney was born in
Collins, Mississippi
Collins is a city in Covington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 2,586 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Covington County.
History
From Williamsburg Depot to Collins
Collins was originally incorporated as Willi ...
, the son of Clyde and Edna McRaney. He is of
Scottish and
Choctaw ancestry. He graduated from Long Beach High School in Long Beach, Mississippi, then attended the
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...
. Before finding success as an actor, McRaney worked in the
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
oil fields.
Career
In film, he starred in ''
Night of Bloody Horror'' (1969), a low-budget slasher film in which he played the lead character Wesley Stuart.
On television, McRaney appeared in ''
The Dukes of Hazzard'' in the episode "Hazzard Connection" (November 9, 1979), played a receptionist in two different episodes of ''
The Rockford Files'', and portrayed Tim Ryder, a
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...
-addicted
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
veteran in one episode of ''
Hawaii Five-O''. In addition, he starred in numerous episodes of ''
The Incredible Hulk'' playing roles as a jealous boyfriend, a jealous race car driver, an angry police officer, and a disturbed police chief, and his miniseries roles include Dr. Henderson in ''Women in White'' (1979) and a town local, Harry Owens in ''
Roots: The Next Generations'' (1979). However, McRaney is perhaps best known for his role as Rick Simon in the 1980s television show ''
Simon & Simon
''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who ope ...
''. He also had starring roles in ''
Major Dad'' and ''
Promised Land
In the Abrahamic religions, the "Promised Land" ( ) refers to a swath of territory in the Levant that was bestowed upon Abraham and his descendants by God in Abrahamic religions, God. In the context of the Bible, these descendants are originally ...
'', and appeared twice on ''
Designing Women''.
McRaney portrayed business mogul Adam Brock in the last eight episodes of
Darren Star's primetime soap opera ''
Central Park West'', which ran on
CBS in 1995–96. He later appeared as General Alan Adamle in two episodes of the NBC drama ''
The West Wing
''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...
''; played a prominent role in the third season of the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
television series ''
Deadwood'', as gold prospector
George Hearst; and starred in the CBS postapocalyptic series ''
Jericho
Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017.
F ...
'' as Johnston Green.
Additionally, he has acted in many television films, such as: ''Not Our Son'' (1995); ''Going for Broke'' (2003); and ''
Ike: Countdown to D-Day'' (2004), as General
George S. Patton. He also starred in an episode of ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (episode 9.24 "All In") and ''
Diagnosis: Murder'' (episode 1.13 "Lily") as Det. Andy Ruggio.
In 1999, he starred in the film ''
A Holiday Romance'' as Cal Peterson. In the late 2000s, McRaney co-hosted the cable outdoor hunting and shooting series ''The World of Beretta'', drawing on his own sport interests. The series featured the sponsor's rifle and shotgun products in a number of hunting locations around the world, and often featured a celebrity shooter to hunt with McRaney.
In 2010, he starred as the villainous General Morrison in the film ''
The A-Team'' (2010) and played a recurring role as
CIA handler Carlton Shaw in the NBC action drama ''
Undercovers''. Also that year, he hosted a cable series on Spike TV that encouraged viewers ''Don't Be a Victim''. One episode highlighted an instance wherein his longtime friend and ''
Simon & Simon
''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who ope ...
'' costar
Jameson Parker was shot twice.
In 2011, he began playing a recurring role as a judge on the US drama ''
Fairly Legal''. In 2012, McRaney played General Luntz in ''
Red Tails'', and Calvin in the film ''Heart of the Country''. He made several appearances in a guest role on the television shows ''
Longmire'' (2012–2015) and ''
Mike & Molly'' (2012–2013). Later in 2013, he had a recurring role in the final season of ''
Southland''.
In 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017, he appeared in the
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
series ''
House of Cards'' as the billionaire Raymond Tusk of an energy corporation specializing in nuclear power. He also made two appearances in a supporting role on the
FX Network drama ''
Justified''. From 2012 to 2017 he played the wealthy, powerful real estate developer Barlow Connally on the
A&E/
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
series ''
Longmire''.
In 2015, he starred in the dark-comedy ''
Focus'' as Bucky Spurgeon and in ''
Coat of Many Colors'' as Rev. Jake Owens,
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
's maternal grandfather and preacher. In 2016, he appeared as main antagonist and recurring character Mason Wood (LockSat) during the eighth and final season of ''Castle''.
In 2016, he began appearing in the
NBC series ''
This Is Us'' as Dr. Nathan Katowski, a role for which he won a
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
. In 2018, he appeared in the
USA Network
USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
series ''
Shooter'' as Red Bama Sr.
McRaney appeared in a recurring role, on the CBS procedural drama, ''
NCIS: Los Angeles'', since 2014, playing U.S. Navy Vice Admiral (retired) Hollace Kilbride. In 2021, McRaney became a series regular with Admiral Kilbride being appointed the new director of the NCIS Special Projects Office in Los Angeles.
Personal life
McRaney married his third wife, actress
Delta Burke, on May 28, 1989; they had met two years earlier during her guest appearance on a ''Simon & Simon'' episode. He appeared on the series in which she starred, ''
Designing Women'', as Dash Goff (who was named after a real person from
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...
, whom Delta Burke's fellow castmate,
Annie Potts, had met while filming ''
Pass the Ammo'' on location).
In 1992, McRaney served as Bacchus in the
Krewe of Bacchus at
Mardi Gras in
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
.
Having played a Marine Corps veteran on ''
Simon & Simon
''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who ope ...
'' and a Marine Corps officer on ''
Major Dad'', he has always been very supportive of veterans and soldiers, although he is not a veteran himself. He made many visits to support the soldiers in
Operation Desert Storm. During one
USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
-sponsored trip, McRaney visited sailors and Marines on board ships ported in
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department.
The Commune of Toulon h ...
, France, on
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...
of 1993 and signed autographs for the men on board the ships. While on board the
USS ''Ashland'', he autographed one sailor's cowboy hat. He also visited troops during
Operation Restore Hope
The Unified Task Force (UNITAF), also known as Operation Restore Hope, was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational military force deployed to Somalia from 5 December 1992 to 4 May 1993. It was established to replace United ...
in
Somalia
Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...
in 1993. In 1994 he visited troops of task force 1/87 deployed to Haiti for
Operation Uphold Democracy
Operation Uphold Democracy was a multinational military intervention designed to remove the military regime led and installed by Raoul Cédras after the 1991 Haitian coup d'état overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The op ...
. McRaney chaired the
Department of Veterans Affairs' 2002 National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans campaign, honoring hospitalized veterans and promoting volunteerism at VA medical center. He has appeared in commercials for the
Wounded Warrior Project.
In August 2004, McRaney underwent successful surgery for
lung cancer, in
Houston, Texas
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
.
Politics
Endorsing incumbent Republican President
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
for re-election in
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
, McRaney stated: "Most of my life I've been a Democrat, but the last several presidential elections have finally convinced me that I might as well go ahead and admit I'm a Republican."
His first presidential vote was for Democrat
Hubert Humphrey in
1968.
At the
1992 Republican National Convention, McRaney introduced Second Lady
Marilyn Quayle. Appearing at a campaign event for George H. W. Bush, McRaney called opponent
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
an "overeducated moron".
In
2008, McRaney supported Republican candidate
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
for president.
McRaney has appeared in TV commercials on behalf of the
National Rifle Association of America dating back to 1987.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McRaney, Gerald
1947 births
Living people
People from Collins, Mississippi
American people of Scottish descent
American people of Choctaw descent
Male actors from Mississippi
American male film actors
American male television actors
University of Mississippi alumni
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Mississippi Republicans
Primetime Emmy Award winners