Michael Gross (actor)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Michael Gross | |
|---|---|
 Gross at the 39th Emmy Awards |
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| Born | June 21, 1947 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
Michael Gross (born June 21, 1947) is an American television, movie, and stage actor who plays both comedic and dramatic roles. His most notable roles are fatherly figure Steven Keaton from Family Ties and graboid hunter Burt Gummer from the Tremors film and television series.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Gross was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Virginia Ruth, a telephone operator, and William Oscar Gross, a tool designer.[1]He attended high school at Kelvyn Park High School on the north side of Chicago. He received his drama degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago before attending Yale University for his Master of Fine Arts degree. His sister, Mary Gross, is a former Saturday Night Live cast member.[2]
[edit] Career
Gross is known for his role as Steven Keaton in the 1980s sitcom Family Ties, and as "Burt Gummer" in the Tremors movies and subsequent TV series. He also guest starred in an episode of the sitcom Night Court, in which he played a sexual predator to Markie Post's character, Christine Sullivan.
His other television credits include Boston Legal, How I Met Your Mother, Batman Beyond, ER, Law & Order, and two of its spinoffs: SVU and Criminal Intent.
Gross had a special cameo in 2000 on Spin City as a therapist to Michael J. Fox's character on Fox's final show as a regular on that program.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by George Rose for The Kingfisher |
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play 1979-1980 for Bent |
Succeeded by Brian Backer for The Floating Lightbulb |
[edit] Personal life
Gross has been married to casting director Elza Bergeron since June 2, 1984, and they have two children.
Gross is a passionate railfan with an extensive collection of railroad antiques. He is an amateur railroad historian, photographer, modeller, and part-owner in a working railroad, the Santa Fe Southern Railway, a former branch line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway which operates between Lamy and Santa Fe, New Mexico.[3] He is also the spokesperson for the World's Greatest Hobby campaign sponsored by the Model Railroad Industry Association that promotes the hobby of model railroading. He has also been a spokesperson for Operation Lifesaver, a campaign promoting safety at railroad grade crossings.[4]
Coincidentally, Gross and his Family Ties co-star Meredith Baxter-Birney (who played his wife Elyse Keaton), were born on the same date, June 21, 1947.
[edit] Filmography
- 1982–1989: Family Ties (TV series)
- 1988: The F.B.I. Murders
- 1988: Big Business
- 1990: Tremors
- 1991: Cool as Ice
- 1992: Alan & Naomi
- 1993: Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland
- 1994: Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story (Made for TV movie)
- 1994: Avalanche
- 1995: Deceived By Trust
- 1996: Tremors 2: Aftershocks
- 1998: Ground Control
- 1999: Batman Beyond
- 2001: Tremors 3: Back to Perfection
- 2002: Tremors (TV series)
- 2002: ER (TV Series)
- 2003: Super Chief: Speed-Style-Service (narrator)
- 2004: Tremors 4: The Legend Begins
- 2004: Combustion
- 2006: Dome Car Magic: A History Of Railroad Dome Cars (narrator)
- 2008: 100 Million B.C
[edit] References
- ^ Michael Gross Biography (1947-)
- ^ Mary Gross
- ^ Hall, Ken; Southeastern Antiquing and Collecting Magazine (2003), The Celebrity Collector - Michael Gross, his family tree and his collections are rooted in the railroad. Retrieved October 7, 2005.
- ^ Model Railroad Industry Association (2005), World's Greatest Hobby campaign keeps model railroading on the right track for the future. Retrieved October 7, 2005.
