Gerald McRaney

**Gerald McRaney** is one of the actors of ***A Million Little Things***, portraying the role of Lenny Farache in Season 1.

## Biography

### **Early life**

Not much is known about McRaney's early life. He was born on August 19, 1947 in Collins, Mississippi, USA. He is the son of Clyde and Edna McRaney, and is of Scottish and Choctaw ancestry. He attended college at the University of Mississippi. Before finding success as an actor, McRaney worked in the Louisiana oil fields.

### **Career**

In film, McRaney starred in *Night of Bloody Horror* (1969), where he played the lead character Wesley Stuart. On television, he appeared in *The Dukes of Hazzard* in the episode "Hazzard Connection", played a receptionist in two different episodes of *The Rockford Files*, and portrayed a heroin-addicted Vietnam War veteran in one episode of *Hawaii Five-O*. In addition, he starred in numerous episodes of *The Incredible Hulk*, and his miniseries roles include Dr. Henderson in *Women in White* (1979) and a town local, Harry Owens in *Roots: The Next Generations* (1979).

McRaney is perhaps best known for his role as Rick Simon in the 1980s television show *Simon & Simon*. He also had starring roles in *Major Dad* and *Promised Land*, and a recurring role on *Designing Women*. He 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*; played a prominent role in the third season of the HBO television series *Deadwood*; and starred in the CBS postapocalyptic series *Jericho* as Johnston Green.

Additionally, McRaney has acted in many television films, such as *Not Our Son* (1995), *Going for Broke* (2003), *Ike: Countdown to D-Day* (2004), as General George S. Patton. He also starred in *One Tree Hill* as Dan's father, 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, McRaney 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 exciting hunting locations around the world, and often featured a celebrity shooter to hunt with McRaney.

In 2010, McRaney 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*, titled: "Practical Tactical", "What If", "Because Lives Depend on It", and "Concealed Carry School".

In 2011, McRaney began playing a recurring role as a judge on the US drama *Fairly Legal*. In 2012, he 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.*

From 2013 to 2017, McRaney appeared in the Netflix 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 series *Longmire*. In 2015, he starred in the dark-comedy *Focus* as Bucky Spurgeon and in *Coat of Many Colors* as Rev. Jake Owens. He also plays the main antagonist and recurring character Mason Wood (LockSat) in *Castle* season 8. 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.

In 2018, McRaney was cast as Lenny Farache on *A Million Little Things*. However, due to other commitments, McRaney was unable to reprise his role for the second season. His character was recast with Paul Guilfoyle.

### **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.

In 1992, McRaney served as King of Bacchus at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana.

In August 2004, McRaney underwent successful surgery for lung cancer, in Houston, Texas.

McRaney is also a Republican, having supported George H. W. Bush for re-election in 1992 and John McCain for president in 2008. He has appeared in TV commercials on behalf of the National Rifle Association dating back to 1987. Having played a Marine Corps veteran on *Simon & Simon* 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.

## References

1. ↑ A Million Little Things: friday night dinner (10/17), by ABC, *Disneyabcpress.com* (October 1, 2018)
2. ↑ We did. I love Gerald. But unfortunately his schedule would not permit him to make our dates. And Paul is amazing. Excited to see the return of this character. It will be very moving., by DJ Nash, *Twitter* (February 1, 2020)