What Happened To The Cast Of Major Dad?

Gerald "Mac" McRaney first delighted audiences with his performance as Rick Simon in the popular detective series "Simon & Simon," opposite Jameson Parker from 1981 through 1989. Prior to his success, the Mississippi native worked as an assistant stage manager for a New Orleans repertory company for $125 a week. Eventually, the site closed down and McRaney, after a slight detour in Louisiana where he appeared in some low-budget roles, moved to Hollywood and worked as a cab driver to support his family and his acting dream. 

Eventually, he landed his first big role on an episode of "Night Gallery," then worked his way through shows such as "The Rockford Files" and "Gunsmoke" before his breakout gig on "Simon & Simon." That success led to TV movies such as "City Killer," "Easy Prey" and "Where the Hell's That Gold?," to say nothing of his turn in Wolfgang Petersen's popular 1984 fantasy film, "The NeverEnding Story," in which he appears as the father of the main protagonist.

Since his role as the tough-as-nails, straight-laced "Major Dad," Gerald has continually found himself slipping into the shoes of characters with military backgrounds. "I'm actually sort of shocked by it because I am not a veteran," McRaney told UPI in 2021. "The closest I ever came to this was ROTC in college."

McRaney, who is currently married to former "Designing Women" actress Delta Burke, enjoyed a period of time on the big screen in films such as "The A-Team" and "Red Tails," but has since downshifted to character-actor mode on popular shows such as "Longmire," "Castle," "24: Legacy," "House of Cards," and "This is Us," for which he won an Emmy as Dr. Nathan Katowski; and "NCIS: Los Angeles," on which he portrays retired Navy Admiral Hollace Kilbride. 

In 2004, McRaney had a brush with lung cancer, but, by sheer luck, managed to catch the problem before it turned into something more serious. "I got extremely lucky," he told SurvivorNet in 2021. "If you're gonna have something happen like this, the way it happened to me was lucky."