Gerrit Graham, an easily recognizable “That Guy” character actor from film and TV, as well as a screenwriter and Grateful Dead collaborator, has died. Perhaps best known as the hulking rockstar Beef from Brian De Palma’s The Phantom Of The Paradise, Graham spent four decades on screen, appearing in Pretty Baby, Seinfeld, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Voyager, and Used Cars. Per Variety, he died Tuesday after suffering from lung disease and other ailments. He was 77.
Born November 27, 1949, in New York City, Graham grew up in the Midwest before his family settled in Chicago. He got his start on stage as an eight-year-old in a production of Winnie The Pooh but returned to the East Coast for school at Columbia University. There, he became manager of the Columbia Players and met director Brian De Palma, who cast the actor in his early features, Greetings, Home Movies, and Hi, Mom!. He’d never finish the degree.
In 1974, Graham appeared as the fussy rocker Beef in Phantom Of The Paradise after some casting rearrangements. The actor was originally hired as the antagonist Swan before songwriter Paul Williams, who was originally hired to play the protagonist, The Phantom, took over as the Big Bad. As a result, Graham assumed the part of Beef from Peter Boyle. After Phantom, Graham found a home in the horror genre, offering his large eyes, deep, raspy voice, and stuffed-shirt gravitas to Child’s Play 2 and cult classics Chopping Mall, C.H.U.D. II: Bud The Chud, and Demon Seed. Graham also appeared in Louis Malle’s controversial Pretty Baby, the early Robert Zemeckis’ breakthrough Used Cars, and Alex Cox’s singular Western Walker.
Shortly after Phantom, Graham’s TV career kicked into gear, with him guesting on ’70s staples Baretta, Starsky And Hutch, and Laverne And Shirely. He remained a familiar face on the small screen for decades with roles on The Wonder Years, Miami Vice, Law & Order, The Larry Sanders Show, and Babylon 5. Graham was also an in-demand voice actor, lending his voice to Gargoyles, The Tick, The Pink Panther, and The Little Mermaid. Most notably, he voiced Jay Sherman’s lovably hard-drinking father Franklin on The Critic. Also an accomplished writer, Graham wrote additional dialogue for Mermaid, three episodes of the ’80s Twilight Zone revival, and lyrics for Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir’s band Ratdog, including the songs “Victim Or The Crime” and “(I Want To Live In) America.”
He married his wife Deborah in 1982, and the couple had two sons, Jack and Henry. Graham is survived by his brother, Sam, his sons, and four grandchildren.
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