Michael Gross (actor)


Michael Edward Gross is an American television, movie and stage actor and comedian. He is notable for playing Steven Keaton on the sitcom Family Ties and the survivalist Burt Gummer in the Tremors film franchise.

Early life

Gross was born in Chicago, the son of Virginia Ruth, a telephone operator, and William Oscar Gross, a tool designer. Gross and his younger sister, Mary, were raised Catholic. He attended St. Francis Xavier and St. Genevieve schools in Chicago in his early years, graduating from the latter in 1961.
He attended Kelvyn Park High School on the north side of Chicago, graduating in 1965. 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, a former Saturday Night Live cast member, is also an actress. The siblings are first cousins to actor Ron Masak.

Career

Gross is best known for his role as Steven Keaton in the 1980s sitcom Family Ties. He is also known for playing Burt Gummer in the Tremors movies and subsequent TV series.
Gross guest starred in an episode of the sitcom Night Court, in which he played a sexual predator of Markie Post's character, Christine Sullivan. In 1988, he portrayed a murderous bank robber in the true life movie '. His other television credits include Boston Legal, How I Met Your Mother, Batman Beyond, ER, Parks and Recreation, Law & Order, and two of its spin-offs: ' and . From August 2008 to January 2009, Gross appeared on the CBS soap The Young and the Restless as River Baldwin. Gross appeared 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. In November 1979, Gross originated the role of Greta in the Broadway production of Martin Sherman's Bent.

Personal life

Gross has been married to casting director Elza Bergeron since June 2, 1984, and he is a stepfather to her two children.
Gross remains close friends with his Family Ties co-star Meredith Baxter and coincidentally shares the same birthdate with his on-screen wife.
Gross is a passionate railfan with an extensive collection of railroad antiques. He is an amateur railroad historian, photographer, modeler, 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. He is also the spokesman 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.
Since 2009, Gross has been "celebrity spokesman" for the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. He is the host of the B&O Railroad Museum Television Network on YouTube. He is also a member of the Santa Fe Railway Historical Society.

Filmography