Stefan Gierasch

A veteran character actor who has over 100 credits in film and television, Stefan Gierasch began his career in the 1950s and continued it into the new century. He got his start on teleplay programs such as "Goodyear Playhouse" and "The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse," and made his big-screen debut in the 1957 Sal Mineo drama, "The Young Don't Cry," in a supporting role. Throughout the 1960s, he was busy with a series of TV guest appearances, showing up on shows like "The Untouchables" and the Western, "Gunsmoke." He had supporting roles in the 1972 Peter Bogdanovich comedy, "What's Up, Doc?," and the Sydney Pollack Western, "Jeremiah Johnson." He could be seen in Brian De Palma's "Carrie" in 1976 and was the mayor in the Clint Eastwood Western, "High Plains Drifter." Gierasch remained a frequent TV guest star in the '70s and '80s, making multiple appearances on the action show, "Kung Fu," and the sitcom, "Barney Miller," and appearing in a three-episode storyline on "The Jeffersons." Other notable appearances include recurring roles on the horror drama, "Dark Shadows," and playing the House majority leader in the political satire, "Dave" in 1993.