Gerrit Graham, the actor, screenwriter and songwriter passed away last week in Rhinebeck, NY, after a longtime illness.
Graham, who co-wrote numerous songs with Bob Weir, including the Grateful Dead’s “Victim or the Crime” was 77.
He was born in 1948 and spent his first 12 years in New York City before moving to Chicago. He later returned to Manhattan and enrolled in Columbia University where he intended to major in French Literature. However, he dropped out of college to pursue an acting career.
Graham found early success, appearing with Robert DeNiro in Greetings and Hi Mom!, two early films by director Brian De Palma. Then he moved to Los Angeles, where he made appearances on such television shows as Seinfeld, Laverne and Shirley and The Wonder Years. He continued to appear in feature films, including De Palma’s Phantom of the Paradise and Robert Zemeckis’ Used Cars.
His association with Weir began in 1984, when Graham co-wrote “(I Want to Live in) America” for Bobby & the Midnites’ Where the Beat Meets the Street LP. He next collaborated with Weir on “Victim,” which appeared Grateful Dead’s 1989 Built to Last album.
During the 1980s, Graham also wrote episodes for the Twilight Zone television reboot, whose theme was performed by Grateful Dead and Merl Saunders. Other screenwriting efforts included The Little Mermaid and Oliver & Company, and a co-writing credit (with his brother and Chris Hubbell) on Disney’s version of Mark Twain’s The Prince and The Pauper.
Graham later co-wrote “Two Djinn,” “Bury Me Standing,” “Odessa” and “Even So” for RatDog’s 2000 album, Evening Moods.
He is preceded in death by his parents, half-sister Katharine Graham, and trusted canine sidekick, Hazel. He is survived by his brother, Sam, of Los Angeles; his sons Jack, of Portland, OR, and Henry, of Glen Ellyn, IL and their wives Talia and Joelle, respectively, and grandchildren Nolan, Micah, Vera and Joey.
