Gerrit Graham, who appeared in such cult classics as Phantom of the Paradise (1974) and Used Cars (1980), died on September 15, 2026, at the age of 77. The cause was complications from lung disease.
Gerrit Graham was born on November 27, 1948 in New York City. Growing up, he lived in St. Louis; Grosse Pointe, Michigan; and Chicago. He attended Columbia University in New York City, but did not graduate. While there he was a manager of the university’s theatre company, the Columbia Players.
Gerrit Graham made his film debut in Brian De Palma's movie Greetings in 1968. His second movie was directed by Brian De Palma as well, Hi, Mom! (1970). In the Seventies, he appeared in the movies Beware! The Blob (1972), Phantom of the Paradise (1974), Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976), Tunnelvision (1976), Special Delivery (1976), Cannonball! (1977), Demon Seed (1977), Pretty Baby (1978), Old Boyfriends (1979), Home Movies (1979), and Used Cars (1980). He was a regular on the short-lived TV show Stockard Channing in Just Friends. He guest starred on the TV shows The Rookies; Harry O; Baretta; Medical Story; Starsky and Hutch; Future Cop; Dog and Cat; and Laverne & Shirley.
In the Eighties, Gerrit Graham had a recurring role on Dallas during the 1988-1989 season. He guest starred on the shows New Wave Theatre; The A-Team; The Dukes of Hazzard; Whiz Kids; The Twilight Zone; Fame; St. Elsewhere; Sidekicks; Throb; Sledge Hammer!' Miami Vice; My Two Dads; Dear John; Tales from the Crypt; The Young Riders; The Nutt House; Sugar and Spice; China Beach; and Parenthood. He appeared in the movies The Creature Wasn't Nice (1981), Soup for One (1982), Class Reunion (1982), The Annihilators (1985), The Man with One Red Shoe (1985), TerrorVision (1986), Chopping Mall (1986), Last Resort (1986) , Ratboy (1986), It's Alive: Island of the Alive (1987), Walker (1987), Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989), Big Man on Campus (1989), C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud (1989), Martians Go Home (1989), Night of the Cyclone (1990), and Child's Play 2 (1990).
In the Nineties, Gerrit Graham appeared in the movies Frozen Assets (1992), Sidekicks (1992), This Boy's Life (1993), Philadelphia Experiment III (1993), The Pornographer (1994), My Girl 2 (1994), Stuart Saves His Family (1995), The Break (1995), Magic in the Mirror: Fowl Play (1997), and One True Thing (1998). He had a regular role on the show Now and Again. He had a recurring role on Parker Lewis Can't Lose and was a voice on the animated series Fievel's American Tails, The Critic, and The Pink Panther. He guest starred on the shows The Wonder Years; Stat; Reasonable Doubts; Davis Rules; A Different World; TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes; The New WKRP in Cincinnati; Likely Suspects; Civil Wars; Seifneld; Family Matters; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; Moon Over Miami; Babylon 5; Rebel Highway; Diagnosis Murder; Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman; The Larry Sanders Show; and Law & Order He was a guest voice on the animated shows The Tick, Dumb and Dumber, and Gargoyles.
In the Naughts, he guest starred on the show Third Watch. He appeared in the movies Building Girl (2005), Chaotic Ana (2007), and Stick It in Detroit (2008). His last movie appearance was in Cove Road (2012), where he was billed as Bud T. Chud.
Gerrit Graham was an enormously talented actor. I have no doubt he will always be best remembered as the flamboyant, camp, neurotic glam rocker Beef in Phantom of the Paradise. He will also be well-remembered as the overly superstitious and eccentric used car salesman Jeff in Used Cars. While his best known roles are comedic in nature, Gerrit Graham could play other sorts of roles as well. In Pretty Baby, he played Highpockets, the abusive boyfriend of Hattie (Susan Sarandon). In Demon Seed, he played Walter Gabler, a computer scientist concerned by the AI program Proteus VI. Over the years, he played a wide variety of roles, both comedic and dramatic, including aspiring country singer Perman Waters in Cannonball!, commune leader Magic Ray in Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw, and Fred Hughes, the ruthless right-hand man of Carter McKay (George Kennedy) on Dallas. Gerrit Graham could play a wide variety of roles and he could play all of them well.
