Personal details
- Birth Date: 1947-06-21
- Height: 6′ 4″ (1.93 m)
- Birth Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Parents: William Oscar Gross
- Professions: Actor, Producer, Writer
Michael Gross, born in 1947 in Chicago, grew up the son of Virginia Ruth, who worked as a telephone operator, and William Oscar Gross, a tool designer. He didn’t exactly walk the straight and narrow in high school—hung out with a rough crowd for a bit, got into some trouble, but eventually turned it around. Senior year, the guy pulled off a total comeback and ended up class president. Not bad, right? He kept pushing himself, picked up an M.F.A. from Yale’s School of Drama, which, let’s be honest, is no joke. Before Hollywood came calling, he did a ton of theater—old-school, paying-your-dues kind of stuff—before finally heading east to New York to chase down acting gigs. That persistence actually paid off. Big time. Michael’s breakout came in the early ‘80s when he landed the role of Steven Keaton, the lovable dad on Family Ties. The show blew up and, suddenly, Gross was a household name. Since then, he’s kept busy—took on a bunch of projects, including not one, but three In the Line of Duty movies, and he’s narrated a stack of audiobooks too. But ask most folks, and they’ll say his most legendary role is Burt Gummer in the Tremors films. The guy fighting off killer underground worms with homemade explosives? Yeah, that’s him. He’s pretty much turned Burt into a cult icon at this point. Even after all these years, Michael Gross just keeps showing up in new stuff, never really fading out of sight.
reference nWild coincidence or what? Both this actress and Meredith Baxter—yeah, the mom from Family Ties—share the exact same birthday, right down to the year. Seriously, what are the odds? They were born on the same day, which is kind of wild considering they ended up working together. Imagine showing up to set and realizing your co-star is literally your birthday twin. That’s gotta spark some weird cosmic connection or, at the very least, make for excellent cake-sharing opportunities. It’s one of those little Hollywood nuggets that most people miss unless they’re deep into trivia. You wonder if they ever exchanged birthday cards backstage or just rolled their eyes at the coincidence. Sometimes the universe throws these tiny curveballs, and for fans who love digging into obscure facts, this one’s pretty sweet. Just adds another layer to their on-screen chemistry, if you ask me.
So, the guy’s talking about his left ear, right? Pierced and all. He spent most of his life toeing the line, just your basic, rule-following, lower middle class dude. Didn’t make any waves, didn’t do anything wild. But then he hits forty and—bam—something snaps. Suddenly, he’s like, “Screw it, I need something different.” Calls it male menopause, like he’s poking fun at himself for feeling restless and wanting to try something new. The earring isn’t just an accessory; it’s kind of his little rebellion, a way to shake things up after years of playing it safe. There’s a sense of midlife panic but also this funny self-awareness. He knows it’s cliché to act out at forty, but he does it anyway, almost daring you to judge him. Honestly, it’s that moment when people realize life’s short and, well, why not?
June 21, 1947
6′ 4″ (1.93 m)
Konidela Ram Charan
Chicago, Illinois, USA
William Oscar Gross and Surekha
78 years old