TV veteran Gerald McRaney is just back from vacation. He needed the time off.
McRaney is a high-profile guest star throughout the third season of HBO's celebrated western "Deadwood." And he landed the pivotal role of town mayor in the new CBS drama "Jericho," which debuts in September.
McRaney, who celebrated his 17th wedding anniversary May 28 with actress Delta Burke, also hosts "The World of Beretta," an outdoors show that returns next month for its fourth season on the OLN cable network.
McRaney, who previously starred in four CBS series — "Simon & Simon" (1981-88), "Major Dad" (1989-93), "Central Park West" (1996) and "Promised Land" (1996-99) — became a "Deadwood" regular after a guest shot last season as mining mogul George Hearst. Saloon owner Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) is all too aware that Hearst is the kind of powerful man who can upset his fiefdom.
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"It was a great beginning, as everyone in Deadwood was dreading and anticipating Hearst's arrival," he said.
Deadwood's new arrival has nothing but praise for series creator David Milch.
"David writes like ordinary people talk and puts it in Shakespearean rhythms. I find it very invigorating as an actor. Also, he takes the time to rehearse, try variations of scenes and make them organic."
It was Milch's idea to continue the character.
"He liked the character and what I was doing and asked if I wanted to do another two or three (shows)," McRaney said. "I signed four contracts for various numbers of episodes and ended up appearing in all 13" — last year's season-ender and this year's 12-episode run.
Over lunch at a restaurant not far from his home in the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles, McRaney says working on "Deadwood" has been "absolutely an unforgettable experience, with everyone on both sides of the camera."
McRaney may be making up for lost time. Two summers ago, he went through a life-altering experience. During a routine physical, a spot was detected on his lung: "Cancer. They took out half of my right lung."
He went home to his native Mississippi to recover.
McRaney, 57, said he was comforted by his many friends in the industry who contacted him with their concerns as soon as they learned of his cancer scare.
Having survived the psychological ordeal of turning the big 5-0 a few years prior to getting sick, he put his life-and-death scare into perspective.
"Turning 50 was a wake-up call, then the lung surgery. You think of immortality. You don't want to die without doing certain things. I'd been a member of the Safari Club for 15 years but never been on a safari."
That finally changed in May when McRaney took his 11-year-old grandsons and their dad to Zimbabwe for 10 days. He didn't get the leopard trophy he was hoping for, but he said the exotic environment and family time were priceless.
