European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 28, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A cold Mcraney with Belknap Saben the closest i major dad Star Mcraney stays linked to military by Gary Miller Mediterranean Bureau a pics at the american school in Gaeta Italy had a variety of questions for major dad. As the honoured guest  school Assem Bly monday actor Gerald Mcraney faced probing questions. Why did they cancel the show one youngster asked about the lbs television series major dad. I Don t know Why they cancelled the show. Why Don t you try to find out for me if you find out you let me know Mcraney said. In a or dad Mcraney played a conservative Marine who marries a Liberal reporter who has three daughters. A Veteran of television and movies Mcraney appeared in episodes of the Rockford files the in credible Hulk and Cun smoke in which he played the last gunfighter to face Matt Dillion on the series final episode. Vice adm. T. Joseph Lopez the Navy s 6th Fleet commander sponsored Mcraney a visit to Gaeta the Home port of the Cruiser Belknap Lopez s Flag ship and other bases in the Mediterranean. Mcraney also visited Naples about 60 Miles South of Gaeta Nas Simonella Sicily the naval support activities at la Maddaluna Sardinia Souda Bay Crete and on the ships of the amphibious readiness group where he spent thanksgiving. After spending his morning in Gaeta aboard the Belknap Mcraney spoke to pupils ranging from kindergarten to 8th Grade. The youngsters asked Mcraney 46, if it was fan playing major dad How much he made playing major dad and the most loaded question of All. Do you feel bad that your show was cancelled a student asked. Well yeah i do. But the one thing that you know in television is that if you do get a show on the air sooner or later it s going to be cancelled. So you can t feel bad for very Long about it and you have to Start looking Forward to the next project Mcraney said. The plan for the comedy s next season was devel oped Mcraney said. The major was eligible for promotion and Mcra Roth to College i Bey s character and his Crew were stated to Transfer to the White House military office. But then the network i suppose did t see the humor in that so they cancelled us he explained. It sort of works like reduction in Force. Cancella Tion does the same thing said Mcraney who Jok engr or described himself As unemployed. Actually he finished doing two to movies before coining to Italy armed and innocent and scattered dreams the Kathryn messenger Story. Another project was what interested sailors on Belknap. They wanted to know if new episodes of Simon and Simon would Ever be produced. As i matter of fact it s in the works right now Mcraney said As cheerfully when asked for the seventh time As when the question was first put to him. We re trying to do a two hour movie of the week and get Back together again he added. For eight years Mcraney played Rick Simon a Vietnam War Veteran turned detective. Simon and Simon was comedy adventure series about two Brothers who work together As private investigators. The most obvious trait the tradition bound Marine Mcraney portrayed in major dad and Simon and i -. R /.i4pgpi a. A to f Gerald Mcraney with his major dad family clockwise from top left Marisa Ryan Shoaa Reed Chelsea Hertford and Nicole Dubue. C83 Simon have in common is military experience. His performances in those series convinced Many viewers that Mcraney has had such experience. One Belknap Crew member asked Bow extensive his military experience was. No no never in the service Mcra Ney responded. The closest i came was Roth in College and that was  Many of Mcraney friends family members and even teachers had military experience. He has a brother in Law who retired from the air Force As a general and his scoutmaster is a retired Marine Drill instructor. Yet the image of service members on television and in the movies is different from the people he  screen depicted gis As either crazies shooting at people from the tops of buildings or supermen a la Schwarzenegger he said. The one pissed me off and the other in t True so i wanted to do something about just Ordinary people who either happened to be in the service or did a hitch like a lot of people Mcraney said. He wrote the script for a Simon and Simon Epi Sode about Post traumatic stress disorder. He tried to show that combat veterans who suffer from the condition experience depression not psychosis. During major dad s run Story ideas came not Only from their official Marine corps advisers but also from service members and military family Mem Bers who wrote in suggesting subjects. We did an episode about moving where All the family s household goods were lost and we received letters from wives saying you think that s bad Here s my horror Story " Mcraney told the pupils in Gaeta. I just wanted to do a show that showed a Little bit More of what life is like for a military family. Not that we were always accurate in that but we did try to be. Sometimes you have Bend things a Little bit to make  Mcraney made military friends while working on major dad both through official channels because of the support the Marine corps provided and when visiting bases to repay the corps for its help in Mak ing the program. During the persian Gulf War and operation re store Hope Mcraney visited troops in saudi Ara Bia and Somalia the Garden spots of the  he also visits installations in the states mostly Marine bases. His efforts earned him the title of Uso Man of the year an Honor he said he received More be cause of his High profile. The Opportunity to meet with service members and just talk in settings like a soccer stadium in Mogadishu Somalia has Given him an appreciation of the problems the draw Down and deployments to trouble spots cause people in the military. He has military friends who Haven t been Home for the holidays in five years Mcraney said. Asking service members to do More with less peo ple reminds Mcraney of an audition he once did for a to commercial. When he completed his Reading the Man running the audition asked Mcraney to read the speech fas Ter but make it sound slower. I thought that was the dumbest thing i Ever heard Mcraney said. Now the military is asking people in the service to do about the same thing do More with less people and  23. 1393 sunday ice n