Michael St. Gerard

This moody, baby-faced hunk had the slick, sullen, magnetic good looks and rebel attitude of an Elvis Presley, not to mention a startling resemblance. Sure enough, the timing would prove right for Michael St. Gerard, making a killer impression on teenage girls first on film, then TV -- as greaser types and even Elvis himself -- in the early 90s. Born in New York Mills, New York, he developed an early interest in acting and first found work in Japanese commercials and the off-Broadway stage. He made a strong impression in an otherwise mediocre teen film Senior Week (1987), then really set the wheels in motion with his second film, the John Waters' retro classic Hairspray (1988) in which Ricki Lake pines for the St. Gerard amid an American Bandstand type setting circa 1962. The amiable and tuneful satire worked perfectly and St. Gerard managed to stand out among the cult figures who appeared, including Divine, Sonny Bono and Debbie Harry. St. Gerard got to play Presley twice in films with Heart of Dixie (1989) and Great Balls of Fire! (1989), the latter film a biopic on Jerry Lee Lewis, played all-out by Dennis Quaid. So much attention was placed on St. Gerard's Elvis imitation that the producers of a new TV series looking to recapture Elvis' early years had to look no further. The highly ambitious Elvis (1990) ran for 10 episodes and St. Gerard was magnificent in the role, with Millie Perkins and Billy Green Bush equally terrific as his parents, Gladys and Vernon Presley. The show, however, was canceled despite the critical praise heaped upon it. Michael moved ahead to the popular teen show Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), playing an acting teacher in it second season, but this time Luke Perry and Jason Priestley grabbed the sexy attention. From there a few insignificant direct-to-video exports materialized, such as Into the Sun (1991), Live Wire (1992) and Replikator (1994), but his career had simmered. In 1994, St. Gerard had a spiritual awakening after leading a Sunday School class, and, with it, decided to retire and focus his energies on religious instruction. He subsequently became a pastor in the Harlem area of New York City, extending himself and his church in particular to inner-city youths, and spends little time reflecting on his past stardom.