Gerald Raymond Rosenthal is an American musician, singer-songwriter and actor. He has starred in films and short films and has guest starred in television series such as ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'' and ''

Celebrity Deathmatch ''Celebrity Deathmatch'' is an adult stop-motion claymated series created by Eric Fogel and produced by John Worth Lynn Jr. for MTV. A parody of sports entertainment programs, ''Celebrity Deathmatch'' depicted various celebrities engaging in ...

''. He is best known for providing the voice for Jimmy Hopkins, the main playable character in the 2006 video game ''

Bully Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by ot ...

'', for which he was nominated for a 2006 Spike VGA Award for Best Performance by a Human Male.

Early life

Rosenthal graduated from

North Plainfield High School North Plainfield High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grade from North Plainfield, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the North Plainfield Scho ...

in 1998 in

North Plainfield, New Jersey North Plainfield is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It is located within the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 21,936,Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. He graduated from Rutgers University in 2003 with a degree in history.

Career

Acting

Rosenthal was about 6 years old when his mother took him into

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to audition for an acting agent, which led to auditions. He acted in commercials as a child starting at the age of seven. He says that acting was something his parents essentially dragged him to do, but around the beginning of ninth grade he realized that he truly wanted to act. Rosenthal has appeared in television commercials and radio voice-overs, along with television series including ''

'' and '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', as well as the films ''

Liberty Heights ''Liberty Heights'' is a 1999 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Barry Levinson. The film is a semi-autobiographical account of his childhood growing up in Baltimore in the 1950s. Portrayed are the racial injustices experienced bot ...

'', ''

Finding Forrester ''Finding Forrester'' is a 2000 American drama film written by Mike Rich and directed by Gus Van Sant. In the film, a black teenager, Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown (actor), Rob Brown), is invited to attend a prestigious private high school. By chance ...

'', and ''Wirey Spindell''. Rosenthal also provided the voice for the main playable character Jimmy Hopkins in the 2006 video game ''

'', from

Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...

. He reprised his role for new missions featured in the remastered ''Scholarship Edition'' of the game.

Music

Rosenthal's father began teaching him guitar and piano at 7 years old. Between the ages of ten and thirteen he attended the St. Thomas Choir School in New York City, a boarding school for young male choristers. He sang in five or six services a week at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue with the St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys under the direction of Dr. Gerre Hancock. While at St. Thomas, Rosenthal studied piano with concert pianist Leslie Singer and music theory with composer Scott Eyerly (composer of the

Opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...

of Seven Gables, as well as a faculty member at The

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

). He toured with the St. Thomas Choir, traveling to Austria, Italy, Vienna, and Ireland. In high school Rosenthal continued his piano studies privately with jazz pianist Paul Salamone. While earning a History degree at Rutgers University, Rosenthal attended a semester at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

in Boston, Massachusetts, where he studied guitar privately with John Marasco (

Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Ba ...

Al Martino Al Martino (born Jasper Cini; October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009) was an American singer and actor. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop croone ...

) and John Thomas (

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five.Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler (2 ...

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as ''Top Gun'' (1986), ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''Day ...

Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jazz ...

) as well as music theory with Jim Stinnett (bass instructor for

Mike Gordon Michael Eliot Gordon (born June 3, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist most recognized as a founding member of the band Phish. In addition to bass, Gordon is an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano and guitar. He ...

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...

) While in college he also studied guitar privately with Karl Cochran (

Ace Frehley Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician, best known as the original lead guitarist and co-founding member of the hard rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. Space Ace) and played wit ...

Joe Lynn Turner Joe Lynn Turner (born Joseph Arthur Mark Linquito, August 2, 1951) is an American singer known for his work in the hard rock bands Rainbow, Yngwie J. Malmsteen and Deep Purple. During his career, Turner fronted and played guitar with pop ro ...

.) He also played with different groups for fun in college, so within six months of moving home He was playing in about four bands in the New Brunswick, New Jersey, area. Over the years his focus gradually shifted more and more towards music, and that's how he makes his living today. He says that he still goes on acting auditions, but music is his life at this point. He is the guitarist of the music groups The Gerry Rosenthal Trio and Big Wake and is also the bassist of the music groups

Hey Bulldog "Hey Bulldog" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles released on their 1969 soundtrack album '' Yellow Submarine''. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, but written primarily by John Lennon, it was finished in the recording studio by both L ...

and The Jersey Joint.

Personal life

Rosenthal grew up with two brothers, also musicians. His younger brother Hank died of a drug overdose at the age of 26 on September 30, 2017. Rosenthal and his wife Megan McGrath became parents of their son James sometime in late 2018. Today, Rosenthal and his family currently live in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Gerry Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American musicians 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American pianists American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors American male radio actors American male voice actors American male video game actors Male actors from New Jersey Place of birth missing (living people) Singer-songwriters from New Jersey Guitarists from New Jersey Musicians from Jersey City, New Jersey People from North Plainfield, New Jersey Actors from Jersey City, New Jersey American male bass guitarists American keyboardists American multi-instrumentalists American rock guitarists American rock bass guitarists American acoustic guitarists Lead guitarists American lyricists American music educators North Plainfield High School alumni Rutgers University alumni Berklee College of Music alumni American male pianists Educators from New Jersey 21st-century American male singers American male singer-songwriters Year of birth missing (living people)