Straub, Gerard Thomas 1947-

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STRAUB, Gerard Thomas 1947-

PERSONAL: Born March 31, 1947, in Brooklyn, NY; son of William V. (a business executive) and Frances (Croake) Straub; married second wife, Kathleen Grosso (a television and film production assistant), July 11, 1986; children: Adrienne Frances.

ADDRESSES: Home and Office—P.O. Box 1342, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921. Agent—Jay Garon, Jay Garon-Brooke Associates, Inc., 415 Central Park W, New York, NY 10025.

CAREER: Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., New York, NY, executive, 1964-78; Christian Broadcasting Network, Virginia Beach, VA, producer of The 700 Club and creator of the soap opera Another Life, 1978-80; American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., Hollywood, CA, associate producer of General Hospital, 1980-81; National Broadcasting Company, Inc., New York, NY, executive producer of The Doctors, 1982; Dick Clark Productions, Burbank, CA, producer of You Are the Jury, 1983; independent television director and freelance writer, San Francisco, CA, and New York City, 1983-86; John Conboy Productions, Hollywood, supervising producer of Capitol, 1986-87; freelance writer, beginning 1987. Secular Franciscan brother.

WRITINGS:

Salvation for Sale: An Insider's View of Pat Robertson's Ministry, Prometheus Books (Buffalo, NY), 1986, revised edition, 1988.

Dear Kate, Prometheus Books (Buffalo, NY), 1992.

The Sun and Moon over Assisi: A Personal Encounter with Francis and Clare, St. Anthony Messenger Press (Cincinnati, OH), 2000.

When Did I See You Hungry?, Bright Sky Press (Albany, TX), 2001.

Also author of God Said What?

SIDELIGHTS: Gerard Thomas Straub once told CA: "My writing mirrors my life's two main interests: show biz and spirituality. As a young teenager, I dreamed of becoming a missionary priest, yet, in an ironic twist of fate, I wound up producing soap operas for all three television networks. However, my two interests merged for two-and-a-half years during the late seventies, when I abandoned my network television career in order to join forces with television evangelist Pat Robertson. During my time at Christian Broadcasting System, I produced The 700 Club, created Another Life—the first internationally syndicated Christian soap opera—and wrote and produced many variety and dramatic specials.

"Salvation for Sale: An Insider's View of Pat Robertson's Ministry is the story of my own spiritual odyssey, played against the fascinating backdrop of fundamentalist Christian television. God Said What? is a less personal and more hard-hitting book that examines, not only the emotionalism of faith and the nature of religious beliefs, but also the power and dangers of the fundamentalist dark side of Christianity as it is reflected in the presidential campaign of preacher-turned-politician Pat Robertson.

"With these two serious books under my belt, my goal is to move into more fictional and entertaining writing, especially in the field of films. I want to write work that will be funny and dramatic, yet still touch upon the important philosophical issues that confront our changing society. In that vein, I have just completed a treatment for a television situation comedy, titled 'You Gotta Be Kidding,' that portrays the inner conflict of a television talk show host with lofty ideals who toils in the bottom-line business of ratings, where quality has no value and success is guaranteed with sleaze. On the literary horizon is a book that takes a behind-thescenes look at the wacky world of soap operas."