Born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1940, Peter Gerety found acting while he was a student at Boston University and soon began appearing in local theater. He quickly progressed to work on the stages of New York and the screen. He earned acclaim on Broadway, performing opposite Judd Hirsch in "Conversations with My Father" in 1992. After years toiling as a guest supporting actor, Gerety finally got a break in 1996, when he joined the cast of "Homicide: Life on the Street" (NBC, 1993-1999) as a series regular.  In 1996, he landed another series regular role on the crime drama "Public Morals" (CBS, 1996). He had a large recurring role, playing Judge Phelan on the seminal police series "The Wire" (HBO, 2002-2008). In 2011, Gerety landed another series regular role on "Prime Suspect" (NBC, 2011-2012), a remake of the popular British series of the same name. He had substantial recurring roles on a second show called "Public Morals" (TNT, 2015), before another series regular role, playing the patriarch on the sitcom "Sneaky Pete" (Amazon, 2017-).