Actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the level-headed Captain Boardman in "Submarine Seahawk" (1958). After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, upon returning to civilian life following the war's end, after resettling in his native New York, he attained his degree in theatrical arts under the G.I. Bill from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and began his career as a leading man on the stage. While attending a dinner party at the prestigious Russian Tea Room, he was introduced to director Rudolph Mate. Impressed by his blonde good looks, slim physique, and distinctive voice, he took notice of his potential and arranged for him to begin a career in the film industry beginning with him appearing under his supervision per a supporting role in "D.O.A." (1949). From there, he would go on to enjoy a fruitful career as a notable character actor appearing in over 110 features; often typecast as husbands, fathers, boyfriends, blue-collared guys, politicians, doctors, businessmen, city slickers, cowboys, sheriffs, policemen, eccentrics, curmudgeons, detectives, reporters, photographers, aristocrats, soldiers, authority figures, and patriarchs. He appeared in such feature films as "My Friend Irma Goes West" (1950), "Strictly Dishonorable" (1951), "Young Man with Ideas" (1952), "Call Me Madam" (1953), "Drum Beat" (1954), "It's Always Fair Weather" (1955), "Slightly Scarlet" (1956), "Under Fire" (1957), "Onionhead" (1958), "The Wasp Woman" (1959), "Hell to Eternity" (1960), "A Thunder of Drums" (1961), "Kid Galahad" (1962), "Shock Corridor" (1963), "The Quick Gun" (1964), "Marriage on the Rocks" (1965), "The Silencers" (1966), "If He Hollars, Let Him Go!" (1968), and "The Christine Jorgensen Story" (1970). On television, he became an even more familiar face appearing in numerous guest spots on such syndicated sitcoms as "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show," "Dick Tracy," "I Married Joan," "Racket Squad," "Our Miss Brooks," "The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse," "Highway Patrol," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Studio 57," "Cavalcade of America," "Code 3," "Telephone Time," "The Man Behind the Badge," "Navy Log," "Alcoa Theatre," "Sugarfoot," "Death Valley Days," "Wagon Train," "Mike Hammer," "Tales of Wells Fargo," "Tombstone Territory," "Leave It to Beaver," "The Untouchables," "Peter Gunn," "Hawaiian Eye," "Bourbon Street Beat," "The Andy Griffith Show," "Wanted: Dead or Alive," "Perry Mason," "McHale's Navy," "Laredo," "The Donna Reed Show," "Ironside," "Lancer," and "Mannix". During his career, he was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, was supportive of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, had been a member of the Hollywood Democratic Committee, was a regular parishioner of the Methodist church, had been a chairman for his local charters of the American Red Cross and the Boys Scouts, was a male model for the Forbes Agency, and had been a theatrical instructor for the Pasadena Playhouse. Following his last appearance in an episode of "San Francisco International Airport", Gerstle, who never married nor had any children, died unexpectedly from complications of cancer.