Obituary of Gilbert Kenneth Gulbransen

Gilbert Kenneth Brandsen died at age 90 on July 9, 2023. Gil was born on November 29, 1932 in Brooklyn and was a life-long New Yorker. He was an actor, training under Uta Hagen in New York and took acting classes at Long Island University.  Gil was active in summer stock productions in the early 1950s. Stationed in Korea in the army, Gil was a performer in the USO tour of Moss Hart’s Light Up the Sky. After leaving the army, Gil’s first job was at the Army Pictorial Center in Astoria, Queens and at an army base in Georgia, making military training films. While he was working at the Army Pictorial Center, he was “making rounds” to get other acting gigs. He is best known for playing Jerry Roberts in the 1961 movie The Sin of Mona Kent.  He also acted in episodes of the TV series Naked City. And had small parts in The Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Man on a String (1960), Requiem for a Heavyweight(1962), and Three Days of the Condor (1975). He had an encyclopedic knowledge of movies and plays. Gil joined the Screen Actors Guild (now SAG-AFTRA) in 1957 and was an active member until his passing. 

His second love after acting was New York real estate. He held a brokers’ license for many years and also purchased several distressed properties.

He is survived by his niece, Lynne Miller of Great Falls, VA and nephew, Walter Miller (and wife Jana Killebrew) of Clarksville, TN. And their children and spouses: John and Nicole Metelski of Bronxville, NY and Lauren Miller and Dino Pezutti of San Jose, CA. Gil’s sister, Evelyn Miller, passed in 2020. His parents Thora and Emil Gulbransen emigrated from Norway in the 1920s. His first cousin, Mary Wilhelmsen and her husband (Leif Stole) and their daughter (Lena) live in Mandal Norway.

A small family gathering to celebrate Gil’s life will be scheduled at a later date.