American actor
This article is about the actor born in 1936. For the actor born in 1987, see
Gary LeRoi Gray
.
Gary Dickson Gray
(December 18, 1936 ? April 4, 2006) was an American
child actor
in
films
, and as an adult in
television
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Born in
Los Angeles, California
, Gray was the son of Jeanie Ellen Dickson and John William Gray, aka Bill Gray, a film business manager. On January 28, 1961, he married Jean Charlene Bean. The couple had four daughters and 19 grandchildren.
Acting career
[
edit
]
It was two clients of his father's,
Bert Wheeler
and
Jack Benny
, who suggested that Gray should be used in films. Gray made his film debut in the
Joan Crawford
film
A Woman's Face
in 1941, and played minor roles in such popular films as
Heaven Can Wait
(1943),
Gaslight
(1944) and
Meet Me in St. Louis
(1944). In the 1944 short feature
I Am an American
he played Thomas Jefferson Kanowski, son of fictional Polish immigrant Fydor Kanowski.
[1]
He played more substantial roles in films such as
Return of the Bad Men
(1948) with
Randolph Scott
,
Gun Smugglers
(1948) with
Tim Holt
,
Rachel and the Stranger
(also 1948) with
Robert Mitchum
,
The Next Voice You Hear
(1950) with
Nancy Reagan
and
James Whitmore
, and
Wild Heritage
(1958) with
Maureen O'Sullivan
.
On April 17, 1956, Gray was cast as sixteen-year-old
Jackie Jensen
, later a
Major League Baseball
player, in "The Jackie Jensen Story", which aired on the
NBC
anthology series
,
Cavalcade of America
. Jensen played himself as an adult;
Vivi Janiss
was cast as Jensen's mother.
[2]
By the time he graduated from high school Gray had appeared in more than 70 films, however as an adult his acting roles were fairly few, and were mainly for television. By the early 1960s, he had retired from acting and concentrated on raising his family.
Business career and later life
[
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]
In 1960, Gray started a
swimming pool
maintenance and repair business. For the last 25 years of his 38 years in the swimming pool industry, Gray worked for two of the major international manufacturers of swimming pool equipment as territory, regional, and national
sales manager
. Gray was a sought-after speaker and educator for the "National Spa and Pool Institute" as well as by the "Independent Pool and Spa Service Association". Gray retired from the swimming pool industry in July, 1999.
Gray collected tapes of his movies and television programs, as well as stills, posters, and lobby cards from his acting career. Beginning in the mid-90s, he was a frequent guest at film festivals throughout the United States. He enjoyed visiting with his fans, and relating many interesting stories from his lengthy career. Gray played golf as a hobby.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Gary Gray was married to Jean Charlene Bean and had 4 children.
Death
[
edit
]
Gary Gray died on April 4, 2006, in
Brush Prairie, Washington
from
cancer
, aged 69.
[3]
Filmography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
The 16 minute film,
I Am an American
, was featured in American theaters in connection with "I Am an American Day" (now called
Constitution Day
).
I Am an American
was produced by
Gordon Hollingshead
, written and directed by
Crane Wilbur
. Besides Gary, it featured
Humphrey Bogart
,
Dick Haymes
,
Danny Kaye
,
Joan Leslie
,
Dennis Morgan
,
Knute Rockne
, and
Jay Silverheels
. See:
I Am An American
at the
TCM Movie Database
and
I Am an American
at
IMDb
.
- ^
"The Jackie Jensen Story on Cavalcade of America"
.
Internet Movie Database
. April 17, 1956
. Retrieved
August 8,
2016
.
- ^
"Child actor Gary Gray dead at 69"
.
UPI
. Retrieved
2023-01-26
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Goldrup, Tom and Jim (2002).
Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Film and Television
. McFarland & Co. pp. 103?112.
ISBN
1476613702
.
- Holmstrom, John (1996).
The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995
. Norwich: Michael Russell, p. 199-200.
External links
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]
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