# Gary Gray (actor)

Gary Dickson Gray (December 18, 1936 – April 4, 2006) was an American child actor in films, and as an adult in television.

## Biography

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

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. 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.
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

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

Gary Gray was married to Jean Charlene Bean and had 4 children.

## Death

Gary Gray died on April 4, 2006, in Brush Prairie, Washington from cancer, aged 69.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1941 | A Woman's Face | Sailor-Suited Boy in Park | Film debut, Uncredited |
| 1941 | Sun Valley Serenade | Charles - Adopted Refugee Boy | Uncredited |
| 1943 | The Meanest Man in the World | Second Boy With Candy | Uncredited |
| 1943 | It's a Great Life | Boy at Circus Show | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Hitler's Madman | Little Boy | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Two Tickets to London | Boy Pushing Swing | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Alaska Highway | Boy | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Heaven Can Wait | Boy in Park | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Where Are Your Children? | Boy in Day Care Nursery | Uncredited |
| 1944 | Beautiful But Broke | Boy in Nursery | Uncredited |
| 1944 | Address Unknown | Hugo Schulz | |
| 1944 | Gaslight | Boy in Park with Nanny | Uncredited |
| 1944 | Once Upon a Time | Boy with Shoebox | Uncredited |
| 1944 | The White Cliffs of Dover | Boy at Dinner Table | Uncredited |
| 1944 | Meet Me in St. Louis | Boy at Pavilion | Uncredited |
| 1944 | I'll Be Seeing You | Franklin - Boy with Toy Machine Gun | Uncredited |
| 1945 | Youth for the Kingdom | Boy | |
| 1945 | The Clock | Little Joe, Boy in Park | Uncredited |
| 1945 | Adventures of Rusty | Herbie | Uncredited |
| 1945 | Men in Her Diary | Boy Outside Flower Shop | Uncredited |
| 1946 | To Each His Own | Casey Ingham | Uncredited |
| 1946 | The Green Years | Boy Making First Communion | Uncredited |
| 1946 | Rendezvous 24 | 'Hansel' in Radio Show | Voice, Uncredited |
| 1946 | Little Mister Jim | Neighbor Boy | Uncredited |
| 1946 | Slightly Scandalous | Little Boy | Uncredited |
| 1946 | Three Little Girls in Blue | Farm Boy with Jug | Uncredited |
| 1946 | Three Wise Fools | Willie the Squeak | Uncredited |
| 1946 | The Wonderful Ears of Johnny McGoggin | Johnny McGoggin | |
| 1946 | Gay Bubbles | Jimmie | |
| 1947 | My Brother Talks to Horses | Boy at School | Uncredited |
| 1947 | Backlash | Chris | Uncredited |
| 1947 | Too Many Winners | Jimmy Edwards | Uncredited |
| 1947 | The Millerson Case | Second Boy at School | Uncredited |
| 1947 | Living in a Big Way | Boy at 'Broken Arms' | Uncredited |
| 1947 | High Conquest | Boy on Train | Uncredited |
| 1947 | Dark Delusion | Boy Patient | Uncredited |
| 1947 | Swing the Western Way | Boy in Grandstand at Rodeo | Uncredited |
| 1947 | Heaven Only Knows | Jimmie | Uncredited |
| 1948 | Tenth Avenue Angel | Boy | Uncredited |
| 1948 | Best Man Wins | Bob Smiley | |
| 1948 | Return of the Bad Men | Johnny | |
| 1948 | Fighting Back | Jimmy Sanders | |
| 1948 | Night Wind | Johnny Benson | |
| 1948 | Rachel and the Stranger | Davey | |
| 1948 | Whispering Smith | Bobby, Baggs' Grandson | Uncredited |
| 1948 | Gun Smugglers | Danny Reeves | |
| 1949 | Henry, the Rainmaker | David Latham | |
| 1949 | Streets of San Francisco | Frankie Fraser | |
| 1949 | Leave It to Henry | David Latham | |
| 1949 | The Girl from Jones Beach | Woody Wilson | |
| 1949 | Masked Raiders | Artie Trevett | |
| 1949 | The Great Lover | Tommy O'Connor | |
| 1950 | Father Is a Bachelor | Jan Chalotte | |
| 1950 | Father Makes Good | David Latham | |
| 1950 | The Next Voice You Hear... | Johnny Smith | |
| 1950 | Two Weeks with Love | McCormick Robinson | |
| 1950 | Father's Wild Game | David Latham | |
| 1951 | The Painted Hills | Tommy Blake | |
| 1951 | Father Takes the Air | David Latham | |
| 1951-1952 | Fireside Theatre | Johnny | Episode: "The Secret" |
| 1951-1958 | Family Theater | Undetermined Roles | 3 episodes |
| 1952 | Rodeo | Joey Cartwright | |
| 1953 | You Are There | Young Rebel | Episode: "The Boston Tea Party" |
| 1953 | Crazylegs | Teenager on Phone | |
| 1954 | Annie Oakley | Bucky Donavan | Episode: "Annie and the Six o' Spades" |
| 1954 | Captain Midnight | Jimmy Sawyer | Episode: "Deadly Diamonds" |
| 1955 | Cavalcade of America | Apple Knocker | Episode: "The Texas Rangers" |
| 1955 | The First Hundred Days | Gary | |
| 1956 | Studio 57 | Mikey | Episode: "The Baxter Boy" |
| 1956 | The Lineup | Bell Boy | Episode: "The Ringing Bells Case" |
| 1956 | Teenage Rebel | Freddie Green | Uncredited |
| 1956 | Emergency Hospital | Earl Fanmorn | Uncredited |
| 1956 | The Danny Thomas Show | Bob | Episode: "Terry at the Crossroads" |
| 1956 | Hey, Jeannie! | Undetermined Role | Episode: "Jeannie the Caddy" |
| 1956 | The Adventures of Jim Bowie | Paul Wilkins | 2 episodes |
| 1956 | December Bride | Undetermined Role | Episode: "Football Hero" |
| 1957 | I Love Lucy | Fruit Basket Deliveryman | Episode: "Lucy Misses the Mertzes" |
| 1957 | Man Without a Gun | Undetermined Role | Episode: "The Fugitive" |
| 1957-1960 | The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp | The Kid/Billy Clanton | 3 episodes |
| 1958 | Wild Heritage | Hugh Adam David Breslin | |
| 1958 | The Party Crashers | Don Hartlow | |
| 1958 | 26 Men | Shagg Tanner | Episode: "My Brother's Keeper" |
| 1959 | Trackdown | Luke Turley | Episode: "The Feud" |
| 1959 | Tumbleweed: Baron of Purgatory | Johnny Benson | Episode: "Baron of Purgatory" |
| 1962 | Terror at Black Falls | Johnny | Final film |