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, Gaslight and Meet Me in St. Louis. 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 with Randolph Scott, Gun Smugglers with Tim Holt, Rachel and the Stranger with Robert Mitchum, The Next Voice You Hear with Nancy Reagan and James Whitmore, and Wild Heritage 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 NBCanthology 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 twenty-five years of his thirty-eight 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.
