Artistic career In 1939 Gari enrolled and studied at the
Art Students League of New York under the auspices of such renowned instructors as
Will Barnet and
Ethel Schwabacher. Gari worked with
oil on
canvas,
watercolor,
charcoal,
pastels, and
pen and ink. His subjects were usually
portraits, in
Impressionist or
Modernist style. He became a respected artist with numerous exhibitions in such galleries as the
Bodley Gallery in NYC and the Raymond Burr and Acosta galleries in
Beverly Hills. His paintings have been collected by such stars as
Shelley Winters,
Steve Allen,
Debbie Reynolds,
Eddie Fisher,
Eddie Cantor and former President
Ronald Reagan (who hung his Gari painting in the
White House). His painting of singer
Judy Garland was on display in the lobby of New York's
Palace Theatre for many years and now hangs in the Theatre Collection of the
Museum of the City of New York.
Show business career Some of the highlights of Gari's
show business career included dancing with
Vera-Ellen in the Broadway production of 'A Connecticut Yankee' in 1944 and later as Merlin the magician in the same production. Other Broadway credits include 'Sadie Thompson' (with
June Havoc) and Eddie Cantor's production of 'Nellie Bly'. During the 1950s he appeared on
The Colgate Comedy Hour as well as the
Four Star Revue. During the 1960s and 1970s his family commitments and his art work kept him away from performing; he returned in the 1980s and subsequently could be seen in such films as
I.Q.,
The Associate,
Scent of a Woman,
She Devil and
One Fine Day. He also had regular roles on television in the daytime
soap operas
Guiding Light (as Maurice the bartender) and
Another World (as Alistair the butler from 1992 to 1995). He was also prominently featured on
Candid Camera and
The Last Mile on PBS. His final TV role was playing Amy Sedaris' father in a dozen episodes of the cult
Comedy Central series
Strangers with Candy. ==Personal life==