Gary was born in Louisville, Kentucky and he grew up in Lakeland, Florida. He has spent the last 30 years working at the Lakeland Police Department with his last assignment as the official spokesperson for the police department. He got his big break in 2009 as a Police Technical Advisor on the set of the film "Endure", the Polk-based crime thriller written and directed by Joe O'Brien. As a consultant for the film starring Judd Nelson, Devon Sawa and Tom Arnold, he put his knowledge to work and even ended up as a featured extra in the film.