Singer, song writer and recording artist. John recorded twenty-three record albums with RCA Victor throughout his career. Born in Watertown, New York, his original name was John Gary Strader. He sang in Ken Murray's Blackouts as a child star, and after the Blackouts, he joined the US Marines. When out of the service he returned to show business. He went on to host "The John Gary Show" on the CBS Television Network, in the 1960s. He was the inventor of the Gary Aquapeller, an underwater propulsion device, and was an accomplished skin diver, who held several records for underwater endurance. He passed away of cancer.∼Paper: Times-Picayune, The (New Orleans, LA)
Deceased: JOHN GARY, RECORDING ARTIST, NIGHTCLUB SINGER
Date: January 7, 1998
John Gary, a nightclub and concert singer and popular recording artist of the 1960s and '70s, died Sunday of cancer at Baylor University Hospital in Dallas. He was 65.
Mr. Gary was born John Gary Strader in Watertown, N.Y., and lived in New Orleans before moving to New York in 1962. He lived in Texas in recent years.
While in New Orleans, he had a 15-minute program on WDSU-TV. Mr. Gary's son, Jason W. Gary, said his father always considered New Orleans a second home and liked to stop in at the Pearl Oyster Bar just off Canal Street.
He performed regularly at the Fairmont's Blue Room and the New Orleans Summer Pops for many years after leaving the city and long had one of the city's most active fan clubs.
Mr. Gary, a smooth-voiced tenor, was "discovered" as a singer in New York when he was approached at a private party and asked to record the songs he had sung that night. His first album, "Catching a Rising Star," gained wide acclaim.
During his 35-year career, he recorded about 30 albums, mainly for RCA, and appeared on many talk shows including "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," "The Carol Burnett Show" and "The Mike Douglas Show." He also had a 90-minute syndicated program, "The John Gary Show."
He recently completed a tour with the Mantovani Orchestra and was preparing to release a new CD.
Dick Alba, Mr. Gary's longtime diving partner, said Mr. Gary was an all-around athlete and set a record for underwater endurance, often staying under for 24 hours at a time. In the late 1950s, Mr. Gary invented the Aqua-peller, an underwater propulsion device. He and Alba tested the equipment in Clearwater, Fla.
Mr. Gary performed at the 1991 and 1992 Archdiocesan Charity Balls in New Orleans.
In 1992, he learned he needed a bone-marrow transplant to treat an inoperable form of cancer. Because he lacked the money for the procedure, the local Foundation for Artists, Musicians and Entertainers held a two-night fund-raiser for him.
Besides his son Jason, survivors include his wife, Lee Wilson Gary of Richardson, Texas; three sons from previous marriages, John, Matthew and John Gary Jr.; three stepsons, Rick, Paul and Kris Wilson; a stepdaughter, Tracy Wilson; two brothers, Richard Strader of Dunnellon, Fla., and Matthew Strader of Overland, Kan.; a sister, Shirley Dixon of Dunnellon; and two grandchildren.
A funeral will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Dallas. Burial will be in Pecan Grove Cemetery in Dallas.
∼Also see John Gary.
Deceased: JOHN GARY, RECORDING ARTIST, NIGHTCLUB SINGER
Date: January 7, 1998
John Gary, a nightclub and concert singer and popular recording artist of the 1960s and '70s, died Sunday of cancer at Baylor University Hospital in Dallas. He was 65.
Mr. Gary was born John Gary Strader in Watertown, N.Y., and lived in New Orleans before moving to New York in 1962. He lived in Texas in recent years.
While in New Orleans, he had a 15-minute program on WDSU-TV. Mr. Gary's son, Jason W. Gary, said his father always considered New Orleans a second home and liked to stop in at the Pearl Oyster Bar just off Canal Street.
He performed regularly at the Fairmont's Blue Room and the New Orleans Summer Pops for many years after leaving the city and long had one of the city's most active fan clubs.
Mr. Gary, a smooth-voiced tenor, was "discovered" as a singer in New York when he was approached at a private party and asked to record the songs he had sung that night. His first album, "Catching a Rising Star," gained wide acclaim.
During his 35-year career, he recorded about 30 albums, mainly for RCA, and appeared on many talk shows including "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," "The Carol Burnett Show" and "The Mike Douglas Show." He also had a 90-minute syndicated program, "The John Gary Show."
He recently completed a tour with the Mantovani Orchestra and was preparing to release a new CD.
Dick Alba, Mr. Gary's longtime diving partner, said Mr. Gary was an all-around athlete and set a record for underwater endurance, often staying under for 24 hours at a time. In the late 1950s, Mr. Gary invented the Aqua-peller, an underwater propulsion device. He and Alba tested the equipment in Clearwater, Fla.
Mr. Gary performed at the 1991 and 1992 Archdiocesan Charity Balls in New Orleans.
In 1992, he learned he needed a bone-marrow transplant to treat an inoperable form of cancer. Because he lacked the money for the procedure, the local Foundation for Artists, Musicians and Entertainers held a two-night fund-raiser for him.
Besides his son Jason, survivors include his wife, Lee Wilson Gary of Richardson, Texas; three sons from previous marriages, John, Matthew and John Gary Jr.; three stepsons, Rick, Paul and Kris Wilson; a stepdaughter, Tracy Wilson; two brothers, Richard Strader of Dunnellon, Fla., and Matthew Strader of Overland, Kan.; a sister, Shirley Dixon of Dunnellon; and two grandchildren.
A funeral will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Dallas. Burial will be in Pecan Grove Cemetery in Dallas.
∼Also see John Gary.
Singer, song writer and recording artist. John recorded twenty-three record albums with RCA Victor throughout his career. Born in Watertown, New York, his original name was John Gary Strader. He sang in Ken Murray's Blackouts as a child star, and after the Blackouts, he joined the US Marines. When out of the service he returned to show business. He went on to host "The John Gary Show" on the CBS Television Network, in the 1960s. He was the inventor of the Gary Aquapeller, an underwater propulsion device, and was an accomplished skin diver, who held several records for underwater endurance. He passed away of cancer.∼Paper: Times-Picayune, The (New Orleans, LA)
Deceased: JOHN GARY, RECORDING ARTIST, NIGHTCLUB SINGER
Date: January 7, 1998
John Gary, a nightclub and concert singer and popular recording artist of the 1960s and '70s, died Sunday of cancer at Baylor University Hospital in Dallas. He was 65.
Mr. Gary was born John Gary Strader in Watertown, N.Y., and lived in New Orleans before moving to New York in 1962. He lived in Texas in recent years.
While in New Orleans, he had a 15-minute program on WDSU-TV. Mr. Gary's son, Jason W. Gary, said his father always considered New Orleans a second home and liked to stop in at the Pearl Oyster Bar just off Canal Street.
He performed regularly at the Fairmont's Blue Room and the New Orleans Summer Pops for many years after leaving the city and long had one of the city's most active fan clubs.
Mr. Gary, a smooth-voiced tenor, was "discovered" as a singer in New York when he was approached at a private party and asked to record the songs he had sung that night. His first album, "Catching a Rising Star," gained wide acclaim.
During his 35-year career, he recorded about 30 albums, mainly for RCA, and appeared on many talk shows including "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," "The Carol Burnett Show" and "The Mike Douglas Show." He also had a 90-minute syndicated program, "The John Gary Show."
He recently completed a tour with the Mantovani Orchestra and was preparing to release a new CD.
Dick Alba, Mr. Gary's longtime diving partner, said Mr. Gary was an all-around athlete and set a record for underwater endurance, often staying under for 24 hours at a time. In the late 1950s, Mr. Gary invented the Aqua-peller, an underwater propulsion device. He and Alba tested the equipment in Clearwater, Fla.
Mr. Gary performed at the 1991 and 1992 Archdiocesan Charity Balls in New Orleans.
In 1992, he learned he needed a bone-marrow transplant to treat an inoperable form of cancer. Because he lacked the money for the procedure, the local Foundation for Artists, Musicians and Entertainers held a two-night fund-raiser for him.
Besides his son Jason, survivors include his wife, Lee Wilson Gary of Richardson, Texas; three sons from previous marriages, John, Matthew and John Gary Jr.; three stepsons, Rick, Paul and Kris Wilson; a stepdaughter, Tracy Wilson; two brothers, Richard Strader of Dunnellon, Fla., and Matthew Strader of Overland, Kan.; a sister, Shirley Dixon of Dunnellon; and two grandchildren.
A funeral will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Dallas. Burial will be in Pecan Grove Cemetery in Dallas.
∼Also see John Gary.
Deceased: JOHN GARY, RECORDING ARTIST, NIGHTCLUB SINGER
Date: January 7, 1998
John Gary, a nightclub and concert singer and popular recording artist of the 1960s and '70s, died Sunday of cancer at Baylor University Hospital in Dallas. He was 65.
Mr. Gary was born John Gary Strader in Watertown, N.Y., and lived in New Orleans before moving to New York in 1962. He lived in Texas in recent years.
While in New Orleans, he had a 15-minute program on WDSU-TV. Mr. Gary's son, Jason W. Gary, said his father always considered New Orleans a second home and liked to stop in at the Pearl Oyster Bar just off Canal Street.
He performed regularly at the Fairmont's Blue Room and the New Orleans Summer Pops for many years after leaving the city and long had one of the city's most active fan clubs.
Mr. Gary, a smooth-voiced tenor, was "discovered" as a singer in New York when he was approached at a private party and asked to record the songs he had sung that night. His first album, "Catching a Rising Star," gained wide acclaim.
During his 35-year career, he recorded about 30 albums, mainly for RCA, and appeared on many talk shows including "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," "The Carol Burnett Show" and "The Mike Douglas Show." He also had a 90-minute syndicated program, "The John Gary Show."
He recently completed a tour with the Mantovani Orchestra and was preparing to release a new CD.
Dick Alba, Mr. Gary's longtime diving partner, said Mr. Gary was an all-around athlete and set a record for underwater endurance, often staying under for 24 hours at a time. In the late 1950s, Mr. Gary invented the Aqua-peller, an underwater propulsion device. He and Alba tested the equipment in Clearwater, Fla.
Mr. Gary performed at the 1991 and 1992 Archdiocesan Charity Balls in New Orleans.
In 1992, he learned he needed a bone-marrow transplant to treat an inoperable form of cancer. Because he lacked the money for the procedure, the local Foundation for Artists, Musicians and Entertainers held a two-night fund-raiser for him.
Besides his son Jason, survivors include his wife, Lee Wilson Gary of Richardson, Texas; three sons from previous marriages, John, Matthew and John Gary Jr.; three stepsons, Rick, Paul and Kris Wilson; a stepdaughter, Tracy Wilson; two brothers, Richard Strader of Dunnellon, Fla., and Matthew Strader of Overland, Kan.; a sister, Shirley Dixon of Dunnellon; and two grandchildren.
A funeral will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Dallas. Burial will be in Pecan Grove Cemetery in Dallas.
∼Also see John Gary.
Inscription
"I would, of all my values, find
And pray that in the restless winds that blow,
A gust of my small effort find a seed to carry,
And earth to grow...One Red Rose"
John Gary
Gravesite Details
Burial records under John Gary "Strader"
Family Members
Parents
