Gary Sandy, a renowned TV actor, was born in 1945 and raised in Ohio. He pursued his passion for acting by attending Wilmington College in Ohio and later moved to New York City to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Gary's professional debut was in 1970 with a soap opera part written especially for him on "As The World Turns." He went on to visit various soap sets, playing assorted and often menacing characters, including "Another World," "Somerset," and "The Secret Storm," over a seven-year period.
In between his soap opera roles, Gary made his Broadway debut in "Saturday, Sunday, Monday" (1974),directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and landed small movie parts, eventually leading to noticeable turns on TV, particularly with Norman Lear's short-lived series "All That Glitters" (1977).
Gary's most notable character was Andy Travis, the hunky radio program director in the four-season sitcom "WKRP in Cincinnati" (1978). Although he was the lead and enjoyed top billing, he was often overshadowed by his flashy supporting cast, including Howard Hesseman and Loni Anderson.
After "WKRP in Cincinnati" ended, Gary continued to work as a TV guest star on shows such as "L.A. Law," "Murder, She Wrote," "Diagnosis: Murder," "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," and had a brief regular role on the daytime soap "The Young and the Restless" (1973) in 2001.
Gary then returned to his first love, the theatre, and took on musical roles, including the slick and preening Pirate King in Broadway's "The Pirates of Penzance" and Billy Flynn in "Chicago." He also played down-home charmers in "The Music Man" and "Will Rogers Follies."
Gary appeared in a few musical misfires, including "Sheba" and "Windy City," but also had success with productions like "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and the challenging one-man show "Billy Bishop Goes to War" (1985),in which he enacted 17 roles.
In addition to his stage work, Gary has appeared in a few films, including "Mommy's Day" (1997),"Against the Law" (1997),and "The Insider" (1999),and has made appearances in TV movies such as "Lightning: Fire from the Sky" (2001) and "A Place Called Home" (2004),starring Ann-Margret.
