Here is the biography of Gary Simmons:
Gary Simmons was born in 1971 and began his showbiz career at the age of seven when he won a holiday camp talent contest. He was so impressive that the holiday camp managers hired a professional record company to record a single of him singing "The Bores Have Got My Daddy". The single was placed in the holiday camp jukebox and sold in their gift shops.
Gary's passion for acting led him to audition for a local amateur dramatics company, where he landed the lead role of Oliver Twist in a production of "Oliver" at the Bristol Hippodrome. The show ran for one week to full houses of approximately two thousand people each night, and Gary's tender acting performance and strong singing voice received rave reviews from local newspaper critics.
Gary's big break came when he auditioned for the professional production of "Bugsy Malone" at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. Despite the massive competition, Gary was one of the lucky ones selected for the show and even got promoted to play the title role of Bugsy Malone himself. He performed for three months with the show and earned his Equity membership, which allowed him to pursue more professional acting roles.
Gary's subsequent roles included starring in the children's horror film "Haunters of the Deep" alongside the late Andrew Keir, and performing in the touring stage show "The Nerd" alongside Jasper Carrot. He also voiced over work for ITV documentaries, starred in a TV commercial for Tomy Tronics hand-held computer games, and had a secondary part in a film for colleges.
In 1985, Gary got the part of Thor in the touring stage show "The Nerd" starring Jasper Carrot. The show had been in London for many months with Rowan Atkinson in the lead role and they now had Jasper Carrot replace him for the touring version. Gary was delighted as he had always been a fan.
After returning home from touring with "The Nerd", Gary didn't have time to catch his breath before another unbelievable job was offered him. He was asked to present a computer and science technology program called "Video & Chips" on HTV studios in Bristol, his hometown. The show was a huge success, and Gary became a well-known presenter in the UK.
Gary left school in 1987 and joined his brother Darren full-time as Taste of Honey, a Bee Gees tribute band. They enjoyed great success throughout the 90's and made several TV and radio appearances. Taste of Honey later became Legacy, in which Darren & Gary pay tribute to three of their favorite acts, the Bee Gees, the Beatles, and Simon & Garfunkel.
In 2008, Gary and his brother took their Bee Gees tribute show to new heights, launching a major UK Theatre Show tour featuring a full live band and string section. That show is still touring the UK theaters today.
Gary still maintains his two passions, performing and computer programming. As well as performing in Legacy, he is also an instructor and vice president of an online university called the Game Institute, which teaches students how to program the latest cutting-edge programming techniques used in today's computer games.
