Roberto Gari was born in Brooklyn and appeared in vaudeville under the name of Jackie Hayes from the age of 4.
13 Facts About Roberto Gari
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Roberto Gari was best known for his role as Guy Blank, Jerri Blank's father, in the cult Comedy Central series Strangers with Candy.
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In 1939 Roberto 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.
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Roberto Gari worked with oil on canvas, watercolor, charcoal, pastels, and pen and ink.
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Roberto Gari's subjects were usually portraits, in Impressionist or Modernist style.
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Roberto Gari 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.
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Roberto Gari's paintings have been collected by such stars as Shelley Winters, Steve Allen, Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher, Eddie Cantor and former President Ronald Reagan.
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Roberto Gari's 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.
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Some highlights of Roberto 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.
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Roberto Gari had regular roles on television in the daytime soap operas Guiding Light and Another World.
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Roberto Gari was prominently featured on Candid Camera and The Last Mile on PBS.
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Roberto Gari married Janet Cantor, daughter of performer Eddie Cantor, in December 1949.
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Roberto Gari died of Myocardial infarction at age 87 on January 22,2008.