G.L. McQueary

G.L. McQueary was born Gregory McQueary, in Jersey City, New Jersey. He attended Lincoln High School where he excelled in both football and baseball, and was also known as the class clown. He enjoyed making his classmates laugh so much that he was constantly disciplined for his actions and kicked out of school several times. Eventually, G.L. completed his final year and a half of high school at Dickerson Evening H.S. for adults and graduated top of his class. After high school, G.L. attended Teterboro School of Aeronautics in Teterboro, New Jersey where he studied aircraft maintenance. Upon completion of that training, he attended Nathaniel Hawthorne College, in Antrim New Hampshire as a junior, where he majored in Aeronautical Science. G.L. got his start in acting after running into a family friend, Tony Wilkes. At the time, Tony worked on Broadway as a costume designer and was also the executive producer of the Jersey City based theatre company, the Phoenix Ensemble. A little while later, G.L. auditioned for the part of Blue Haven in the stage play, "Ceremonies in Dark Old Men", and he blew Tony and the other cast members away with his natural acting ability. G.L. got the part and became the Phoenix Ensemble's newest member. On the plays opening day, in 1990, G.L.'s Blue Haven performance received a standing ovation, and he never looked back. With the Phoenix Ensemble G.L. performed in a dozen productions, including "A Soldiers Play", "Fences", "A Raisin In The Sun" and "Split Second". It wasn't long before G.L. responded to an inner urging to also write stage plays. He wrote his first, "360 Degrees Lucky" for a children's theater group, taught by a fellow Phoenix Ensemble cast-mate, Marcia Trice. He has since written several stage plays, monologues, short and feature length films, television series and an award-winning poem. In 1993 G.L. made his professional stage debut at the Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany New York in the stage premiere production of "The Gang on the Roof", by Dan Owens; a play supported by a grant from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays. The play stared Tony Award winner actor Rodger Robinson. Next, G.L. toured the southern US states with the gospel musical play, "A Mother's Love". A year later, against the advice of Academy Award nominated actor, William Hurt, who had told him several years before, "Don't go to LA. If you're good, Hollywood will find you," G.L. moved to Los Angeles. Upon his arrival, he was re-introduced to John Amos, whom he had previously met during a table reading of "The Gang on the Roof". At that time, Mr. Amos was doing his one-man show, "Haley's Comet", and his son, K.C., was shooting his thesis film, "Syphon Gun". G.L. was offered a part as a ranch-hand. G.L. got to know John Amos and his family pretty well and even spent days at their family home, sleeping on the couch. G.L. often recalls how surreal it was riding in the back seat of a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle, driven by the "Good Times" dad, James Evans, to go grocery shopping. G.L. continued his theater work in LA, performing in such plays as, "The Colored Museum", "Someone Who'll Watch Over Me", "Private Battle" (at The John Anson Ford Theatre as part of the Mark Taper Forum) and "A Raisin In The Sun" for which his performance as Bobo earned him a Jeffery Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a stage play by the Santa Monica Theater Guild. Also with goals for a film career, G.L. began training with Kim Fields at the Harvest School of Performance Arts. G.L. has had some success being featured and co-starring in films such as, "Unidentified", "Young American Gangstas", "Derek & Delila", "The Cloth" and "Undercover Kids". In 2005, G.L. got his first leading role in the hit comedy short film, "RiB Shack", in which his portrayal of Slappy Don Juan Hercules Robinson Ray Johnson, a fiery and disgruntled barbecue restaurant owner in the Crenshaw District of South Central Los Angeles, earned him the GAFFERS Award (Global Arts Film Festival) for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy. Today's G.L. continues to stay active in film, writing, producing and starring in numerous independent projects. He also studies regularly with master teacher, Richard Lawson, as a member of the Richard Lawson Studios. G.L. is also a strong supporter of the Innocence Project, which is committed to exonerating individuals who have been wrongly convicted. He is also a proud dad of three accomplished daughters. His eldest is a former NCAA D1 softball player for South Carolina State University, holds a Master's Degree and is now preparing for medical school. G.L.'s middle daughter is an honors student at her university, on a full academic scholarship. His baby girl is a President's List academic scholar on an athletic scholarship at her university, where she is also a member of the NCAA D1 softball team.