Gary Lee Davis

Gary Lee Davis was born January 2, 1946, in a log a cabin beside Hwy. H near Charity, Missouri, and is the 4th great grandson of Danial Boone. He is the son of O.E. "Gene", a carpenter and long haul trucker, and Nettie Davis, a deputy sheriff and deputy conservation agent. As a child, he admired and loved the woods. Hunting and fishing were not only pastimes, but contributed to family daily life. His family moved to the big city of Buffalo, MO in 1953. City life did eventually rub off on Gary. One of his favorite pastimes was going to the picture show at the "Buffalo" and "PIX" Theaters. It cost a dime to get in, a nickel for popcorn, nickel for a candy bar, and a nickel for a coke. For one quarter, he would ride the range with Roy Rogers and Gabby Hayes. He wanted to grow up and be a cowboy and he did. Sometimes he would watch Audey Murphy movies and want to grow up to be a soldier.....and he did. Sometimes he would watch the fantastic things the stuntmen did and wanted to do what they did...and he did. He would watch movies about far off and exotic places and dream about going there. And he did. Needless to say the movies had a major influence on his life. After graduation from Buffalo High School as an outstanding athlete, he went on to attend Southwest Missouri State College (before it became a university). He unloaded boxcars at night to pay the bills. In 1964, Gary moved to Lees Summit, MO and worked at Western Electric Corp. until October 5, 1965 when he decided it was time to find out about the Vietnam War. He joined the Air Force, which was the only branch that could guarantee him a position running heavy equipment. Basic training was conducted at San Antonio, Texas then transferred to Chanute AFB, Illinois installing underground communication equipment in the central U.S. One year later, he was transferred to Hickem Air Force Base in Hawaii for the rest of his time in the U.S.A.F. Six months after arriving at Hickem, the Air Force was looking for volunteers for remote duty in South East Asia. He soon found himself at Ching Chung Kwan. His stay in S.E.A. included duty in Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Laos and the Philippians. His tour of duty ended in April 1968. After 8 months at Vandenburg AFB CA, including a 3 month TDY in Guam, he was offered his Staff Sergeant stripes or an 8 month early out and took the latter without remorse. With a new 1968 Camero under him and a couple of laps around the USA, he returned to Western Electric Company. As a young man looking for adventure and ready to move on and pursue another childhood dream, to ride the range, he sold the Camero, bought a 1970 Ford Truck, loaded up his registered Buckskin Poco bred Quarter Horse "Tom Star Buck" and headed off to Leota, Kansas. Over the next 2 years, Gary led the life of a ranch cowboy, doing open range and feedlot work. He then went on to Sperry, Oklahoma to complete the course of study at the Oklahoma Farrier's College as a Master Farrier. Gary moved back to Missouri and shod horses for a year before he headed West again to the North side of L.A. California to an area with more privately owned horses than anywhere else in the United States. While doing farrier work, he picked up a job as a bouncer and head of security at the Palomino Club North Hollywood in 1973 to 1976 where he soon acquired many Hollywood Stuntmen, as well as Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) members as shoeing clients. These clients soon became friends and they owned cattle, practice arenas and bulldogging horses. He joined the PRCA in 1974 and rodeo'd hard for the next 5 years. During this same time (1976), Gary got his Screen Extras Guild Card, soon followed by his Screen Actors Guild card. By 1979, a big choice had to be made.....the life of a rodeo cowboy with nothing at the end, or a career in the Motion Picture Industry. Rodeo became a hobby and "the business" became a profession. Lasting over 30 years with 237 commercials and hundreds of movies, T.V. shows, and industrial films. In 1984 he married Carrie Campbell, a banker, and in 1990 his only son Jake was born. Up until the fall of 2000, Gary continued to work in the Motion Picture Industry, acting and doing stunts. For fun, he team roped, winning the L.A. Pro Celebrity Rodeo in 1991. With the Screen Actors Guild on strike, He was almost 55 years old with a broken kneecap and a break was needed. He headed to the Wildlife Waystation, a 160 acre rescue, rehabilitation, and relocation center for over 700 wild and exotic animals that he helped found in 1976. Since founded, the Waystation has saved over 76,000 animals. Founder and C.E.O. Marine Colette, who was like a sister to him, had called to say that county, state and federal agencies were trying to shut her down due to un-permitted construction. Gary, as facilities manager, had decided to stay and help out with everything, from reconstructing 160 animal enclosures, to re-landscaping, after relocating more than 180 people a and their 60 mobile home living quarters off the compound grounds and into apartments and being the project supervisor for the construction of 6 maximum security enclosures for adult chimpanzees. After 3 1/2 years of 7 days a week, 12-16 hour days, it put a strain on his relationship with his wife, Carrie. They divorced in April 2003. In 2005, he sold his properties in order to put his son through four years at a major university. For most of 2006, he worked as a trainer of movie animals in Piru, California. In 2007, Gary moved back to Missouri to help out his aging father. He also watches his son, Jake, develop his career as a stand-up comedian and actor. He currently (2015) resides in a totally refurbished USDA pig sale barn, known locally as Ft. Davis. It's a cowboy palace and a place to put your boots up.