Biography for
Gary Dourdan More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

11 December 1966, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Birth Name

Gary Robert Durdin

Height

6' 2" (1.88 m)

Spouse

Roshumba Williams

(1992 - 1994) (divorced)

Trivia

Has a daughter, Nyla and a son, Lyric.

Discovered by actress/singer/dancer Debbie Allen.

His uncle plays saxophone for Sister Sledge and gave Gary a saxophone when he was around 13.

Is an accomplished musician. Plays the guitar, piano, bass, drum and sax.

Six years before the premiere of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (2000), he and Marg Helgenberger starred together in the pilot of an unsuccessful TV series called "Keys.".

When he was 6, his older brother (26) was murdered when he was on a vacation in Haiti. The case is still unsolved.

In July 2005, he performed as part of DMC's Guests at the LIVE 8 concert in Barrie, Ontario Canada

Is of French, Irish, Scottish, African, Indian and Jewish descent.

Was a model in the 1980's and 1990's for Boss Models in New York City.

Arrested at 5:21am on April 29, 2008 in Palm Springs, California for possession of heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and prescription drugs. Was given a diversion by the judge on May 28.

In 2008, during negotiation with CBS, his "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (2000) contract was not renewed. In the Season 8 finale, Dourdan's character was shot and left for dead at the episode's end. The Season 9 premiere had Dourdan's character dying in the arms of his colleague Grissom (William Petersen). Many have incorrectly assumed that his 2008 arrest caused CBS to drop him from the show, but his final scenes had been shot and his contract negotiations were concluded before his arrest.

Played Janet Jackson's love interest in the video for her 1993 hit "Again".

Dourdan got his first break when singer/actor/director Debbie Allen cast him as Shazza Zulu on "A Different World" (1987) based on a tape of him performing in an avant-garde play.

The second youngest of 5 children born to Sandy, a teacher and fashion designer, and Robert Durdin, an entrepreneur and agent for jazz musicians.

Personal Quotes

"I've never liked categories; I've never liked boxes; I've always tried to be unconventional as much as I possibly could."

"I have to protect myself because people think that because you come into 25 million homes every week, they know you. I walk the line between being gracious and being rude."

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