:Draft:Gary Schwartz (Actor)

{{AFC submission|d|bio|u=Kidgamer64|ns=118|decliner=KylieTastic|declinets=20240112110729|ts=20240112034122}}

{{Infobox person

| birth_name =

| name = Gary Schwartz

| image = GarySchwartz.jpg

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1952|08|09}}

| birth_place = New York

| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|voice actor|Improvosational Acting Coach|director|writer}}{{cite web | url=https://improv-odyssey.com/about-gary | title=About Gary }}

| years_active = 1965-present

}}

Gary Schwartz (born August 9, 1952) is an American actor based in Washington. He is best known for playing The Demoman and Heavy Weapons Guy in the 2007 multiplayer first person shooter Team Fortress 2.

Early Career

Schwartz began his career at 13 as a Mime. While in Los Angeles Schwarts met fellow mime Caleb Chung and the two started a comedy duo together lasting from 1974 to 1994.{{Citation |title=Schwartz & Chung | date=27 September 2007 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnGZbuszSow |access-date=2023-12-03 |language=en}} Eventually Schwartz expressed a desire to stop "not talking" and began taking acting classes from Viola Spolin{{Citation |title=Voice of TF2 Heavy Explains The Heavy Voice and Improv {{!}} Gary Schwartz: From Mime to Meme | date=15 September 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxI7n3f4prM |access-date=2023-12-03 |language=en}} who described him as a "gifted player and coach," with a thorough understanding of her work.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023|reason=mentioned in the oris tv interview but could not find where it comes from}} the two maintained a relationship from 1973 until her death in 1994

Personal Life

In 2015, with the help of a writing coach, Schwartz wrote a children's novel called King of Average from an Idea he had at 11 years old concerning the paradox of being the most average person.

Schwartz's influences include Jackie Gleason and Dick Van Dyke

Fan Interactions and TF2 Collaborations

Schwartz has made many appearences at fan conventions

Since 2022 Schwartz has participated in the Sandvich Saga a webseries collaboration between the Team Fortress 2 actors (without Grant Goodeve, Nathan Vetterlein, and the deceased Rick May)

Since 2022 Youtuber ShorK has organized multiple reunions and charity events involving the TF2 cast members (again sans Vetterlein, Goodeve, and May) including dubbing the Team Fortress Comics, the popular Source Film Maker video Heavy is Dead in which he played Demoman and Heavy. He collaborated with ShorK again on "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX7jb7QAJ8g| Meet the REAL Heavy]" a recreation of the promotional video "Meet the Heavy" in live action.