Austin Gary


Austin Gary is an American novelist and writer, best known as a songwriter for "The Car" by Jeff Carson and recordings by other country music performers like Tammy Wynette and John Berry, and as associate producer of albums by Carson, Berry and Hank Williams Jr.'s Hog Wild album.

Career

Novels and plays

Gary has published three novels. His novel Miss Madeira and his unpublished novel Genius have both been adapted into plays. His play "Walt Whitman is a two-man play based on Walt Whitman.

Songwriting

Other ventures

Gary's Martin Luther King Jr. documentary film They Killed Martin: 3 Lives Forever Changed is available on YouTube. He has appeared on Seattle Public radio station KUOW-FM with personal stories about Thornton Wilder and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. as well as The Best of Stories on Stage.
Gary is also a high school teacher, a numerologist and a former advertising creative director, radio/television jingle composer, and newspaper editor. He is a member of PEN Canada.

Personal life

Gary is the son of Geoffrey Austin and Helen Heyde, both deceased. In 1967, he married teacher and actress Glory Heyde. The marriage ended in 2002. He is the father of acclaimed stage director Rachel Rockwell, who died of ovarian cancer in 2018, and Jeremy Spencer, former drummer for heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch.
He attended the University of Missouri ; Lincoln University and is a graduate of the University of Evansville, with a degree in Speech and Drama.

Accolades