Gary Robert Durdin was born on 11 December 1966, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, of African-American, Native American, Scottish, Irish, Jewish and Franco-Haitian ancestry. Gary is an actor and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of the character Warrick Brown in the widely popular series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”. His popularity from the show and his other exploits have raised his net worth to where it is now.
How rich is Gary Dourdan? As of early-2016, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $500,000, mostly acquired through his success from “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”. Less known beside his acting, Gary is also involved in the music scene and has performed and helped produce records. He is also a collector of classic cars, and was featured in an episode of “Street Customs”.
Gary Dourdan Net Worth $500,000
At a young age, Gary’s interests included acting, martial arts and music. He moved to New York City where he worked as a doorman and acted in theatre while performing with various bands in the area. His first role and breakthrough was given to him in the sitcom “A Different World” in which he was cast as Shazza Zulu. In 1996, he appeared in “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” and then a year later in “Alien: Resurrection”. He continued to play parts in several films and television series, including “Thursday”, “Playing God”, “Swift Justice” and “Soul Food”. One of the more notable film roles he had was being cast as Halle Berry’s boyfriend in “Perfect Stranger”.
During the year 2000, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” made its television debut with Dourdan part of the original cast. The series achieved wide success and many started to identify Gary with his role as the analyst Warrick Brown – the character hid gambling problems from his past and used his street knowledge and experiences to help him in his job. In 2008, there was speculation that CBS and Dourdan could not reach a resolution in terms of his contract which resulted in it not being renewed. The season eight finale’ showed Gary getting shot, and the season nine premiere showed him dying in the arms of his friend and colleague Gil Grissom. Regardless, this was a significant contributor to his net worth.
Aside from these notable television appearances, Gary has appeared in music videos with Janet Jackson, Eric B. & Rakim. He’s performed on stage with Macy Gray and Darryl McDaniels (D.M.C.). Past “CSI”, he’s made appearances in other television series like “Glee”, and “Being Mary Jane”. He’s also done some voice acting work.
For his personal life, not much is known about Gary. He was married to Roshumba Williams in 1992 but the marriage only lasted two years. He has two children from two different mothers. Dourdan has been known for a few legal issues in the past, having been arrested for possession of the drugs cocaine, ecstacy and oxycontin. He was arrested in 2011 because of domestic violence and was sentenced to 52 weeks of counselling along with drug counselling. By 2012, he declared bankruptcy due to having a debt of around $1.7 million.
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Music Groups
Eric B. & Rakim
Nominations
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Movies
“Glee”, “Being Mary Jane”, “A Different World”, “Thursday”, “Playing God”, “Swift Justice”, “Soul Food”,“Perfect Stranger”
TV Shows
“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (2000), “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” , “Alien: Resurrection”
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Quote
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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.
2
I've never liked categories; I've never liked boxes; I've always tried to be unconventional as much as I possibly could.
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Fact
1
Declared bankruptcy in November 2012. In the filing, he reported earning over $14,800 a month, but due to his significant debts, had only $320 a month in disposable income.
2
The second youngest of 5 children born to Sandy, a teacher and fashion designer, and Robert Durdin, an entrepreneur and agent for jazz musicians.
3
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.
4
Played Janet Jackson's love interest in the video for her 1993 hit "Again".
5
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.
6
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.
7
Was a model in the 1980s and 1990s for Boss Models in New York City.
8
He is the son of Selma (Corley) and Robert Booth Durdin. His parents were both born to African-American families. Gary has said that he also has French, Irish, Scottish, Native American, and Jewish ancestry.
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In July 2005, he performed as part of DMC's Guests at the LIVE 8 concert in Barrie, Ontario Canada
10
When he was 6, his older brother Darryl Durdin (DOB: November 13, 1951) was murdered in March 1973 while on vacation in Haiti at age 21. He was pushed to his death off a motel balcony on a high cliff. The case is still unsolved.