Gary Dourdan

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Gary Dourdan
Gary Dourdan
Born	Gary Robert Dourdan December 11, 1966 (1966-12-11) (age 41) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Spouse(s)	Roshumba Williams (1994-1996)

Gary Dourdan (born Gary Robert Durdin, December 11, 1966 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American actor, widely known for portraying Warrick Brown on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

1 Biography
- 1.1 Early years
- 1.2 Career
2 Personal life
- 2.1 Legal troubles
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early years

Dourdan and his family moved to Willingboro, New Jersey when he was in his youth. Robert Durdin, Gary's father, is an agent for jazz musicians. Sandy Durdin, Gary's mother, is a fashion designer. Gary is the youngest of 5 children, and when he was 6, his older brother Darryl, was murdered when he was on a vacation in Haiti. The case is still unsolved.^[1] At this time his interests included acting, music and martial arts. Later Dourdan moved to New York City and worked as a doorman at a rehearsal studio where he met some of Manhattan's promising young artists.

[edit] Career

Dourdan got his first break when Debbie Allen cast him as Shazza Zulu on A Different World based on a tape of him in an avant-garde play. He had a recurring role on the Showtime series Soul Food until he nabbed the part of Warrick Brown on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. TV Guide voted him the Sexiest CSI actor on TV in its 2008 "Sexiest" issue.^[2] It was reported on April 14, 2008, that Dourdan is leaving the show because of alleged drug abuse.^[3]

He was also the host of a BET Spoken Word show entitled the Lyric Cafe.

He recently joined DMC on stage at Live 8 at Park Place in Barrie, Ontario, and also co-sang the lyrics to the theme song of The Jeffersons at the 2005 Emmy Awards.

He is currently set to play Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, on a biographical film on the latter's life.^[4]

He appeared in Janet Jackson's video for her 1993 hit "Again" as her love interest.

Dourdan is also a prolific alternative musician and a record producer.

[edit] Personal life

He married model Roshumba Williams in 1992; the couple divorced two years later.^[5] He has two children, a son, Lyric, and a daughter, Nyla (the daughter of Jennifer Sutton, whom Dourdan dated from 1995 to 2000).^[6]

[edit] Legal troubles

In 2005 he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery after his ex-girlfriend Anne Greene accused him of rape and battery. He was sentenced to stay away from Greene and attend domestic violence counseling. In 2006 Dourdan sued Greene for $4 million alleging slander and negligent infliction of emotional distress.^[7]

On April 28, 2008, Dourdan was arrested in Palm Springs, California on suspicion of possessing heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and prescription drugs.^[8]^[9] An officer saw Dourdan's car parked on the wrong side of the street with the interior light on and someone sleeping in the driver's seat at approximately 5:12 a.m. Monday, according to Palm Springs police Sgt. Mitch Spike.^[10] Dourdan was taken to the Palm Springs jail and was released on $5000 bail.^[11] In an email quoted on Access Hollywood, he claims the drugs belonged to people he took to a Coachella Music Festival VIP after-party.^[12]^[13] However, friends and castmates of Dourdan said they weren't at all surprised by his arrest.^[14] One of the CSI Staffers told the Chicago Sun Times, "After this, I think there will be a concerted effort to convince Gary to get help —before he kills himself."^[14] He pleaded guilty to two counts of cocaine and Ecstasy possession during his arraignment on May 28, 2008. Dourdan will complete a 16-class drug program instead of the three years and eight months that he could have been sentenced based upon his charges.^[15]