Gary was a great jock in the '60s. I got to know him a bit after he joined WMCA as a Good Guy, and he was very nice to this then-15 y/o kid. He invited me up to the station one afternoon, gave me a tour of their floor in 415 Madison, let he sit in on him cutting some promos in studio A (where Barry Gray's show originated), and gave me good advice about continuing my education and not just shooting to land a DJ job anywhere right out of high school. He himself was way smarter than his on-air act (which was well tailored to WMCA's evening teen audience) might have a listener believe.
Fast forward to 1982, I was an I.T. pro at a major forest products conglomerate, and the company was forced into a large-scale layoff by the early '80s "double-dip" recession. In looking for my next job, I wrote him a letter when he was Doubleday Broadcasting's president. He could have just shuffled it off to H.R., but he took the time to write back and, while being encouraging, explained that they too had to keep a lid on hiring at that time. But all those years later, the guy remained a mensch, which I'll never forget. R.I.P. Gary.
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