Gavin Garst

Gavin Garst (born May 15, 1966) is an American singer, actor, writer, director and composer. He is better known for his work on The Leftovers and The Good Wife, both of which starred him and his screen partner, Robin Wright. He is also known for his voice work on television series, including House Party, Shameless and White Collar.

Personal life

Garst began his career writing poetry and prose about his experiences as a college student. In 1988–1989, he co-founded a group called "Desperation Artists," a group of artists, poets and authors who explore and analyze their personal experiences, through paintings, pieces of poetry and meditation to produce compelling works. Their mission, "Keep The Image Alive," was the organization which put themselves on an international touring circuit, performing more than 70 shows in the U.S., UK, South America, and Europe. The group later had a long-term relationship with director Jonathan Demme, which he based on decades of experience as a musician, visual artist, director and producer of films, documentaries and television shows. Garst was married from 1988 to 1993 to model Molly Parker. He has been married for the second time, to Gabrielle Arbuckle from 1996 to 2012, who starred in the TV series Gossip Girl together with Garst.

He left Molly while in high school, along with his partners Nick DiLeo, who was a personal trainer, and Patricia Rice, a lawyer, to pursue his other passion of theater. In 1994, Garst performed a one-man show at the Old New York Theatre and in 1995 helped organize and attend the one of the first "Desperation Artists" concerts—a show at Madison Square Garden entitled, "The Battle is Over", and later the one for the 9/11 tribute concert—The World Trade Center. As one of the participants, Garst was part of the panel discussing the evolution of the arts at The Evergreen State College, part of the Institute of Contemporary Arts.

Garst has served on the boards of Save New York and the HudsonAlpha Project, as well as the Board of Directors of St. James the Less Catholic, and the Board of Directors at the New York University School of Theatre, Music and Dance. He has been awarded honorary degrees from Syracuse University, Pomona College, Stony Brook University, and the Art Institute of Chicago.