Gary Cole

Gary Cole, American actor

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Born: September 20, 1956
Age in 2026: 70
Zodiac sign: Virgo
Birth year: 1956

About Gary Cole

Gary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. His breakout role on screen was playing Jack 'Nighthawk' Killian in the NBC drama series Midnight Caller (1988–1991). Further prominent television roles includes American Gothic (1995–1996), The West Wing (2003–2006), The Good Wife (2010–2016), Veep (2013–2019), and NCIS (2021–present). Cole starred in the films The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and Office Space (1999); and voiced characters in the animated series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Family Guy (2000–present), Kim Possible (2002–2007), Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010–2013), and Bob's Burgers (2012–present). Between 1988 and 1991, Cole became popular on TV for playing the part of Jack "Nighthawk" Killian in the series Midnight Caller.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Gary Cole timeline

1985Cole began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985.
1988Between 1988 and 1991, Cole became popular on TV for playing the part of Jack "Nighthawk" Killian in the series Midnight Caller.
1995Cole starred in the films The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and Office Space (1999); and voiced characters in the animated series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Family Guy (2000–present), Kim Possible (2002–2007), Scooby-Doo!

The world when Gary Cole was born

Gary Cole was born in 1956. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1956

#1 song"Heartbreak Hotel" – Elvis Presley
Top movieAround the World in 80 Days
Top TV showI Love Lucy
Best-selling bookPeyton Place – Grace Metalious

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentDon Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series
Top headlineElvis Presley takes America by storm
Technology milestoneFirst transatlantic telephone cable (TAT-1)
Defining fadElvis Presley mania
Notable inventionHard disk drive (IBM)
World population2.82 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
Also wonPhiladelphia Warriors (NBA)
U.S. population168.1M

1956 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Gary Cole's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1956	2026
Gas	$0.30	$3.45/gal
Average home	$11,700	$435,000
Average income	$6,500	$67,500
Minimum wage	$1.00	$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket	$0.50	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.03	$0.73
Population	168.1M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.