Gary Cole and Teddi Siddall are from Los Angeles, California. They were married on March 9, 1992. Their teenage daughter Mary has autism and is their only child. Both Gary Cole and Teddi Siddall have had illustrious careers as television and movie screen stars. Gary Cole and Teddi Siddall are Autism Lights for their dedication as autism parents and for the manner in which they utilize their celebrity status to raise autism awareness.
Gary Cole has performed dozens of roles in both television shows and movies, including the movie Office Space and the HBO television show Entourage. Teddi Siddall is an actress, who has appeared in several television shows such as Grey's Anatomy and Happy Days. She put her career on the back burner in 1998 in order to have more time to give to her daughter Mary who has autism.
Support for Autism Causes: The Gary Cole Archives website says, "Gary's teenage daughter has autism, and he's particularly interested in autism charities, for which he has done a great deal of work(Source)." Two autism causes Gary Cole supports are The Help Group and Autism Speaks (Source).
Here is a Public Service Announcement that Gary Cole produced for The Help Group, an organization that runs multiple autism schools in the Los Angeles area. Gary and Teddi's daughter Mary attended a program run by The Help Group when she was in high school.
Autism Awards: In April, 2012, Gary Cole was honored at an autism awareness gala in Northville, Michigan that was sponsored by Celebrities Against Autism. More information on this event can be found at an article at the Northville Patch.
Autism Heroes Book: Teddi and Gary Cole wrote a forward to the book Autism Heroes: Portraits of Families Meeting the Challenge, which featured 38 families dealing with autism. The book's author Dr. Barbara Firestone was Autism Light #14.
WebMD Interview: In February, 2009, Gary Cole shared about his daughter's autism and his autism advocacy in an interview with WebMD. The WebMD article was written by Lauren Paige Kennedy.
Larry King Live: In 2007 Gary Cole appeared on Larry King Live with Ed Asner, Toni Braxton, and Bill Cosby in a discussion of autism
Other Information: You can read more information on Gary Cole and Teddi Siddall at the following websites.
Special thanks to Gary Cole and Teddi Siddall for raising awareness for autism, even as they make their daughter Mary their priority. They are Autism Lights in Los Angeles and around the world with their visible advocacy for autism.
Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.
Gary I appreciate your push to get help out to families that have kids with Autism. My son is not only Autistic but also has Down Syndrome. Getting a dual dx was next to impossible because once the child has a label Dr.'s do not know how to dual dx. In my town I have had a struggle getting help for him. In March of 2008 I went on the DR. PHil talk show to get help for Alex. Today I do free lance writing trying to give resources to other parents so they do not struggle as I have finding help. Please keep up the good work of supporting these wonderful organizations. I have followed your career and I loved your TV show Midnight Caller. Here is a poem that I wrote for Mother's of Non-verbal kids.Cyndi Burns
ReplyDeletehttp://acttodayblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/valentines-poem-for-moms-of-non-verbal.html
Hi Gary, We went to ISU together a long time ago. Glad for what you are doing for autism. My son Jacob who is almost 22 has autism. He is a wonderful young man and makes me proud every day.
ReplyDeleteWishing you and your family well.
Tracy C.