Born in Kokomo, Indiana,[1] Gano later attended the Egan Dramatic School in Los Angeles, where, as reported by The Times in July 1912, he and a young Eugene Pallette—then billed as E. W.—were amongst the "advanced pupils" appearing in the "Christmas-tree act" from Clyde Fitch's The Climbers.
[2] Launched 2 years later, Gano's screen acting career comprised a half-dozen appearances prior to America's entry into World War I, during which he served in the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
[3] By contrast, Gano's behind-the-camera credits span roughly half a century,[4] beginning with the 1921 canine-centered adventure film The Silent Call and concluding with American International's ill-conceived 1971 Thing with Two Heads precursor, The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant.
[5][6] In the interim, Gano shot such works such as Three Stooges shorts Booby Dupes, Micro-Phonies, Idiots Deluxe, and The Yoke's On Me,[7][8] the Charles Starrett western Frontier Gun Law,[9] and Budd Boetticher's A Guy, a Gal and a Pal, starring future producer Russ Meyer.
On December 6, 1915, during the filming of an episode of the serial The Hazards of Helen, Gana, reportedly acting as a stunt double for the film's star, Helen Holmes, suffered what, over the next few days, would be described variously as "a fatal fall,"[13] "tragic death,"[14] "injuries from which he will probably die,"[15] (aka "probably fatal injuries"),[16] making an ill-fated leap from the 4th Street Bridge in Los Angeles.