Editing Gary Cole (section)

==Early life==
Gary Michael Cole was born on September 20, 1956, in [[Park Ridge, Illinois|Park Ridge]], [[Illinois]], and raised in nearby [[Rolling Meadows, Illinois|Rolling Meadows]]. His father, Robert, was a municipal finance director, and his mother, Margaret or "Peggy", was a school administrative assistant.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Trebe |first=Patricia  |date=October 6, 2005 |title=Peggy J. Cole 1930 - 2005 - Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2005/10/06/peggy-j-cole-1930-2005/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731190735/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-10-06/news/0510060189_1_mrs-cole-gary-cole-business-school |archive-date=July 31, 2013 |access-date=June 11, 2012 |website=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cole-gary-1956 |title=Cole, Gary 1956- |website=[[Encyclopedia.com]] |publisher=[[Cengage]] |access-date=April 30, 2022 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501004024/https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cole-gary-1956 |url-status=live }}</ref> Cole has an older sister, Nancy.

While attending [[Rolling Meadows High School]], Cole made his acting debut as [[Snoopy]] in a high school production of [[Clark Gesner]]'s ''[[Peanuts]]'' musical ''[[You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown]]''. Cole attended [[Illinois State University]], where he studied theater as a classmate with fellow future actors [[Laurie Metcalf]] and [[John Malkovich]].