Biography
Edward Gilbert White, an artist and actor, was born on March 17, 1947, in Bel Air, Maryland. At ten years old, his parents enrolled him in a specialized art school, where after six months, his teacher acknowledged that he possessed greater knowledge and skill in art than she did. White earned a degree in engineering and technical drawing. He spent several years in New York designing factory machines before relocating to Nashville, Tennessee, in the 1970s. There, he opened a nightclub named the Red Dog Saloon and also owned the Kozmic Ball Room, the Last Chance Saloon, and the Mississippi Whiskers club. In 1972, White made headlines in Nashville when he lost the Kozmic Ball Room to a songwriter in a pool game. During the 1980s, he operated art galleries and jewelry stores in Nashville, Jackson (Mississippi), Oklahoma City, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Eventually, White left the saloon business to become an apprentice jeweler in Nashville. Later, he moved to Costa Rica, where he spent the remainder of his life crafting and selling handmade jewelry. As an actor, he appeared in several films and TV commercials, notably as the lone cowboy survivor in the opening diner massacre scene of Oliver Stone’s controversial film "Natural Born Killers." A beloved and vibrant local figure in Costa Rica, White played Santa Claus for underprivileged children each Christmas. He passed away from cancer on April 5, 2004, in Tijuana, Mexico.
