Biography
Beaudacious
Born on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard; delivered by a mid-wife, Beaudacious as he is affectionately known, Gordon Charles Buster Laney legally, is the oldest of 43 cousins on his Mother’s side and 14 cousins on his Father’s side. Beaudacious spent his formative years in Boston under the caring eye of his Grandparents, being the oldest male grandchild, it was his family’s tradition that the oldest male child went to live with his Grandparents to be of service to them.
Being of service was the order of the day in his early years, his Grandparents believed that it was an inherent responsibility to provide for, take care of and be of service to your family, friends and neighbors. This early reality shaped his life. Beaudacious Mother was born with “POLIO” told not to have children she married and had 3 boys! By the early seventies his Mother’s Polio had completely debilitated her, with the help of an Aunt they took care of her daily for the remaining 30 years of her life. Shortly after her passing the Aunt that helped him take care of his Mother was stricken with Alzheimer’s, again he accepted the responsibility of being of service to another Loved one.
Beaudacious is first & foremost a creative spirit, couple that with an entrepreneurial savvy he has flourished as a leader in developing income sustaining businesses for family, friends and others over the last 30 plus years. Endowed with working spirit from the age of 14 years where he worked 60 hours per week to assist his family.
His road has been colorful, working as an Artificial Kidney Technician for BU Medical School, an Analytical Chemistry Researcher for the leading research firm in world, Arthur D Little Inc, Cambridge, MA and Cambridge Nuclear Pharmaceutical, Cambridge, MA and laboratory manager for Quality Control for Harvey Aluminum, St Croix, US Virgin Island.
Beaudacious stepped away from research to go back home to Boston to take on a position in 1970, as the first Director of Education for the Boys Clubs of Boston, an organization he grew up in, there he reached out to the African Studies Department at Harvard University to develop Cultural Education Courses for inner city black children teaching them about their African Heritage during the turbulent social times in Boston in the seventies.
The next 20 years Beaudacious utilized his entrepreneurial talents in a number of ventures for an assortment of people, with an emphasis on construction space utilization and design.
The 21st Century saw Beaudacious coral all his creative forces and design and develop an arts empire for his family trust, that spawned: BackStreeT Galleries, Fine & Performing Arts venue in West Los Angeles; Imagiovation International, Los Angeles & Nova Scotia “healing humanity thru the arts”; the California Blues Preservation Society, the cultural identification of the Blues genre; and the Heritage Empowered Arts Legacy, H.E.A.L. Inc. a Federal & California non-profit 501(c)(3).
Beaudacious founded H.E.A.L. on the premise “TO BE OF SERVICE”.