Gerry Lane touts biography as ‘road map’ to success

From humble beginnings in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, Gerry Lane built a car dealership empire in Baton Rouge and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast with just a high school education, “Okie honesty” and an insatiable drive to succeed. That’s the abbreviated version of the new biography Gerry Lane—An American Success Story, written by Leo Honeycutt. But Lane says his life story is more than just an interesting read about his many adventures in building a business, such as selling cars to the likes of Clark Gable, Gregory Peck and Milton Berle. The book is “much more than a biography, it’s a road map,” Lane says. “I started in the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma in the Depression, so poor I couldn’t afford hope. But if you can embrace change, leave your comfort zone the way I left the Dust Bowl, take a little risk, you can become rich in attitude, relationships, and yes, money. In that order.” Honeycutt calls Lane a “rare breed, a larger-than-life character,” adding, “His story could change lives.” You can learn more about the new biography of Lane and order it online here. Or you can pick up a copy and get Lane and Honeycutt to sign it at one of two upcoming events at Barnes & Noble. The two men will be at the Perkins Rowe store, 7707 Bluebonnet Blvd., on Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m.; and at the store at 2590 Citiplace Court on Saturday, Dec. 22, from 2 to 4 p.m.