Met actress
Agnes Moorehead during the filming of
The Stratton Story (1949) in 1949. By June of 1949, Agnes
separated from
Jack G. Lee and, by January of 1951, newspapers
began to list Gist as Agnes' steady companion. They were married on February 14th of 1953 in Yuma, Arizona. They were separated in July of 1954 and divorced in March of 1958. Gist was 17 years her junior.