A native of Brooklyn, he was a graduate of City College and received his doctorate in polymer chemistry from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, now NYU Tandon school of Engineering. He legally changed his name in the 1940s.U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007; Social Security Administration. For his contribution to the production of lenses Gaylord received in 1985 Founder's Award from the American Academy of Optometry.
