Genrikh Saulovich Gabay was born in Moscow. He graduated in 1951 from the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography, VGIK (directing faculty, the workshop of I. A. Savchenko).
He worked at the Odessa Film Studio (1950s) and "Mosfilm" (1960-1970s).
In 1972, together with his wife and son, he emigrated to Israel, then (in 1973) - to the United States. After his departure, his films in the USSR stopped showing.
Henry Gabay was a 1977 Guggenheim Fellow in Creative Arts.
In the late 1970s he is supposed to have made a film about Russian emigrants in America. Henry Gabay died November 20, 2003 in Forest Hills, New York.
Gabay's wife was theater artist-decorator and theater and cinema costume designer Anna Martinson, daughter of the famous Russian actor Sergey Martinson and actress Ekaterina Martinson (born Ilyina).
