Although Canary was born in Elwood, Indiana, he grew up and attended high school in Massillon, Ohio. He played football for the famed Massillon Tigers of Washington High School before earning a football scholarship to the University of Cincinnati, where he trained as a singer and became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. "I got it from both sides. The guys on the football team laughed about the music studies. My musical classmates could not believe I was a jock", says Canary. Acting soon became his goal, following college performances and summer stock shows. Three days after his graduation, he went to New York City and landed a chorus line job on Broadway.