Gavin Gordon (actor)

American actor (1901–1983)

Gavin Gordon
Gordon in 1950
Born	(1901-04-07)April 7, 1901 Chicora, Wayne County, Mississippi, U.S.
Died	April 6, 1983(1983-04-06) (aged 81)^[1] Canoga Park, California, U.S.
Resting place	Magnolia Cemetery (Mobile, Alabama)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1929–1968

Fred Gavin Gordon (April 7, 1901 – April 6, 1983)^[1] was an American film, television, and radio actor.

Life and career

Gordon landed his first part on stage at the age of nineteen. He began getting small roles at studios including at Fox and Paramount in 1927. After a film test, Gordon starred as Greta Garbo's leading man in Romance (1930). Garbo biographer Robert Dance called Gordon "the least remembered of all the men who supported Garbo. ...Gordon was good-looking, rather than handsome, and had a strong, rich speaking voice. But he was either utterly miscast or appallingly directed: it is hard to say even after ninety years."^[2]

An automobile accident that injured Gordon as he was to have begun shooting almost resulted in his being replaced. Although he went to set, he was too injured to work and was hospitalized for two weeks. Garbo insisted that he not be replaced and shooting continued until he could resume work.^{[citation needed]}

Dance noted that Gordon's film career largely consisted of small and/or uncredited roles. With his distinctive voice, Gordon acted in numerous radio dramas. Gordon's final film appearance was in 1963's The Nutty Professor.

He died on the day before his 82nd birthday. He is interred in Magnolia Cemetery, Mobile, Alabama.^[1]

Personal life

In the 1980s, Gordon donated a horse sculpture he had owned and never authenticated to the Mobile Museum of Art. It was later determined to be from the Tang Dynasty.^[3]

Partial filmography

The Medicine Men (1929; short)
Chasing Through Europe (1929) - Don Merrill
His First Command (1929) - Lieutenant Freddie Allen
Romance (1930) - Tom Armstrong
The Silver Horde (1930) - Fred Marsh
The Great Meadow (1931) - Evan Muir
Shipmates (1931) - Mike
Secret Service (1931) - Mr. Arlesford
American Madness (1932) - Cyril Cluett
Two Against the World (1932) - Victor H. 'Vic' Linley
The Phantom of Crestwood (1932) - Will Jones
The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1932) - Bob
Man Against Woman (1932) - George Perry
Hard to Handle (1933) - John Hayden (uncredited)
Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) - George Winton
Black Beauty (1933) - Captain Jordan
I Adore You (1933) - Alphonso Bouillaboise
Female (1933) - Briggs
Lone Cowboy (1933) - Jim Weston
The Scarlet Empress (1934) - Captain Gregori Orloff
Wake Up and Dream (1934) - Seabrook
Happiness Ahead (1934) - 'Jellie' Travis
Bordertown (1935) - Brook Manville
Grand Old Girl (1935) - The President
The Good Fairy (1935) - Meredith, on-screen actor (uncredited)
Women Must Dress (1935) - Philip Howard
Red Hot Tires (1935) - Robert Griffin
Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - Lord Byron
Stranded (1935) - Jack
Love Me Forever (1935) - Mitchell (uncredited)
Page Miss Glory (1935) - Reporter Metz
The Leavenworth Case (1936) - Henry Clavering
Ticket to Paradise (1936) - Tony Bates
High Hat (1937) - Gregory Dupont
They Gave Him a Gun (1937) - Army Captain (uncredited)
The Toast of New York (1937) - Southern Major (uncredited)
Windjammer (1937) - J. Montague Forsythe
I See Ice (1938) - Night Club Singer
Paper Bullets (1941) - Kurt Parrish
Murder by Invitation (1941) - Garson Denham
Mr. Celebrity (1941) - Travers
Suspicion (1941) - Dr. Bertram Sedbusk (uncredited)
I Killed That Man (1941) - J. Reed
The Lone Star Vigilantes (1942) - Major Halland Clark, aka Keller
Centennial Summer (1946) - Trowbridge (uncredited)
Notorious (1946) - Ernest Weylin (uncredited)
Three on a Ticket (1947) - Pearson - aka Barton
Philo Vance's Gamble (1947) - Oliver Tennant
Knock on Wood (1954) - Car Salesman
White Christmas (1954) - General Harold G. Carlton (uncredited)
There's No Business Like Show Business (1954) - Geoffrey (uncredited)
High Society (1955) - Frisbie the Butler
A Life at Stake (1955) - Sam Pearson
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) (Season 1 Episode 8: "Our Cook's a Treasure") - George Brooks
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1956) (Season 2 Episode 9: "Crack of Doom") - Card Player
Pardners (1956) - Businessman (uncredited)
The Vagabond King (1956) - Majordomo
The Ten Commandments (1956) - Trojan Ambassador (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1957) (Season 3 Episode 3: "The Perfect Crime") - Ernest West
Johnny Tremain (1957) - Colonel Smith
Chicago Confidential (1957) - Alan Dixon
King Creole (1958) - Mr. Primont - Druggist (uncredited)
The Matchmaker (1958) - Rudolph
The Bat (1959) - Lieutenant Andy Anderson
All in a Night's Work (1961) - Mr. Carruthers (uncredited)
Pocketful of Miracles (1961) - Mr. Cole
Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962) - Mr. Peabody - Hat Shop Manager (uncredited)
The Nutty Professor (1963) - Clothing Salesman (uncredited)
The Patsy (1964) - Executive on Golf Course
Sylvia (1965) - Butler (uncredited)

TV roles

Gordon also appeared on such television programs as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Perry Mason, Playhouse 90, The Real McCoys, The Red Skelton Show, Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Petticoat Junction.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons (3rd ed.). McFarland. p. 287. ISBN 978-1-4766-2599-7.
^ Dance, Robert (November 30, 2021). The Savvy Sphinx: How Garbo Conquered Hollywood. Univ Press of Mississippi. p. 134. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
^ "MMofA's Tang Horse is More than 1,000 Years Old". Mobile Museum of Art. Retrieved July 31, 2023.