William D. Gordon (actor)

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William D. Gordon
Born
William Douglas Gordon

(1918-01-04)January 4, 1918
Santa Clara, California, U.S.
DiedAugust 12, 1991(1991-08-12) (aged 73)
Thousand Oaks, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1936–1982

William Douglas Gordon (January 4, 1918 – August 12, 1991) was an American actor, writer, director, story editor, and producer. Although he is best known for his writing credits, he acted occasionally on numerous TV series.

Biography[edit]

Gordon was born in Santa Clara, California in 1918. He started his career as a writer in 1936, writing for radio shows like The Cisco Kid, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Tommy Dorsey Show.[1] In 1939, he began to direct TV shows, directing the first live television shows for the Don Lee Network and later he served as an infantry officer during World War II.[2] In 1958, he acted for the first time in Maverick,[3] appearing subsequently in TV series including Maverick, The Twilight Zone, Thriller, Peter Gunn, Law of the Plainsman, Riverboat, Rawhide, The Americans and The Virginian during the 1960s.[3] He also worked as a script writer for shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Fugitive, Bonanza, Ironside and Barbary Coast, in addition to writing the screenplay of the films Cotter[4] and Sergeant Ryker.[5]

As a director, he directed one episode of The Richard Boone Show titled "Death Before Dishonor" and another of The Fugitive titled "A.P.B.".[6][7] On March 31, 1965, he became the producer of Twelve O'Clock High, producing 47 episodes of the series, in addition to producing 32 episodes of The Fugitive between 1964 and 1966.[2] He worked as a story supervisor of The Richard Boone Show, Bonanza, Thriller and Alfred Hitchcock Presents and directed the television game show Queen for a Day. From 1977 to 1982, Gordon, along with James Doherty, helped to produce, write and edit the TV series CHiPs.[1] After retirement, Gordon began writing novels about the Civil War.[1]

Death[edit]

Gordon died in Thousand Oaks, California of lung cancer aged 73.[8]

Selected filmography[edit]

Actor[edit]

  • Cimarron City - The Blood Line (1958) TV Episode .... Roy Rankin
  • Maverick - Escape to Tampico (1958) TV Episode .... Sam Garth - Prey of the Cat (1958) TV Episode .... Fred Bender - Two Tickets to Ten Strike (1959) TV Episode .... Eddie Burke
  • Peter Gunn - The Portrait (1959) TV Episode .... Maddox
  • Law of the Plainsman - Prairie Incident (1959) TV Episode .... Deke - A Matter of Life and Death (1959) TV Episode .... Henchman
  • Riverboat - Payment in Full (1959) TV Episode .... Joe Travis - The Barrier (1959) TV Episode .... Joe Travis - About Roger Mowbray (1959) TV Episode .... Joe Travis - A Race to Cincinnati (1959) TV Episode .... Joe Travis - The Unwilling (1959) TV Episode .... Joe Travis - The Fight Back (1959) TV Episode .... Joe Travis - Escape to Memphis (1959) TV Episode .... Joe Travis - Witness No Evil (1959) TV Episode .... Joe Travis - A Night at Trapper's Landing (1959) TV Episode .... Joe Travis - The Faithless (1959) TV Episode .... Joe Travis - The Boy from Pittsburgh (1959) TV Episode .... Joe Travis - Strange Request (1959) TV Episode .... Joe Travis - Guns for Empire (1959) TV Episode .... Joe Travis - The Face of Courage (1959) TV Episode .... Joe Travis
  • Black Saddle - A Case of Slow (1960) TV Episode .... Dr. Tom Wall
  • Rawhide - Incident of the Last Chance (1960) TV Episode .... Sid Gorman
  • The Twilight Zone - Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room .... George - Eye of the Beholder .... Doctor
  • The Americans - Harper's Ferry (1961) TV Episode .... Lt. Barnes - The Regular (1961) TV Episode .... Lt. Barnes
  • Thriller - The Premature Burial (1961) TV Episode .... Doctor March
  • Laramie - The Star Trail (1959) TV Episode .... Vic Stoddard - A Grave for Cully Brown (1962) TV Episode .... Giles
  • The Virginian - West (1962) TV Episode .... Blench
  • Bearcats! - Powderkeg (1971) TV Episode .... Fallon, Hotel Goon
  • The Bold Ones: The Lawyers - The Strange Secret of Yermo Hill (1971) TV Episode .... Dr. Sinclair
  • Alias Smith and Jones - What happened at the XST? (1972) TV Episode .... Reverend Siever
  • Captains and the Kings - Chapter III (1976) TV Episode .... Doctor Gill
  • Hunter - Blow-Up (1986) TV Episode .... Minister

Writer[edit]

  • Startime (1960) TV Series (writer - 1 episode)
  • The Americans (1961) TV Series (writer - 2 episodes) (teleplay - 1 episode)
  • Thriller (1961-1962) TV Series (adaptation - 2 episodes)
  • Outlaws (1961-1962) TV Series (writer - 3 episodes)
  • Rodeo (1963) TV Series (writer - 1 episode)
  • Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1962-1964) TV Series (teleplay - 6 episodes)
  • Kraft Suspense Theatre (1963-1964) TV Series (writer - 1 episode) (teleplay - 4 episodes)
  • The Richard Boone Show (1963-1964) TV Series (teleplay - 4 episodes) (writer - 1 episode) (written by - 1 episode)
  • Breaking Point (1964) TV Series (written by - 1 episode)
  • The Fugitive (1963-1965) TV Series (written by- 3 episodes) (teleplay - 2 episodes)
  • 12 O'Clock High (1965-1966) TV Series (writer - 3 episodes)
  • Sergeant Ryker (1968) (screenplay)
  • The Name of the Game (1969-1970) TV Series (written by - 2 episodes)
  • The Bold Ones: The Lawyers (1970-1971) TV Series (teleplay - 2 episodes)
  • Alias Smith and Jones (1971-1972) TV Series (writer - 1 episode) (teleplay - 1 episode)
  • Bonanza (1972) TV Series (writer - 1 episode)
  • Cotter (1973) (writer)
  • Petrocelli (1974) TV Series (written by - 1 episode)
  • The Six Million Dollar Man (1975) TV Series (story - 1 episode)
  • Ironside (1973-1975) TV Series (teleplay - 5 episodes) (written by - 5 episodes) (story - 3 episodes)
  • Barbary Coast (1975-1976) TV Series (writer - 1 episode) (written by - 1 episode)
  • Chips (1978-1981) TV Series (writer - 4 episodes) (teleplay - 2 episodes) (teleplay & story - 1 episode) (story - 1 episode)

Producer[edit]

Miscellaneous crew[edit]

  • The Richard Boone Show (1963-1964) TV Series (story supervisor – 17 episodes)
  • Bonanza (1972) TV Series (executive story consultant – 3 episodes)
  • Barbary Coast (1975–1976) TV Series (story editor – 11 episodes)
  • CHiPs (1978-1982) TV Series (story editor – 77 episodes) (story supervisor – 2 episodes)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "William D. Gordon Biography". Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  2. ^ a b The 12 O'Clock High Logbook: The Unofficial History of the Novel, Motion Picture, and TV Series. BearManor Media. 2005. p. 428. ISBN 9781593930332. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Riverboat: The Evolution of a Television Series, 1959-1961. BearManor Media. 2009. p. 300. ISBN 978-1593935054. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  4. ^ Native Americans in the Movies: Portrayals from Silent Films to the Present. Rowman & Littlefield. 2015. p. 464. ISBN 9781442240018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  5. ^ "Sergeant Ryker's Back". The New York Times. March 21, 1968. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  6. ^ "The Richard Boone Show: 11 actors in an infinite number of roles". April 21, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  7. ^ Following the Fugitive: An Episode Guide And Handbook to the 1960s Television Series. McFarland & Company. 2006. p. 246. ISBN 0786426314. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  8. ^ "* William D. Gordon; Radio and TV Actor, Director, Producer". The Los Angeles Times. August 21, 1991. Retrieved August 14, 2018.

External links[edit]

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