Don Gordon
Encyclopedia
Don Gordon is an American film
and television
actor
. He is sometimes billed as Donald Gordon.
Gordon was born in Los Angeles
, California
, as Donald Walter Guadagno. His most notable films were where he appeared alongside his friend Steve McQueen
in Bullitt
, Papillon
and The Towering Inferno
. He also guest starred twice on McQueen's CBS western
series, Wanted: Dead or Alive. In 1981, Gordon played the assistant of the Antichrist
Damien Thorn
in Omen III: The Final Conflict
. Gordon also had a bit part as a police officer in Lethal Weapon
, starring Mel Gibson
and Danny Glover
. In 1962, he was nominated for one Primetime Emmy Award for his role as Joey Tassili on CBS's The Defenders.
Gordon appeared in the 1959 episode "In a Deadly Fashion" of the syndicated
television series Border Patrol
, starring Richard Webb
. Another early appearance from Gordon was in a memorable supporting role in The Twilight Zone
episodes "The Four of Us Are Dying
" and "The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross
" . In the 1960-1961 season, Gordon was a cast member of the syndicated series, The Blue Angels
, with co-stars Dennis Cross
, Warner Jones, Morgan Jones, and Mike Galloway, based on the elite flight daredevils of the United States Navy
Blue Angels
.
In 1963, Gordon appeared in the episode "Without Wheat, There is No Bread" of the CBS anthology series, The Lloyd Bridges Show
. That same year, he appeared on NBC
's medical drama
, The Eleventh Hour
. In the 1963-1964 season, he played a soldier returning from South Vietnam
in the ABC
drama
Channing
, set on the fictitious Channing College campus and co-starring Jason Evers
and Henry Jones
. Another science-fiction role for him was on an episode of The Outer Limits
entitled "The Invisibles". In 1974, he played a former convict, who is murdered by Dick Van Dyke
in the Columbo episode "Negative Reaction".
Gordon's last credited film work was the 2005 documentary, Steve McQueen - The Essence of Cool.
Gordon was interviewed along with several others who had worked with McQueen, including Robert Culp, Robert Vaughn, Eli Wallach, Martin Landau and Sir Richard Attenborough.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is sometimes billed as Donald Gordon.
Gordon was born in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, as Donald Walter Guadagno. His most notable films were where he appeared alongside his friend Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
in Bullitt
Bullitt
Bullitt is a 1968 American police procedural film starring Steve McQueen, Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Vaughn. It was directed by Peter Yates and distributed by Warner Bros. The story was adapted for the screen by Alan Trustman and Harry Kleiner, based on the 1963 novel Mute Witness by Robert L....
, Papillon
Papillon (film)
Papillon is a 1973 film based on the best-selling novel by the French convict Henri Charrière.This motion picture was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, starring Steve McQueen as Henri Charrière , and Dustin Hoffman as Louis Dega...
and The Towering Inferno
The Towering Inferno
The Towering Inferno is a 1974 American action disaster film produced by Irwin Allen featuring an all-star cast led by Steve McQueen and Paul Newman.A co-production between Twentieth Century-Fox and Warner Bros...
. He also guest starred twice on McQueen's CBS western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
series, Wanted: Dead or Alive. In 1981, Gordon played the assistant of the Antichrist
Antichrist
The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
Damien Thorn
Damien Thorn
Damien Thorn is the main fictional character and the main antagonist in The Omen series. He is the Antichrist and the son of the Devil. The character has been portrayed by Harvey Stephens, Jonathan Scott-Taylor, Sam Neill, and Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick...
in Omen III: The Final Conflict
Omen III: The Final Conflict
Omen III: The Final Conflict is a 1981 British/American horror film directed by Graham Baker and the third installment in The Omen series...
. Gordon also had a bit part as a police officer in Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action film and the first in a series of films, all directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives, and Gary Busey as their primary adversary...
, starring Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
and Danny Glover
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
. In 1962, he was nominated for one Primetime Emmy Award for his role as Joey Tassili on CBS's The Defenders.
Gordon appeared in the 1959 episode "In a Deadly Fashion" of the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
television series Border Patrol
Border Patrol (US TV series)
Border Patrol is a 34-episode syndicated half-hour adventure/drama television series which aired in the United States during calendar year 1959, with Richard Webb cast as Don Jagger, the fictitious deputy chief of the Border Patrol...
, starring Richard Webb
Richard Webb (actor)
Richard Webb was a film, television and radio actor. He was born in Bloomington, Illinois.He appeared in more than fifty films, including many westerns and films noir including Out of the Past , Night Has a Thousand Eyes , I Was a Communist for the FBI and Carson City...
. Another early appearance from Gordon was in a memorable supporting role in The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
episodes "The Four of Us Are Dying
The Four of Us Are Dying
"The Four of Us Are Dying" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on CBS on January 1, 1960.-Synopsis:...
" and "The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross
The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross
"The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:Salvadore Ross is a brash, insensitive, ambitious young man who craves a lovely young social worker named Leah Maitland. Leah is attracted to Ross, but could never marry a...
" . In the 1960-1961 season, Gordon was a cast member of the syndicated series, The Blue Angels
The Blue Angels (TV series)
The Blue Angels is a 1960-1961 syndicated television series about the Blue Angels of the United States Navy. The program starred Dennis Cross as Commander Arthur Richards, the head of a four-man squadron which tours the country to give flight exhibitions...
, with co-stars Dennis Cross
Dennis Cross
Dennis Cross was an American actor who was the lead star of the syndicated television series The Blue Angels, fictional stories of daredevil United States Navy pilots which aired from 1960-1961...
, Warner Jones, Morgan Jones, and Mike Galloway, based on the elite flight daredevils of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Blue Angels
Blue Angels
The United States Navy's Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, popularly known as the Blue Angels, was formed in 1946 and is currently the oldest formal flying aerobatic team...
.
In 1963, Gordon appeared in the episode "Without Wheat, There is No Bread" of the CBS anthology series, The Lloyd Bridges Show
The Lloyd Bridges Show
The Lloyd Bridges Show is an American anthology drama series produced by Aaron Spelling, which aired on CBS from September 11, 1962 to May 28, 1963, starring and hosted by Lloyd Bridges.-Synopsis:...
. That same year, he appeared on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's medical drama
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
, The Eleventh Hour
The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)
The Eleventh Hour is an American medical drama about psychiatry starring Wendell Corey, Jack Ging, and Ralph Bellamy, which aired sixty-two new episodes plus selected rebroadcasts on NBC from October 3, 1962, to September 9, 1964.-Series premise:...
. In the 1963-1964 season, he played a soldier returning from South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
in the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
Channing
Channing (TV series)
Channing is an American drama series that aired on American Broadcasting Company from September 18, 1963 to April 8, 1964...
, set on the fictitious Channing College campus and co-starring Jason Evers
Jason Evers
Jason Evers was an American actor.Evers was born Herb Evers in New York City, New York. After quitting high school to join the United States Army, Evers was so inspired by stars like John Wayne that he decided to try acting...
and Henry Jones
Henry Jones (actor)
Henry Burk Jones was an American actor of stage, film and television.Jones was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Helen and John Francis Xavier Jones. He was the grandson of Pennsylvania Representative Henry Burk...
. Another science-fiction role for him was on an episode of The Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. The series is similar in style to the earlier The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction, rather than fantasy stories...
entitled "The Invisibles". In 1974, he played a former convict, who is murdered by Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
in the Columbo episode "Negative Reaction".
Gordon's last credited film work was the 2005 documentary, Steve McQueen - The Essence of Cool.
Gordon was interviewed along with several others who had worked with McQueen, including Robert Culp, Robert Vaughn, Eli Wallach, Martin Landau and Sir Richard Attenborough.