Richard Gordon (31 December 1925 – 1 November 2011) was a British-born producer and financier of horror films.

Career

As a youth, Gordon displayed a love of films from an early age. While he was in school, he wrote articles on the subject, edited fan club magazines, and organized a film society. His entry into the industry was delayed by a period of service in the

British Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fra ...

, from 1944 through 1946. In 1947, Gordon and his brother Alex moved to New York City. Two years later, at the age of 23, Gordon set up his own company, Gordon Films, a distributor of imported films in the United States. He produced twice for

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film '' Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

, and later worked with

Antony Balch Antony Balch (10 September 1937 – 6 April 1980) was an English film director and distributor, best known for his screen collaborations with Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs in the 1960s and for the 1970s horror film, '' Horror Hospi ...

on two

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

s. His last two films were '' The Cat and the Canary'' (1979) and ''

Inseminoid ''Inseminoid'' (titled ''Horror Planet'' in the United States) is a 1981 British science fiction horror film directed by Norman J. Warren. It stars Judy Geeson, Robin Clarke and Stephanie Beacham, along with Victoria Tennant in one of her earl ...

'' (1981). With writer Tom Weaver, he can be heard on the DVD commentary tracks for eight of his films: ''

The Haunted Strangler ''The Haunted Strangler'' (also known as ''Grip of the Strangler'' and originally titled ''The Judas Hole'') is a 1958 British horror film directed by Robert Day. It was adapted from "Stranglehold", a story which screenwriter Jan Read had writte ...

'', ''

Fiend Without a Face ''Fiend Without a Face'' is a 1958 independently made British black-and-white science fiction- horror film drama from Amalgamated Productions. It was produced by John Croydon and Richard Gordon, directed by Arthur Crabtree, and stars Marshall T ...

'', ''

First Man into Space ''First Man into Space'' (working title: ''Satellite of Blood'') is a 1959 independently made British-American black-and-white science fiction- horror film. It was produced by John Croydon, Charles F. Vetter, and Richard Gordon for Amalgamat ...

'', ''

Corridors of Blood ''Corridors of Blood'' (aka ''Doctor from Seven Dials'')Tom Weaver, ''The Horror Hits of Richard Gordon'', Bear Manor Media 2011 p 80-95 is a 1958 British-American period drama film directed by Robert Day and starring Boris Karloff and Christo ...

'', '' Devil Doll'', ''

Secrets of Sex ''Secrets of Sex'', also known as ''Bizarre'', is a 1970 British multi-genre sexploitation anthology film directed by Antony Balch, an experimental filmmaker and frequent collaborator with William S. Burroughs. The film is narrated by an Egypt ...

'', '' Horror Hospital'' and '' The Cat and the Canary''. Weaver wrote ''The Horror Hits of Richard Gordon'', a book-long interview published by BearManor Media in 2011. Gordon's brother,

Alex Gordon Alexander Jonathan Gordon (born February 10, 1984) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Prior to playing professio ...

, produced exploitation films for American International Pictures in the 1950s. Gordon died at New York-Presbyterian HospitalMcLellan, Dennis.
Richard Gordon dies at 85; producer of horror and science fiction films
, The Los Angeles Times, 4 November 2011 on 1 November 2011, at age 85. He had been suffering from heart problems for several months.

References

External links

*
Los Angeles Times obituary
1925 births 2011 deaths British expatriates in the United States British film producers Royal Navy personnel of World War II {{UK-film-producer-stub