The Gordons were

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

s Gordon Gordon (born March 12, 1906,

Anderson, Indiana Anderson, named after Chief William Anderson, is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison County. Anderson is ...

– died March 14, 2002), and his wife, Mildred Nixon Gordon (born June 24, 1912,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

– died February 3, 1979,

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

). Both attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

where they met and later married in 1932. They wrote numerous

novels, some of which were filmed.Gordon Gordon profile
, iwp.iweb.bsu.edu; accessed November 19, 2015. Many of these feature fictional protagonist FBI agent John "Rip" Ripley (as noted below). After they learned that the screenwriter of ''

Make Haste to Live ''Make Haste to Live'' is a 1954 American film noir thriller film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Dorothy McGuire, Stephen McNally and Mary Murphy. Seiter's last feature directorial effort, the film is an adaptation of the Gordons’ ...

'' received $40,000 while they, the authors, only received $5,000, the Gordons insisted on writing the screenplays for their books being filmed. Gordon was an editor of the ''

Tucson Citizen The ''Tucson Citizen'' was a daily newspaper in Tucson, Arizona. It was founded by Richard C. McCormick with John Wasson as publisher and editor on October 15, 1870, as the ''Arizona Citizen''. When it ceased printing on May 16, 2009, the daily ...

'' newspaper and a publicist with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

from 1935 to 1942, and later served as a

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

counter-intelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...

agent during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

for three years.''Society of Former Agents of the FBI'' 1998, p. 146 Mildred Gordon was a teacher and an editor for ''

Arizona Highways ''Arizona Highways'' is a magazine that contains travelogues and artistic photographs related to the U.S. state of Arizona. It is published monthly in Phoenix by a unit of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). Background The mag ...

'' magazine. She worked for

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

and wrote ''The Little Man Who Wasn't There'' (1946). Mildred can be heard as a contestant on the 21st March 1951 edition of

You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show deb ...

. After Mildred's death in 1979, Gordon married Mary Dorr (1918–2004) on March 16, 1980. They wrote '' Race for the Golden Tide'' (1983) and '' The Hong Kong Affair'' (1998). Gordon and Dorr created the Excellence in Media Angel Awards.

Major works

* ''

'' (1950; filmed in 1954) * ''FBI Story'' (1950; John Ripley) * ''Campaign Train'' (1952) * ''Case File: FBI'' (1953; John Ripley; also wrote the screenplay when filmed as ''

Down Three Dark Streets ''Down Three Dark Streets'' is a 1954 American film noir crime film directed by Arnold Laven and starring Broderick Crawford and Ruth Roman. The screenplay was written by Gordon Gordon and Mildred Gordon, based on their novel ''Case File FBI'' ...

'' in 1954) * ''The Case of the Talking Bug''/''Playback'' (title in UK; 1955) * ''The Big Frame'' (1957) * ''Captive'' (1957; John Ripley) * ''Tiger on My Back'' (1960) * ''Operation Terror'' (1961; John Ripley; also wrote the screenplay when filmed as ''

Experiment in Terror ''Experiment in Terror'' is a 1962 American neo-noir thriller film released by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by Blake Edwards and written by Mildred Gordon and Gordon Gordon based on their 1961 novel ''Operation Terror''. The film stars Gle ...

'' in 1962) * ''Menace'' (1962) * '' Undercover Cat'' (1963; also wrote the screenplay when filmed as ''

That Darn Cat! ''That Darn Cat!'' is a 1965 American thriller comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (actor and politician) (1915–1975), American actor and politician * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) ...

'' in 1965) * ''The Informant'' (1973; John Ripley – later reprinted under the title ''It Could Happen'') * ''That Darn Cat'' (1973; reprint of ''Undercover Cat'' with the movie title)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordons, The 20th-century American newspaper editors 20th-century American novelists American crime fiction writers University of Arizona alumni Married couples Writers from Anderson, Indiana Screenwriters from Indiana Screenwriters from Kansas Screenwriting duos American publicists 20th Century Studios people Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Counterintelligence United Press International people Screenwriters from Arizona 20th-century American screenwriters