Vera Gordon


Vera Pogorelsky Gordon was a Russian-born American stage and screen actress.

Early life

Vera Pogorelsky was born in Ekaterinoslav, Russia, on June 11, 1886, the daughter of Boris Pogorelsky and Teigan Nemirovsky.

Career

Pogorelsky was a child actor but she was fired by the directors of the Shevchenko Imperial Company when they learned she was of Jewish heritage. After emigrating to the United States, Pogorelsky, now Gordon, appeared in smaller theater like the Liberty and the Lyric in New York’s Lower East Side.
In 1916 Gordon went on a tour in England, appearing in vaudeville and theatre.
Gordon starred in several motion pictures such as Humoresque and The Cohens and Kellys. She represented the archetypical Jewish mother.
She contributed to newspapers and magazines on marriage and children, and supported Jewish children orphanages.
She was a member of Actors' Equity Association, Russian-American Art Club of Los Angeles, and Grand Street Boys, N.Y.

Personal life

In 1904, in Russia, Vera Pogorelsky married Nathan A. Gordon, a producer and writer at the Ostoffersk Acting Company, and had two children: William and Nadje.
In 1905 the Gordons moved to New York City and in 1926 to California, living at 364 S. Highland Ave., Los Angeles.
Her nephew was the musicologist and violinist Sol Babitz, and her great-niece was the writer Eve Babitz.
She moved to Beverly Hills, died there on May 8, 1948, and is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood.

Filmography