William D. Gordon (actor)


William Douglas Gordon 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

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. 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. In 1958, he acted for the first time in Maverick, appearing subsequently in TV series including Maverick, The Twilight Zone, [Thriller (U.S. TV series)|Thriller (U.S. TV series)|Thriller], Peter Gunn, Law of the Plainsman, Riverboat, Rawhide, [The Americans (1961 TV series)|The Americans (1961 TV series)|The Americans] and The Virginian during the 1960s. He also worked as a script writer for shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, [The Fugitive (1963 TV series)|The Fugitive (1963 TV series)|The Fugitive], Bonanza, Ironside and [Barbary Coast (TV series)|Barbary Coast (TV series)|Barbary Coast], in addition to writing the screenplay of the films Cotter and Sergeant Ryker.
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.". 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. 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. After retirement, Gordon began writing novels about the Civil War.

Death

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

Selected filmography

Actor

Cimarron City - The Blood Line TV Episode.... Roy RankinMaverick - Escape to Tampico TV Episode.... Sam Garth - Prey of the Cat TV Episode.... Fred Bender - Two Tickets to Ten Strike TV Episode.... Eddie BurkePeter Gunn - The Portrait TV Episode.... MaddoxLaw of the Plainsman - Prairie Incident TV Episode.... Deke - A Matter of Life and Death TV Episode.... HenchmanRiverboat - Payment in Full TV Episode.... Joe Travis - The Barrier TV Episode .... Joe Travis - About Roger Mowbray TV Episode.... Joe Travis - A Race to Cincinnati TV Episode.... Joe Travis - The Unwilling TV Episode.... Joe Travis - The Fight Back TV Episode.... Joe Travis - Escape to Memphis TV Episode.... Joe Travis - Witness No Evil TV Episode.... Joe Travis - A Night at Trapper's Landing TV Episode.... Joe Travis - The Faithless TV Episode.... Joe Travis - The Boy from Pittsburgh TV Episode.... Joe Travis - Strange Request TV Episode.... Joe Travis - Guns for Empire TV Episode.... Joe Travis - The Face of Courage TV Episode.... Joe TravisBlack Saddle - A Case of Slow TV Episode.... Dr. Tom WallRawhide - Incident of the Last Chance TV Episode.... Sid GormanThe Twilight Zone - Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room.... George - Eye of the Beholder.... DoctorThe Americans - Harper's Ferry TV Episode.... Lt. Barnes - The Regular TV Episode.... Lt. BarnesThriller - The Premature Burial TV Episode.... Doctor MarchLaramie - The Star Trail TV Episode.... Vic Stoddard - A Grave for Cully Brown TV Episode.... GilesThe Virginian - West TV Episode.... BlenchBearcats! - Powderkeg TV Episode.... Fallon, Hotel GoonThe Bold Ones: The Lawyers - The Strange Secret of Yermo Hill TV Episode.... Dr. Sinclair Alias Smith and Jones - What happened at the XST? TV Episode.... Reverend SieverCaptains and the Kings - Chapter III TV Episode.... Doctor GillHunter - Blow-Up TV Episode.... Minister

Writer

Producer

Miscellaneous crew