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leo gordon

posted 19 years ago by pjwoodall1
18 replies | jump to latest

Leo Gordon tangled with Wayne twice, the second movie being HONDO where he played Geraldine PAge's no good husband.
I seem to remember Gordon being interviewed in a book on Don Siegel for whom he'd worked in RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11 and Gordon saying he'd done time. I also remember him being a semi-regular on MAVERICK where he played an Irishman. One of his few sympathetic roles was in THE NIGHT OF THE GRIZZLY where he sacrifices his life to save a child.
He was also a screenwriter and writing the script for Roger Corman's THE TERROR must have been a real challenge. Corman had shot footage or Karloff, Nicholson, Dick Miller et al without a script and then asked Gordon to make sense of it.

[–] gary-peterson 18 years ago

Don't forget Leo Gordon's famous scrap with Duke on that hill of bentonite clay in McLintock! He was the guy poking his shotgun into John Wayne's belly. What a great scene.

Hey, am I the only guy who mixes up Leo Gordon with John Vernon, who is best known as Dean Wormer in Animal House? They look and sound so alike to me. Both great actors.

[–] pjwoodall1 18 years ago

Interesting comparison of John Vernon and Leo Gordon although I would never confuse them. Gordon's piggy little eyes add to his sense of meanness, brutality. In GUN FURY he turns good guy for a change and helps Rock Hudson rescue Donna Reed from Phil Carey.
It's been years since I watched RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11 with Gordon, Neville Brand and Whit Bissell.
According to the commentary on McCLINTOCK, every stunt man in Hollywood wanted to be in that fight scene. I think I recognized Tom Steele as the man Maureen O'Hara jabs with her hatpin.

[–] gary-peterson 18 years ago

Thanks for the info on Gordon's other work. Interestingly, I just saw Phil Carey in a episode of All In The Family and was impressed enough to want to see more of his performances too, so will have my eyes peeled for GUN FURY.

I actually only confused Gordon with Vernon once, when watching the "Winchester Quarantine" episode of Have Gun Will Travel. I thought it was Vernon until the credits rolled. A quick check of IMDb educated me and another name was added to my list of character actors to watch for.

[–] mwebbdr98 18 years ago

Make it three times to tangle with the Duke. Leo Gordon was also in The Conquerer. This little seen movie in which John Wayne plays Genghis Khan(if you can believe this casting) also stars Leo Gordon as a rival Mongol chief interested in the Mongol princess played by Susan Hayward. This movie was on cable several years ago after the estate of Howard Hughes released it from his private collection. There is also a picture of the Duke in full Mongol regalia standing over Leo Gordon's body in Michael Medved's Golden Turkey AWards book. The movie itself is just a John Wayne movie transferred to Asia.

[–] gary-peterson 18 years ago

Wow, Mwebbdr, you know your stuff! I've seen a still or two from The Conqueror, but it's way down my list of wanna-see Duke movies.

Incidentally, is this the film some blame for giving and/or contributing to John Wayne's cancer? I remember reading somewhere a Duke movie was filmed on an atomic testing site and that a disproportionately large number of cast and crew developed cancer.

[–] mwebbdr98 18 years ago

Another Leo Gordon sighting. During TV Land's Don Knotts marathon, I saw an episode of the Andy Griffith Show called 'High Noon in Mayberry'. Leo plays an ex-con crippled by Andy in a shoot out ten years before. He writes Andy telling him he was coming back to Mayberry to settle things with him. Barney, of course, thinks that the ex-con is coming back to kill Andy. Turns out that Leo wants to thank Andy because while in prison, he had studied tv repair and now owns a repair shop in Cleveland. He credits Andy for putting him on the right path. Leo is excellent. Even while talking to Andy Griffith his voice and expression have you believing that he could snap at any moment and go postal on him. Every time I see this episode I think, 'This guy could probably kill Andy Taylor, Barney Fife, Gomer and every body else in Mayberry and not think a thing about it.'

[–] mwebbdr98 18 years ago

This is the one. It was filmed in Nevada near one of the A-Bomb test sites. Wayne, Susan Hayward and other members of the cast and crew developed cancer later. I don't know if there has ever been a connection made. Wayne died of lung cancer, I believe Susan Hayward had a brain tumor.

[–] AriesJB4 18 years ago

Dick Powell (director of the film), Agnes Moorehead and Pedro Amendariz also developed cancer - the A-bomb testing site and the proximity to the filming definitely was a factor. Too coincidental if you ask me. Amendariz committed suicide (shot himself) because the cancer suffering was too much for him to bear.

[–] bari2525 10 years ago

I know this is a VERY late reply, but that film was made in Utah, not Nevada...

I don't act...I react. John Wayne

[–] corriganville 17 years ago

I always thought that was Ted DeCorsia whom John Wayne was standing over in that picture from the Conqueror. I don't remember the scene but I taped it off AMC about 20 years ago so I'll check it out. Lee Van Cleef is in the Conqueror also and supposedly John Ashley but I don't remember seeing him either. Filmed in Snow Canyon near St George Utah. Supposedly they trucked a lot of that contaminated red sand back to the studio for interior filming.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] pjwoodall1 17 years ago

Phil Carey's appearance on ALL IN THE FAMILY was memorable. You just don't expect the rugged, two-fisted Carey to tell Archie "you're wrong on both counts, Archie." And he does it with a completely straight face.

[–] au561 8 years ago

The man Maureen O'Hara jabs with her hatpin, is Strother Martin.

[–] trevor-packman 18 years ago

Leo Gordon was also killed by John Wayne, in a flashback scene,in the film,The Shootist. He was shot by Robert Mitchum in the film , The Man With The Gun, and appeared in the film, Great Day in the Morning, with Robert Stack. One of the Westerns great villains.....

[–] pjwoodall1 18 years ago

Not just in Westerns although I still remember him playing one of James Garner's buddies on MAVERICK. I think Gordon guested on the first episode with an Irish brogue.
Playing the "pilgrim" who gets whacked by Wayne with a rifle after having it jammed in his stomach in McClintock is a memorable bit as is the free-for-all.
By the way, if you are a fan of Republic serials, you might notice stuntman Tom Steele is the man Maureen O'Hara uses her hatpin on. I recently spotted Steele among the passengers in THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE when he helps Hackman raise the Christmas tree.

[–] joeparkson 16 years ago

Director Don Seigel said that Leo Gordon was the scariest man he ever met. Gordon had done time for armed robbery at San Quentin before he turned to acting. Great screen presence.

[–] pjwoodall1 16 years ago

I read a book on Siegel years ago where they said Gordon had done time. He felt acting gave him an outlet. The author also mentioned Peckinpah workking for Siegel on "Body Snatchers" and having a bit part I've never been able to identity.

I also worked on a research project for those little booklets you find at checkout counters and card shops. One for each day of the year, they had a list of people born on that date with a biography and historical events. I had to proofread for accuracy, plagiarism, misspellings etc. One writer said Peckinpah had directed some of "Body Snatchers"! Peckinpah may had been dialogue director but never director on that classic.

Somebody else thought Zeeppo Marx may have been adopted because he was the best looking of the Marx Brothers!

It was a fun job, but it would've been even more if we'd been paid.

I almost forgot I met Wiiiliam Smith at antiques and collectibles show a few years ago.

[–] heybhc 12 years ago

Peckinpah plays a meter reader in the basement in BODY SNATCHERS. As for Zeppo being adopted; he looked enough like Groucho that with mustache and glasses he WAS Groucho. Legend has it that he doubled Groucho in a scene from one of their early flicks, ANIMAL CRACKERS or COCOANUTS, right down to voice, and nobody notices.