Bert Gordon (April 8, 1895 – November 30, 1974) was an American comedian and voice actor who appeared in vaudeville, radio, and occasionally films.
Bert Gordon | |
|---|---|
 (1945) | |
| Born | Barney Gorodetsky April 8, 1895 |
| Died | November 30, 1974 (aged 79) Duarte, California, U.S. |
| Other names | "The Mad Russian" |
| Occupation(s) | comedian voice actor |
Gordon was born Barney Gorodetsky. He appeared in many roles over his lengthy career and was known by the moniker "The Mad Russian". He was a regular on The Eddie Cantor Program, and also appeared on The Jack Benny Program, and The Abbott and Costello Program. In 1945 he starred in his own film vehicle, How Doooo You Do!!!, directed by Ralph Murphy; the film takes its title from Gordon's distinctive way of introducing himself, which became a catch phrase in the early 1940s.
Gordon played himself in an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show in 1964 along with several other radio-era performers.[1]
Filmography
editMadison Square Garden (1932)
She Gets Her Man (1935)
The Affair of Susan (1935)
New Faces of 1937 (1937)
Outside of Paradise (1938)
Sing for Your Supper (1941)
Laugh Your Blues Away (1942; second billing)
Let's Have Fun (1943; top billing)
How Doooo You Do!!! (1945; top billing)
In popular culture
editGordon's character was parodied a number of times in Warner Bros. cartoons, including:
- Bob Clampett's What's Cookin' Doc? (1944), in which Bugs Bunny wins a "Booby Prize Oscar", and tells it "I'll take youse to bed with me every night,", upon which the Oscar-like statue comes to life and says, in The Mad Russian's voice, "Do you mean it?".[2][3]
- Clampett's Russian Rhapsody (1944), in which a "Gremlin from the Kremlin" says "How do you doooo" with Gordon's inflections before hitting Hitler with a mallet.[3]
- Clampett's Hare Ribbin' (1944), in which the Gordon character, voiced by Sammy Wolfe, is a dog with red hair who chases Bugs Bunny.[3][4]
- Abbott and Costello, a contemporary comedy duo, parodied his "How do you dooooooo" catchphrase in an early 1940s episode of their radio series, which was later reissued on vinyl and audio cassette in the 1970s.
References
edit- ^ The Return of Edwin Carp Archived 2012-04-10 at the Wayback Machine - Season 3 : Ep. 27 of the Dick Van Dyke Showe
- ^ Beck, Jerry and Friedwald, Will. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoon. New York, Henry Holt, 1989. p.147
- ^ a b c "A Tale of Two Gordons" on the WFMU website
- ^ Beck, Jerry and Friedwald, Will. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoon. New York, Henry Holt, 1989. p.151
External links
edit
- Bert Gordon at Find a Grave
- "A Tale of Two Gordons" on the WFMU website
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