Background
She was born in Suffolk, Virginia, and died at age 74 in Sonoma, California.
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Phyllis Gordon
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She appeared in 50 silent era and sound era motion pictures between 1911 and 1941. Gordon was once notably photographed walking a pet cheetah on a London shopping street. She also "shocked" people at a restaurant in Davenport, Iowa, when they realized that she had a marmoset in her handbag.
From the time she was 5 until she was 13, Gordno lived in a convent.
"Then," she said, "the money gave out and I had to go to work." When she was 13, Gordon helped to herd cattle in Oklahoma. In a 1911 interview, she said, "I rode the range astride with the cowbosy, curried horses, washed and ironed and did manual labor for a living." Gordon graduated from Lafayette College with a bachelor of music degree.
Gordon appeared in productions as a comedienne and a singer. A career-boosting break occurred for Gordon in 1908 when she was a chorus girl in A Knight for a Day.
As the understudy for Sallie Fisher, Gordon went on when Fisher missed a performance.
The next day"s issue of The New York Times reported, "Mission Gordon"s performance was so satisfactory that she is to be engaged for an important role in a new Summer production to be offered at one of Mr. Whitney"s theatres in Chicago." Gordon"s Broadway credits include Up and Down Broadway (1910).
Membership
A review of the production of Dick Whittington, staged in 1910, noted, "Phyllis Gordon had the best singing voice, although Louise Dresser was the featured member of the cast.
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Born
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Died
October 16, 1964 (aged 74) -
Nationality
United States