Alexander Ross Gordon (11 July 1893 – 21 January 1957), known as Harry Gordon, was a popular

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

entertainer An entertainer is someone who provides entertainment in various different forms. Types of entertainers

* Acrobat * Actor * Archimime * Barker (occupation), Barker * Beatboxer * Benshi * Bouffon * Cheerleader * Circus arts, Circus perform ...

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

and

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

, touring throughout Scotland and further afield. From the 1920s through the 1950s Gordon also produced a large number of

recordings A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

, including several under assumed names. He was known as the Laird of Inversnecky, a fictional Scottish town he used in his comic routines, which ended up becoming the nickname for

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

.Watson, Iain ''Harry Gordon: The Laird of Inversnecky'', Aberdeen District Council, 1993

Life and career

Harry Gordon was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

as Alexander Gordon, one of five sons and a daughter. He attended King Street and Central schools, before leaving for work as an insurance clerk to help with the family finances. His first public appearance on

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

may have occurred at age 12 as Princess Chrysanthemum at Gilcomston Parish Church. By the time he was fifteen years old, he decided to pursue a full-time career as an entertainer. He began to develop his stage skills at various venues in northeast Scotland. An important turning-point in his career was the 1909 formation of a

Pierrot Pierrot ( , ; ), a stock character of pantomime and commedia dell'arte, has his origins in the late 17th-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a hypocorism, diminutive of ''Pierr ...

troupe, with whom Gordon played in many open-air performances. The company formed in the village of

Banchory Banchory (, , ) is a burgh or town in Aberdeenshire, historically in Kincardineshire, Scotland. It is about west of Aberdeen, near where the Feugh River meets the River Dee. Prehistory and archaeology In 2009, a farmer discovered a short ...

, which influenced Gordon's most famous creation, Inversnecky. Gordon began to appear at many

theatres Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communica ...

in northeast Scotland and did seaside shows in the summer. He was physically unfit for active service in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

but participated in the war effort as an entertainer. After the war Gordon often performed in Aberdeen at His Majesty's Theatre and the Beach Pavilion, originally a wooden

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage (theatre), stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention ...

which was replaced in 1928 by a more permanent structure. Gordon often was the master of ceremonies at the Beach Pavilion and eventually leased the theatre himself before its closure in 1941. He had a homely and chatty style, establishing an intimate rapport with his audience. With his Doric accent and local knowledge he became one of Scotland's most popular entertainers. He also appeared many times before the microphone of the BBC's local radio station in Aberdeen, 2BD, which operated between 1923 and 1929.Appearances on Aberdeen Radio
: article by Gordon Bathgate from the online edition of ''Leopard Magazine'', February 2005. Retrieved on 8 January 2008. Gordon often worked with comic foil Jack Holden and perfected his

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

act into one of Scotland's most acclaimed. His appeal never did transfer well to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, though he worked abroad and on

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

s. In December, 1956 he suffered a severe attack of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

, and died in the

Royal Infirmary Royal Infirmary may refer to a number of hospitals in the United Kingdom: *England **Blackburn Royal Infirmary ** Bradford Royal Infirmary **Bolton Royal Infirmary **Bristol Royal Infirmary ** Chester Royal Infirmary **Derbyshire Royal Infirmary ** ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in January, 1957. His work is still remembered and has formed the basis of a one-man stage show about his career.

References

External links

*Recordmine.com article on Harry Gordon
University of Glasgow brief biography of Harry Gordon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Harry 1893 births 1957 deaths People from Aberdeen Scottish impressionists (entertainers) Scottish entertainers Scottish vaudeville performers Scottish male comedians 20th-century Scottish comedians