Melvin Irwin Gordon (February 18, 1947 – March 22, 2018) was an American professor, director and writer.

Biography

Melvin Irwin Gordon was born on February 18, 1947, in Detroit, Michigan to leftist parents Rose Gordon (née Alpert) and Joseph Gordon. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and completed his master's and PhD in performance studies from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. He taught at the

New York University Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

in the 1970s and 80s before being hired by UC Berkeley, where he taught a popular course on bad acting, in 1990. He also taught courses on the History of Offensive Humor and Method Acting in Hollywood Film. He died on March 22, 2018, due to complications of

renal failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

Works

In 1994, Gordon staged a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

show at Bimbo's 365 about

Anita Berber Anita Berber (10 June 1899 – 10 November 1928) was a German dancer, actress, and writer who was the subject of an Otto Dix painting. She lived during the time of the Weimar Republic. Early life Berber was born in Leipzig to the violinist Feli ...

, a

Weimar era The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclaimed itself, as ...

actress, dancer and writer, later writing her biography. Two years later, he staged another cabaret show at the same location about

Erik Jan Hanussen Erik Jan Hanussen, born Hermann Steinschneider (2 June 1889 – 25 March 1933), was an Austrian publicist, charlatan and clairvoyant performer. Acclaimed in his lifetime as a hypnotist, mentalist, occultist and astrologer, Hanussen was active ...

, a

clairvoyant Clairvoyance (; ) is the claimed ability to acquire information that would be considered impossible to get through scientifically proven sensations, thus classified as extrasensory perception, or "sixth sense". Any person who is claimed to ...

close to Hitler, also writing his biography later. Gordon wrote two books on the sexual histories of Berlin and Paris, a book on the history of the

Grand Guignol The Théâtre du Grand-Guignol () was a theater in the Pigalle district of Paris (7, cité Chaptal). From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962, it specialized in horror shows. Its name is often used as a general term for graphic, amor ...

theatre and a two-volume history of the

Stanislavski method Stanislavski's system is a systematic approach to training actors that the Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski developed in the first half of the twentieth century. His system cultivates what he calls the "art of experiencing" ...

. He was finishing books about American fascist love cults and

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women prominent after the First World War and through the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee length was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their ...

s at the time of his death.

Bibliography

* * * *
''Cabarets of Death. Death, Dance and Dining in Early Twentieth-Century Paris''
2024,

References

External links

Mel Gordon Papers
at the

''Mel Gordon''
at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

''R.I.P. Mel Gordon''
at

Feral House Feral House is an American book publisher founded in 1989 by Adam Parfrey and based in Port Townsend, Washington. Feral House is known for its taboo and provocative publications, but has had significant influence in both underground circles an ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Mel 1947 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American writers University of Michigan alumni New York University alumni Writers from Detroit Academics from Michigan Tisch School of the Arts faculty University of California, Berkeley faculty Deaths from kidney failure in California

Biography

Works

Archive

Bibliography

References

External links