Phyllis Gordon (October 17, 1889 – October 16, 1964) was an American actress. She appeared in 50

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

and sound films between 1911 and 1941. She was born in Suffolk, Virginia, and died one day before her 75th birthday in

Sonoma, California Sonoma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Sonoma is one of the principal cities of California's Wine Country and the center of the Sonoma Valley AVA. Sonoma's ...

. 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.

Early years

From the time she was 5 until she was 13, Gordon 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 cowboys, curried horses, washed and ironed and did manual labor for a living." Gordon graduated from Lafayette College with a bachelor's degree in music. Gordon also appeared in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic compositio ...

productions as a comedian and a singer.

Stage

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 Sallie Fisher (August 10, 1880 June 8, 1950) was an American stage and vaudeville actress who appeared in the 1916 silent ''The Little Shepherd of Bargain Row''. Early years Fisher "was born on a ranch in Wyoming" but moved with her family to ...

, Gordon went on stage when Fisher missed a performance. The next day's issue of ''The New York Times'' reported "Miss 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). A review of the production of ''Dick Whittington'', staged in 1910, noted "Phyllis Gordon had the best singing voice, although

Louise Dresser Louise Dresser (born Louise Josephine Kerlin; October 5, 1878 – April 24, 1965) was an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the many films in which she played the wife of Will Rogers, including ''State Fair'' and ' ...

was the featured member of the cast."

Selected filmography

*''

Calamity Anne's Beauty ''Calamity Anne's Beauty'' is a 1913 American silent short Western comedy film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Louise Lester as Calamity Anne. Other cast * Charlotte Burton * J. Warren Kerrigan * Phyllis Gordon * Jack Richardson * Jessaly ...

'' (1913) *''

In the Secret Service ''In the Secret Service'' is a 1913 American short silent Western film directed by Henry MacRae. Cast * Charles Bartlett * Phyllis Gordon as Edith * Richard Stanton as Frank Armor (unconfirmed) * Hoot Gibson * Bertha Blanchard See also * ...

'' (1913) *'' The Werewolf'' (1913) *''

Another Thin Man ''Another Thin Man'' is a 1939 American detective film directed by W. S. Van Dyke, the third of six in the ''Thin Man'' series. It again stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles and is based on Dashiell Hammett's Continenta ...

'' (1939)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Phyllis 1889 births 1964 deaths American film actresses American silent film actresses American stage actresses Actresses from Virginia People from Suffolk, Virginia Vaudeville performers 20th-century American actresses