Gordon Douglas (Gordon Douglas Brickner) (December 15, 1907 – September 29, 1993) was an American film director, who directed many different genres of films over the course of a five-decade career in motion pictures. He was a native of New York City. December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1907 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years). ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003) Events Media:January January 1 - Czechoslovakia divides. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ...

Biography

Hal Roach and Our Gang

Douglas got his start as a child actor, and as a teenager became employed at the Hal Roach studio, working in the office and appearing in bit parts in various Hal Roach films. He made walk-on appearances in at least two Our Gang shorts: 1930’s Teacher’s Pet and 1932’s Birthday Blues. By 1934, Douglas was assistant to director Gus Meins, and served as assistant director on Laurel and Hardy’s 1934 film Babes in Toyland, and on the Our Gang comedies made between 1934 and mid-1936. The term child actor is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion the latter is also called a former child actor. ... A separate article is about the punk band called The Adolescents. ... For the Irish comedian, see Hal Roach (comedian) Harold Eugene Roach (January 14, 1892 - November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer from 1910s to 1980s, born in Elmira, New York. ... A poster for the 1931 Our Gang comedy Love Business featuring depictions of (l to r) Pete the Pup, Jackie Cooper, and Norman Chubby Chaney. ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... 1934 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1934 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Babes in Toyland is a musical film that starred Laurel and Hardy as comic relief. ...

Beginning with Bored of Education in 1936, Our Gang moved from two-reel (twenty-minute) comedies to one-reel (one-minute) comedies, and Douglas became the senior director of the series. Bored of Education won the 1936 Academy Award for Live Action Short Film, and was the only Our Gang entry ever honored with the award. Douglas remained with the series as director for two years. His Our Gang films, featuring Spanky, Alfalfa, Darla, Porky, Buckwheat, Waldo, Butch, and Woim, are the most familiar films in the series’ twenty-two year canon. Bored of Education is a one-reel comedy short film; part of the Our Gang (Little Rascals) series. ... This name for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film was introduced in 1974. ... George Robert Phillips McFarland (October 2, 1928 - June 30, 1993) was an American actor most famous for his childhood role as Spanky in the depression era childrens comedy movie series Our Gang, also known as the Little Rascals. ... Carl Dean Switzer (August 7, 1927 – January 21, 1959) was an American former child actor, professional dog breeder and expert hunting guide, most notable for appearing in the Our Gang short subjects series as Alfalfa, one of the series most popular and best-remembered characters. ... Darla Hood (November 4, 1931 – June 13, 1979) was an American child actress. ... Eugene Gordon Lee (born October 25, 1933 in Fort Worth, Texas) is a former American child actor, most notable for appearing in the Our Gang comedies as Porky from 1935 to 1939. ... Thomas Ross Bond (born September 16, 1926 in Dallas, Texas) is an American former child actor. ... Sidney Kibrick (born on July 2, 1928 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American former child actor, most notable for appearing in the Our Gang short subjects series from 1935 to 1939. ...

Hal Roach sold the Our Gang unit, including Douglas’ contract, to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in May 1938. Douglas only directed two MGM Our Gangs before deciding that he could not get used to the more industrialized atmosphere at the larger studio and returned to Roach. During his second tenure at Roach, Douglas directed Zenobia with Oliver Hardy, Saps at Sea with Laurel and Hardy, and All-American Co-Ed with former Our Gang kid Johnny Downs. For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... May is the fifth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Oliver Norvell Hardy (January 18, 1892 - August 7, 1957) was an American film actor. ... Laurel and Hardy Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the most famous comedy duo in film history. ... A poster for the 1931 Our Gang comedy Love Business featuring depictions of (l to r) Pete the Pup, Jackie Cooper, and Norman Chubby Chaney. ... Johnny Downs (John Morey Downs) (October 10, 1913-June 6, 1994) was a child actor who played Johnny in the Our Gang short series from 1923 to 1926. ...

Later Years

Douglas left Roach for RKO Radio Pictures in 1942, where he directed a number of b-movies. He migrated from there to Columbia Pictures in 1947, and then to Warner Bros. in 1950. At Warner studios, Douglas directed a number of successful films, including Liberace's Sincerely Yours (1955), and the sci-fi classic Them!. Later films for other studios included Frank Sinatra's The Detective, Sidney Poitier's, They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! and Follow That Dream for Elvis Presley. The classic logo of RKO Radio Pictures. ... 1942 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The term B-movie originally referred to a film designed to be distributed as the lower half of a double feature, often a genre film featuring cowboys, gangsters or vampires. ... Columbia Pictures is a film production company, and part of Sony Pictures Entertainment. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The WB Shield, used from 2001 to late 2003. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Wladziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919–February 4, 1987), better known by the stage name Liberace, was an American entertainer. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Categories: Movie stubs | 1954 films | Science fiction films ... Frank Sinatra in 1947 Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer who is considered one of the finest vocalists of all time, renowned for his impeccable phrasing and timing. ... Sidney Poitier (born February 20, 1927) is an American actor. ... Follow That Dream is a 1962 musical film starring Elvis Presley. ... Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), also known as The King of Rock and Roll, or as just simply The King, was an American singer who had an immeasurable effect on world culture. ...

Douglas died of cancer on September 29, 1993 in Los Angeles, California at the age of 85. September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years). ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003) Events Media:January January 1 - Czechoslovakia divides. ... Griffith Observatory and the Downtown Los Angeles skyline. ...

External link

• Gordon Douglas (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235066/) at the Internet Movie Database