George Gordon (animator)

George Gordon (September 2, 1906 – May 24, 1986) was an American film and TV animator and director of animated productions. Starting in film in 1930, he moved to TV in its early days. Gordon is credited with hundreds of cartoons from 1937 through 1983.

George Gordon
Born	September 2, 1906
Died	May 24, 1986(1986-05-24) (aged 79) Apple Valley, California
Occupation(s)	Animator, director, storyboard artist
Employer(s)	Out Of The Inkwell Studios/Fleischer Studios (1926–1931) Terrytoons (1930–1937) MGM Cartoons (1937–1945) John Sutherland Productions (1945–1967) DePatie-Freleng Enterprises (1967–1980) Hanna-Barbera (1979–1986)
Relatives	Dan Gordon (brother)[1]

Biography

Gordon began working with animation in 1930 at the Terrytoons Studio as an animator on the Jesse and James and Farmer Al Falfa Cartoons. Gordon was later promoted to the director position on animations such as:^[2]

• A Bully Frog (1936)
• The Busy Bee (1936)
• Robin Hood in an Arrow Escape (1936)
• Farmer Al Falfa
• Kiko the Kangaroo
• Puddy the Pup^[2]

In 1937, Gordon left Terrytoons for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio to work as an animator.^[3] During his career at MGM, he directed Barney Bear shorts^[4] and animated for Tom and Jerry.^[5]

After departing MGM, Gordon found employment at John Sutherland Productions. While there, he directed the animated short The Trainer Within. The film was preserved at the United States National Library of Medicine as of 1988.^[6] He supervised stories for the UPA cartoon Mr. Magoo.^[7] By the 1960s Gordon served as director for DePatie-Freleng's The Ant and the Aardvark series of shorts.^[8][9]

Gordon spent his final years at Hanna-Barbera, where he directed various episodes of The Kwicky Koala Show,^[10] Trollkins^[11] and The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show.^[12]

George's older brother, Dan Gordon, worked for Hanna-Barbera as well.^[13] He had a daughter named Sally Lucas.^{[citation needed]}

Works

• Scooby-Doo
• Scrappy-Doo
• Casper and the Angels
• The Little Rascals
• Super Friends for Hanna-Barbera Productions
• Barney Bear
• Tom and Jerry series^[2]

References

1. "Animation Profiles: DAN GORDON |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
2. "George Gordon". Rarebit. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
3. Barrier, Michael (February 27, 1999). Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age. Oxford University Press. p. 288. ISBN 9780198020790.
4. Lenburg, Jeff (2006). Who's who in Animated Cartoons: An International Guide to Film & Television's Award-winning and Legendary Animators. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 193. ISBN 9781557836717.
5. Shull, Michael E.; Wilt, David E. (May 23, 2014). Doing Their Bit: Wartime American Animated Short Films, 1939–1945 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Company. p. 157. ISBN 9780786481699.
6. National Library of Medicine Audiovisuals Catalog. United States National Library of Medicine. 1988. p. 478.
7. Olton, Bert (2000). Arthurian Legends on Film and Television. McFarland & Company. p. 207. ISBN 9780786407187.
8. McCall, Douglas L. (September 11, 2015). Film Cartoons: A Guide to 20th Century American Animated Features and Shorts. McFarland & Company. p. 228. ISBN 9781476609669.
9. Beck, Jerry (2005). Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide to the Coolest Cat in Town. DK. p. 129. ISBN 9780756610333.
10. Perlmutter, David (May 4, 2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 349. ISBN 9781538103746.
11. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: The shows, M-Z. McFarland & Company. p. 874.
12. Browning, John Edgar; Picart, Caroline Joan (January 10, 2014). Dracula in Visual Media: Film, Television, Comic Book and Electronic Game Appearances, 1921-2010. McFarland & Company. p. 155. ISBN 9780786462018.
13. Peri, Don (2011). Working with Disney: Interviews with Animators, Producers, and Artists. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 76−77. ISBN 9781604739404.

External links

• George Gordon at IMDb