Mel Gordon
Mel Gordon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Melvin Irwin Gordon February 18, 1947 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | March 22, 2018 (aged 71) Richmond, California, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Notable works |
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| Spouse | Sheila Gordon |
Melvin Irwin Gordon (February 18, 1947 – March 22, 2018) was an American professor, director and writer.[1]
Biography
[edit]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 and completed his master's and PhD in performance studies from New York University. He taught at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts 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.[2][3]
Works
[edit]In 1994, Gordon staged a cabaret show at Bimbo's 365 about Anita Berber, a Weimar era actress, dancer and writer,[4] later writing her biography.[2] Two years later, he staged another cabaret show at the same location about Erik Jan Hanussen,[5] a clairvoyant close to Hitler, also writing his biography later.[6] Gordon wrote two books on the sexual histories of Berlin[4] and Paris, a book on the history of the Grand Guignol theatre[7] and a two-volume history of the Stanislavski method. He was finishing books about American fascist love cults and flappers at the time of his death.[2]
Archive
[edit]In 2019, the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin announced it had acquired the papers and personal collection of Mel Gordon.[8] Among the papers are original documents relating to American method acting, German cabaret, and the Grand Guignol. Hundreds of rare sound recordings capture performances of vaudeville, early twentieth-century Broadway theatre, and interviews with noted actors and directors.[9]
Bibliography
[edit]- Theatre of Fear and Horror: Expanded Edition: The Grisly Spectacle of the Grand Guignol of Paris, 1897-1962. Port Townsend, WA: Feral House. 2016 [1988]. ISBN 978-1627310314.
- The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber: Weimar Berlin's Priestess of Depravity. London: Feral House. 2006. ISBN 9781932595123.
- Voluptuous Panic: the Erotic World of Weimar Berlin. New York: Feral House. 2006. ISBN 193259597X.
- Horizontal Collaboration: The Erotic World of Paris, 1920-1946. Port Townsend, WA: Feral House. 2015. ISBN 9781627310178.
- Cabarets of Death. Death, Dance and Dining in Early Twentieth-Century Paris, 2024, ISBN 9781907222269
References
[edit]- ^ "Mel Gordon, professor, director and writer: 1947-2018". Berkeley News. April 9, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
- ^ a b c Sandomir, Richard (March 30, 2018). "Mel Gordon, Drama Scholar of the Fringe, Is Dead at 71". New York Times. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ Ho, Catherine; Kost, Ryan (April 4, 2018). "Drama scholar Mel Gordon, who taught at UC Berkeley, dies at 71". SF Gate. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ a b Lemons, Stephen (November 22, 2000). "Paradise regained". Salon.com. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ LaSalle, Mick (March 17, 1996). "'Hanussen' -- What a Concept / Creators of 'Anita Berber' offer erotic new show -- about Hitler's Jewish psychic". SF Gate. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
- ^ Lemons, Stephen (February 27, 2002). "Hitler's clairvoyant". Salon.com. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ^ Gross, John (November 11, 1988). "Books of The Times; How the Grand Guignol Made Fear Popular". New York Times. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ "Harry Ransom Center Annual Report, 2018-2019" (PDF). Harry Ransom Center. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- ^ "Research Guide: Harry Ransom Center". www.hrc.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
