Mel Gordon

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For the American football running back, see Melvin Gordon. For the businessman, see Melvin Gordon (businessman).
Mel Gordon
BornMelvin Irwin Gordon
(1947-02-18)February 18, 1947
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
DiedMarch 22, 2018(2018-03-22) (aged 71)
Richmond, California, U.S.
Education
Notable works
  • Theatre of Fear and Horror
  • Voluptuous Panic: The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin
SpouseSheila Gordon

Melvin Irwin Gordon (February 18, 1947 – March 22, 2018) was an American professor, director and writer.[1]

Biography[]

Melvin Irwin Gordon was born on February 18, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan to leftist parents Rose Gordon (nee 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 died on March 22, 2018 due complications of renal failure.[2][3]

Works[]

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]

Bibliography[]

  • Theatre of Fear and Horror: Expanded Edition: The Grisly Spectacle of the Grand Guignol of Paris, 1897-1962. Port Townsend, WA: Feral House. 2016. ISBN 1627310312.
  • 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.
  • The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber : Weimar Berlin's Priestess of Depravity. London: Feral House. 2006. ISBN 9781932595123.

References[]

  1. ^ "Mel Gordon, professor, director and writer: 1947-2018". Berkeley News. April 9, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b Lemons, Stephen (November 22, 2000). "Paradise regained". Salon.com. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Lemons, Stephen (February 27, 2002). "Hitler's clairvoyant". Salon.com. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  7. ^ Gross, John (November 11, 1988). "Books of The Times; How the Grand Guignol Made Fear Popular". New York Times. Retrieved February 21, 2021.

External links[]

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