Richard Gordon (October 25, 1882 – December 11, 1967)[1][2][3][4] was an American actor in vaudeville and films and on stage and radio. He was perhaps best known for portraying the title role in the radio version of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
A native of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Gordon worked as a reporter on a newspaper there before he moved to New York City and became a reporter for the New York World. His earnings paid for his studies at Yale and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.[5]
In addition to his work in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes[6] from 1931 to 1933,[7] Gordon's roles on old-time radio included those shown in the table below:
| Program | Role |
|---|---|
| The Bishop and the Gargoyle | The Bishop[8]: 43 |
| Follow the Moon | Tetlow[9] |
| Hilda Hope, M.D. | Dr. Boros[10] |
| Jane Arden | Jane's father[8]: 172 |
| Orphans of Divorce | Cyril Worthington[11] |
| Our Gal Sunday | Dr. Abbott[12] |
| Pepper Young's Family | Mr. Jerome[9] |
| Reginald Fortune | Reginald Fortune[13] |
| Stella Dallas | Morgan Ford[10]: 225 |
| Thatcher Colt Mysteries | Thatcher Colt[9] |
| Valiant Lady | Jim Barrett[8]: 346 |
Gordon also was heard on The Biblical Hour and in Shakespearean productions.[8]
After he turned down a producer's offer of $35 per week for a minor part in a play, Gordon spent 10 years with a theatrical touring company.[12] Films in which Gordon appeared included Birth of a Baby, 13 Rue Madeleine, Saint Benny the Dip,[12] and Things to Come.[14]
Gordon was involved in founding the Actors' Equity Association. Not long after it was formed, however, he encountered conflicts with officers of the organization as he advocated for inclusion of actors from film and radio. Those efforts apparently led to his leaving the group's council after five years. As continued growth of radio led to the formation of another group to represent that medium's actors, Gordon served as an advisor to the new American Federation of Radio Artists.[12]
Gordon married three times, always to actresses with whom he was currently performing or had done so previously. The first marriage, beginning in January 1907, was to Denver-born actress Rachel Crown,[15][16] with whom Gordon had two children,[5] and alongside whom he continued to appear onstage at least as late as the summer of 1910.[17] Next, from 1923 until her death in 1946,[18][19][20] was Emily Ann Wellman, an actress and playwright[21] with whom Gordon performed in vaudeville.[22] To help her promote her works to producers, Gordon built a miniature theater using a scale of one-half inch to one foot. The couple prepared miniature props to enable creation of sets to help producers visualize the production of a play.[21] Gordon, whom one newspaper reporter described as an "actor-carpenter", used his workshop, which was equipped with saws, drill press, planer, and lathe.[23] Finally, from roughly 1946 until at least 1964, he was married to Boston-born former actress Margaret Brainard (né Taylor),[24][25] with whom he had co-starred more than three decades before in a well-received stage adaptation of Harold Bell Wright's novel The Winning of Barbara Worth.[26][27]