'Maverick': Leo Gordon's Sad Cause Of Death

In a career spanning about 70 films and numerous TV shows, Leo Gordon portrayed a diverse array of characters, including mobsters, killers, and creeps. With his commanding presence and piercing blue eyes, he emerged as one of the most distinguished character actors of his era.

Mr. Gordon was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and was raised by a single father who struggled to make ends meet. Mr. Gordon never left New York until serving in the Army in World War II. Before entering the world of acting, he lived a life as a real-life bad guy.

Afterward, he drifted to Southern California and resorted to robbery. Following four years in San Quentin prison, he returned to New York and found employment in construction. It was during this time that he decided to utilize his military benefits to enroll in acting classes.

He met his future wife, Lynn Cartwright, while she was studying acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and they tied the knot in 1950.

Mr. Gordon transitioned to stage work, and his career took off after a Hollywood agent, impressed by his performance in the Los Angeles production of 'Darkness at Noon,' offered him a role in the 1953 Western 'City of Bad Men.'

He was known for playing a killer in the 1954 movie 'Riot in Cell Block 11,' filmed at California's Folsom Prison. But he became famous for being the bad guy in Westerns, from 'Hondo' in 1953 to 'Maverick' in 1994. During the 1950s and 1960s, he showed up in almost every Western TV show, like 'Bonanza' and 'Rin Tin Tin.'

Additionally, Mr. Gordon was a screenwriter with over a dozen films to his credit. Among them were Roger Corman's movie 'Attack of the Giant Leeches' in 1959 and 1966's 'Tobruk' He also penned 'The Cry Baby Killer,' which marked Jack Nicholson's movie debut. For television, he wrote approximately 50 scripts for shows like 'Bonanza' and 'Cheyenne,' including 21 episodes of 'Adam-12.'

In contrast to his screen persona, Gordon was known as a quiet, thoughtful, and intelligent man who typically shied away from the Hollywood spotlight. He was widely respected by his fellow actors and directors for his professionalism and thorough preparation. In 1997, he got the Golden Boot Award for his work in Western movies. When he got the award, he just smiled at his fans and said, "Thank God for typecasting!"

After grappling with a brief illness, Gordon passed away peacefully in his sleep at the age of 78 due to cardiac failure at his residence in Los Angeles, California, on December 26, 2000. His ashes, along with those of his wife who passed in 2004, are interred together in a memorial display at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.