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IMDbPro

Stuart Gordon(1947-2020)

  • Writer
  • Director
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Stuart Gordon at an event for Edmond (2005)
Stuart Gordon started his film directing career in 1985. After graduating from Lane Technical High School, Gordon worked as a commercial artist apprentice prior to enrolling at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Unable to get into the film classes, he enrolled in an acting class and ended up majoring in theater. In 1968, he directed a psychedelic adaptation of Peter Pan as a political satire. He was arrested on obscenity charges and Gordon dropped out of the university. He and his wife Carolyn formed the Organic Theater and moved the group to Chicago.

The Organic performed their work on and off-Broadway, in Los Angeles, and toured Europe. Among their productions were the world premiere of David Mamet's "Sexual Perversity in Chicago," which launched Mamet's playwriting career, the improv-based comedy "Bleacher Bums," which ran for over ten years in Los Angeles, and the hospital comedy E/R (1984), which became a TV series produced by Norman Lear.

He joined with Brian Yuzna and Charles Band's Empire Pictures to create the company's first major hit, Re-Animator (1985), based on the story by H.P. Lovecraft, which won a Critics' Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Gordon then helmed another Lovecraft adaptation From Beyond (1986) and tackled the murderous Dolls (1986) followed by Robot Jox (1989). Gordon co-created the story for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) a major hit for Disney. The same year, he directed the remake and more graphic version of The Pit and the Pendulum (1991). Other works include Fortress (1992), and the screenplay for The Dentist (1996) and Body Snatchers (1993), which he co-wrote with long-time writing partner Dennis Paoli.

In 2001, Gordon returned to the H.P. Lovecraft territory with Dagon (2001), and in 2003, directed King of the Ants (2003) about a housepainter-turned-hit man, and brought the David Mamet play Edmond (2005) to the screen.

He contributed to the horror anthology series Masters of Horror (2005) with the episode Dreams in the Witch-House (2005), based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft. He returned to the series in 2007 with the episode The Black Cat (2007), based on Edgar Allan Poe's story. And in 2008, he directed Eater (2008) for the NBC series Fear Itself (2008).

He is also known for frequently murdering his wife, actress Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, in many of his films.
BornAugust 11, 1947
DiedMarch 24, 2020(72)
BornAugust 11, 1947
DiedMarch 24, 2020(72)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 11 wins & 13 nominations

Photos11

Stuart Gordon in Dolls (1986)
Directors Tobe Hooper, Wes Craven, Stuart Gordon, Rob Zombie and Eli Roth at the 2003 Mania Fest "Masters of Horror" panel.
William H. Macy, Stuart Gordon, Chris Hanley, Marcus Thomas, and Molly Hassell at an event for Edmond (2005)
Stuart Gordon at an event for Edmond (2005)
Stuart Gordon at an event for Edmond (2005)
Stuart Gordon at an event for Edmond (2005)
William H. Macy and Stuart Gordon at an event for Edmond (2005)
William H. Macy and Stuart Gordon at an event for Edmond (2005)
Brad Dourif, Stuart Gordon, Jillian McWhirter, Christopher Roth, Greg Bronson, and Don Shenk in Progeny (1998)
Stuart Gordon, James Hawkinson, Harry B. Miller III, Steve Morrell, Jack F. Murphy, Susan Ripaldi, Christopher Roth, Henry Seggerman, John Moskal, Aubrey Solomon, Patty Toy, and Anton Tremblay in Progeny (1998)

Known for:

Jeffrey Combs in Re-Animator (1985)
Re-Animator
7.2
  • Writer
  • 1985
From Beyond (1986)
From Beyond
6.6
  • Writer
  • 1986
Christopher Lambert in Fortress (1992)
Fortress
5.9
  • Director
  • 1992
Stuck (2007)
Stuck
6.5
  • Writer
  • 2007

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Writer

  • Shrunk
    • based on the characters created by
    • Pre-production
  • From the Dark (2009)
    From the Dark
    • screenplay
    • Short
    • 2009
  • Stuck (2007)
    Stuck
    • story
    • 2007
  • Masters of Horror (2005)
    Masters of Horror
    • teleplay
    • TV Series
    • 2005–2007
  • Bleacher Bums (2001)
    Bleacher Bums
    • play
    • TV Movie
    • 2001
  • Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show (1997)
    Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show
    • based on characters created by
    • TV Series
    • 1997–2000
  • Corbin Bernsen in The Dentist 2 (1998)
    The Dentist 2
    • based on characters created by
    • 1998
  • Brad Dourif, Stuart Gordon, Jillian McWhirter, Christopher Roth, Greg Bronson, and Don Shenk in Progeny (1998)
    Progeny
    • story
    • 1998
  • Robin Bartlett, Rick Moranis, Eve Gordon, and Stuart Pankin in Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves! (1997)
    Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves!
    • based on characters created by
    • TV Movie
    • 1997
  • Space Truckers (1996)
    Space Truckers
    • story
    • 1996
  • Robo Warriors (1996)
    Robo Warriors
    • characters
    • 1996
  • The Dentist (1996)
    The Dentist
    • written by
    • 1996
  • Jessica Dollarhide in Castle Freak (1995)
    Castle Freak
    • story
    • Video
    • 1995
  • Gabrielle Anwar in Body Snatchers (1993)
    Body Snatchers
    • screenplay by
    • 1993
  • Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992)
    Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
    • characters
    • 1992
  • Robot Jox (1989)
    Robot Jox
    • story
    • 1989

Director

  • Bunker of Blood: Chapter 5: Psycho Sideshow: Demon Freaks (2018)
    Bunker of Blood: Chapter 5: Psycho Sideshow: Demon Freaks
    • Director
    • Video
    • 2018
  • All New Interview with Brian Yuzna: Dolls
    • Director
    • Video
    • 2015
  • Fear Itself (2008)
    Fear Itself
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2008
  • Stuck (2007)
    Stuck
    • Director
    • 2007
  • Masters of Horror (2005)
    Masters of Horror
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2005–2007
  • William H. Macy and Julia Stiles in Edmond (2005)
    Edmond
    • Director
    • 2005
  • King of the Ants (2003)
    King of the Ants
    • Director
    • 2003
  • Ezra Godden, Raquel Meroño, and Francisco Rabal in Dagon (2001)
    Dagon
    • Director
    • 2001
  • Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show (1997)
    Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 1998
  • Joe Mantegna, Edward James Olmos, Clifton Collins Jr., and Esai Morales in The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1998)
    The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit
    • Director
    • 1998
  • Space Truckers (1996)
    Space Truckers
    • Director
    • 1996
  • Aliens: Ride at the Speed of Fright (1995)
    Aliens: Ride at the Speed of Fright
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1995
  • Jessica Dollarhide in Castle Freak (1995)
    Castle Freak
    • Director
    • Video
    • 1995
  • Christopher Lambert in Fortress (1992)
    Fortress
    • Director
    • 1992
  • Lance Henriksen in The Pit and the Pendulum (1991)
    The Pit and the Pendulum
    • Director
    • 1991

Producer

  • Kyle's Law
    • supervising producer
    • TV Series
    • 2016
  • Stuck (2007)
    Stuck
    • producer
    • 2007
  • William H. Macy and Julia Stiles in Edmond (2005)
    Edmond
    • producer
    • 2005
  • King of the Ants (2003)
    King of the Ants
    • co-producer
    • 2003
  • Deathbed (2002)
    Deathbed
    • executive producer
    • producer
    • Video
    • 2002
  • Bleacher Bums (2001)
    Bleacher Bums
    • co-executive producer
    • TV Movie
    • 2001
  • Snail Boy
    • executive producer
    • Short
    • 2000
  • Brad Dourif, Stuart Gordon, Jillian McWhirter, Christopher Roth, Greg Bronson, and Don Shenk in Progeny (1998)
    Progeny
    • executive producer
    • 1998
  • Joe Mantegna, Edward James Olmos, Clifton Collins Jr., and Esai Morales in The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1998)
    The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit
    • producer
    • 1998
  • Space Truckers (1996)
    Space Truckers
    • producer
    • 1996
  • Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992)
    Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
    • executive producer
    • 1992
  • Kid Safe: The Video (1988)
    Kid Safe: The Video
    • producer
    • Video
    • 1988
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Personal details

Edit
  • Born
    • August 11, 1947
    • Chicago, Illinois, USA
  • Died
    • March 24, 2020
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(multiple organ failure)
  • Spouse
    • Carolyn Purdy-GordonDecember 20, 1968 - March 24, 2020 (his death, 3 children)
  • Children
      Margaret Berni Gordon
  • Parents
      Bernard Leo Gordon
  • Other works
    Wrote the sci-fi play "Warp," which was adapted into a graphic novel.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 32 Interviews
    • 3 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    While searching around in film reels, he had found the uncut reels of From Beyond (1986) and gave MGM permission to release the uncut version to DVD.
  • Quotes
    The Lovecraft purists are always very upset with me because I'm always throwing all of this nudity into these movies, and there is no nudity in Lovecraft. But my argument is that there is a tremendous sexuality about Lovecraft, and a fear of sex, taking the reproductive act and turning it into something monstrous. Although he doesn't get explicit with it, he'll refer to it constantly in his stories. And in a movie, you have to use images to show things.
  • Trademark
      Often cast Jeffrey Combs in his films

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