Max Gordon (producer)
Encyclopedia
Max Gordon was an American theatre and film producer
. His credits included My Sister Eileen, which he produced both on stage
and on film
.
. His older brother, Cliff, used the stage name of "Gordon", and Max used then it also. Cliff, an entertainer in vaudeville, died at age 32 (in 1913).
In his early 20s Gordon formed a vaudeville
agency with Albert Lewis
, a former vaudeville and burlesque performer. They specialized in providing sketches for shows, and their material, and performers, played the Keith and Orpheum
circuits. He became an independent producer in 1930.
In Depression-era
New York, Gordon became one of New York's most successful producers. Gordon was, among other things, notable as the producer, with Lewis of the original stage incarnation of The Jazz Singer, which ran from September 1925 to June 1926.
He discovered Judy Holliday
.
His reputation during this era was immortalized in Cole Porter
's song "Anything Goes
" from the musical of the same name:
When Rockefeller
still can hoard enough
money to let Max Gordon
produce his shows--
Anything goes!
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. His credits included My Sister Eileen, which he produced both on stage
My Sister Eileen (play)
My Sister Eileen is an American comedy stage production, written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, based on autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney...
and on film
My Sister Eileen (1942 film)
My Sister Eileen is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Alexander Hall. The screenplay by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov is based on their 1940 play of the same title, which was inspired by a series of autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney originally published in The New...
.
Biography
Born Mechel Salpeter, Gordon was the youngest son of immigrants from PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. His older brother, Cliff, used the stage name of "Gordon", and Max used then it also. Cliff, an entertainer in vaudeville, died at age 32 (in 1913).
In his early 20s Gordon formed a vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
agency with Albert Lewis
Albert Lewis (producer)
Albert Lewis was a Broadway producer. Lewis was also a member of the Lewis and Gordon production team, along with Max Gordon, who produced the original incarnation of The Jazz Singer, which ran for several months at the Fulton Theatre in New York City from 1925-6....
, a former vaudeville and burlesque performer. They specialized in providing sketches for shows, and their material, and performers, played the Keith and Orpheum
Orpheum Circuit, Inc.
Orpheum Circuit, Inc., was a company started by Martin Beck who owned a series of vaudeville theaters and motion picture theaters.- The company :...
circuits. He became an independent producer in 1930.
In Depression-era
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
New York, Gordon became one of New York's most successful producers. Gordon was, among other things, notable as the producer, with Lewis of the original stage incarnation of The Jazz Singer, which ran from September 1925 to June 1926.
He discovered Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday was an American actress.Holliday began her career as part of a night-club act, before working in Broadway plays and musicals...
.
His reputation during this era was immortalized in Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
's song "Anything Goes
Anything Goes (song)
"Anything Goes" is a popular song written by Cole Porter for his musical Anything Goes . Many of the lyrics feature humorous references to various figures of scandal and gossip in Depression Era high society...
" from the musical of the same name:
When Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of businessman and Standard Oil industrialist John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
still can hoard enough
money to let Max Gordon
produce his shows--
Anything goes!
See also
- Beloff, Ruth. Gordon, Max. Encyclopaedia Judaica. Eds. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. Vol. 7. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 772-773. 22 vols.