Bert I. Gordon

Birthday: 1922-09-24
Deathday: 2023-03-08
Birthplace: Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
Gender: Male

Bert Ira Gordon (born September 24, 1922 in Kenosha, WI) was an American film director most famous for such science fiction and horror B-movies as The Amazing Colossal Man and Village of the Giants.

Most of Gordon's work was in the idiom of giant monster films, for which he used rear-projection to create the special effects. His nickname "Mister B.I.G." was a reference both to his initials and to his preferred technique for making super-sized creatures.

Gordon held a degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He began his career directing television commercials before moving to film in 1954 to produce Serpent Island. In 1957, he began his prolific association with American International Pictures.

In 1960, he wrote, produced and directed The Boy and the Pirates, starring then active and popular child star Charles Herbert alongside Gordon's own daughter, Susan. The trio appeared together in the celebrity lineup at the 2006 Monster Bash in Pittsburgh, as The Walt Disney Company's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) spiked interest in previous "pirate" films.

Empire of the Ants (1977) featured a pre-Dynasty Joan Collins, who later said of the film that it was her worst acting experience, but by then the loosely-based modernized H. G. Wells tale had been elevated to cult film status.

While none of his films received significant critical attention, his work attained popularity in some circles. Cult TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) has featured several of his films, which the accompanying episodes are often regarded as some of the show's best.

Gordon passed away on March 8, 2023, at 100 years old.

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Credits

Year Title
2015-11-03 Secrets of a Psychopath
1989-12-01 Satan's Princess
1985-01-01 The Big Bet
1983-11-25 The Witching
1982-07-09 Let's Do It!
1981-08-21 Burned at the Stake
1977-06-29 Empire of the Ants
1976-06-18 The Food of the Gods
1973-04-01 The Mad Bomber
1972-09-22 Necromancy
1970-01-01 How to Succeed with Sex
1966-11-02 Picture Mommy Dead
1965-10-20 Village of the Giants
1962-04-01 The Magic Sword
1961-12-31 Famous Ghost Stories
1960-09-22 Tormented
1960-04-13 The Boy and the Pirates
1958-09-01 The Spider
1958-06-04 War of the Colossal Beast
1958-04-01 Attack of the Puppet People
1957-10-25 The Amazing Colossal Man
1957-07-28 The Cyclops
1957-06-28 Beginning of the End
1955-07-17 King Dinosaur
1954-01-01 Serpent Island