Bert Gordon

Bert Gordon (born Barney Gorodetsky; April 8, 1895 – November 30, 1974) was an American comedian and voice actor who appeared in vaudeville, radio, and occasionally films.

Life and career Barney Gorodetsky was born in Manhattan. In the early part of his career he performed in School Days sketches with Gus Edwards' troupe, and in a comedy group called Nine Crazy Kids. His big break came in 1930, when performing in the George and Ira Gershwin musical Girl Crazy in New York. When actor Gregory Ratoff bought the rights to the show and gave up performing, Gordon took his role as the "Mad Russian".

From 1935 he was a regular on The Eddie Cantor Program, and later Camel Caravan, maintaining his "Mad Russian" character. He also appeared on The Jack Benny Program, and The Abbott and Costello Program. In 1945 he starred in his own film vehicle, How Doooo You Do!!!, directed by Ralph Murphy; the film takes its title from Gordon's distinctive way of introducing himself, which became a catch phrase in the early 1940s. Gordon also appeared in films including New Faces of 1937, Outside of Paradise (1941) and Sing for Your Supper (1941).

Gordon was married to Edna Wheaton, a Ziegfeld Follies performer, from 1924 until their divorce in 1936. He died in California in 1974 at the age of 79. Clampett's Russian Rhapsody (1944), in which a "Gremlin from the Kremlin" says "How do you doooo" with Gordon's inflections before hitting Hitler with a mallet. Abbott and Costello, a contemporary comedy duo, parodied his "How do you dooooooo" catchphrase in an early 1940s episode of their radio series, which was later reissued on vinyl and audio cassette in the 1970s.