Don Gordon

Don Gordon (born Donald Walter Guadagno; November 13, 1926 – April 24, 2017) was an American film and television actor. His most notable film roles were those in which he appeared alongside his friend Steve McQueen: Bullitt, Papillon (1973) and The Towering Inferno (1974). Between the first and the last of those films he appeared in The Gamblers (1970), WUSA (1970), Cannon for Cordoba (1970), The Last Movie (1971), Z.P.G. (1972), Fuzz (1972), Slaughter (1972), The Mack (1973), The Education of Sonny Carson (1974) and Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) as the ill-fated assistant to protagonist Damien Thorn.

Early life Gordon was born Donald Walter Guadagno in Los Angeles on November 13, 1926. He sold newspapers at the age of eight to help support his family during the Great Depression. He enlisted in the Navy at the age of fifteen after the attack on Pearl Harbor, convincing his mother to say he was eighteen. He served on both the USS Saratoga and the USS Yorktown earning eleven service stars. In 1962, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his role as Joey Tassili on CBS's legal drama The Defenders, starring E.G. Marshall. During 1977–1978, he co-starred in the television show Lucan, and he played Harry in the CBS drama The Contender (1980).

Later career Gordon's last credited film work was the 2005 documentary, Steve McQueen – The Essence of Cool. Gordon was interviewed along with several others who had worked with McQueen, with whom he was a close friend and colleague.

Personal life On February 18, 1948, Gordon (aged 21) married actress Helen Westcott (aged 20) in Oxnard, California. They divorced in 1953. Gordon was married to actress Nita Talbot from 1954 to 1958. He married actress Bek Nelson on December 31, 1959, in Los Angeles. They adopted a daughter, Gabrielle, in 1966, and they divorced on May 23, 1979. Don Gordon was married to his final and fourth wife Denise (née Farr, daughter of actress Felicia Farr) from December 24, 1979, until his death on April 24, 2017.

Gordon died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Selected filmography

Twelve O'Clock High (1949) - First Patient in Base Hospital (uncredited) Halls of Montezuma (1951) - Marine (uncredited) Let's Go Navy! (1951) - Sailor (uncredited) Force of Arms (1951) - Sergeant Webber (uncredited) It's a Big Country: An American Anthology (1951) - Mervin (uncredited) Girls in the Night (1953) - Irv Kellener Law and Order (1953) - Bart Durling (uncredited) The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) - Soldier (uncredited) Revolt at Fort Laramie (1956) - Jean Salignac The Benny Goodman Story (1956) - Tough Boy in Gang (uncredited) The Walter Winchell File "The Bargain" (1958) - Deek Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1959) (Season 5 Episode 9: "Dead Weight") - Rudy Stickney, the Thug Cry Tough (1959) - Incho The Twilight Zone (1959) (Season 1 Episode 13: "The Four of Us Are Dying" - Andy Marshak The Twilight Zone (Season 5, Episode 16, The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross) (1964) - Salvadore Ross The Outer Limits (Season 1, Episode 19, The Invisibles) (1964) - Agent Luis B. Spain The Outer Limits (Season 1, Episode 23, Second Chance) (1964) - Dave Crowell Combat! (Season 4, Episode 8, Crossfire) (1965) - Private Stevens The Lollipop Cover (1965) - Nick Bartaloni 12 O'Clock High (Season 3, Episode 9, The Fighter Pilot) (1966) - Lieutenant Dominic DeJohn Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (Season 3, Episode 7, Deadly Waters) (1966) - Stan Kowalski The Invaders (Season 2, Episode 6, The Trial) (1967) - Charlie Gilman Bullitt (1968) - Delgetti The Gamblers (1970) - Rooney WUSA (1970) - Bogdanovich Cannon for Cordoba (1971) - Jackson Harkness The Last Movie (1971) - Neville Robey Z.P.G. (1972) - George Borden Fuzz (1972) - Anthony La Bresca Slaughter (1972) - Harry The Mack (1973) - Hank The Return of Charlie Chan (1973) - Lambert Papillon (1973) - Julot The Education of Sonny Carson (1974) - Pigliani Columbo (Season 4, Episode 2, Negative Reaction) (1974) - Alvin Deschler The Towering Inferno (1974) - Kappy The Streets of San Francisco (Season 3, Episode 22, Labyrinth) (1975) - Tony Fabrieze Charlie's Angels (Season 1, Episode 2, Hellride) (1976) - Gene Wells Out of the Blue (1980) - Charlie Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) - Harvey Dean, assistant of the Antichrist Damien Thorn The Beast Within (1982) - Judge Curwin Knight Rider (1982) - Police Lieutenant Dickerson The Dukes of Hazzard (1983) - Frank Scanlon Knight Rider (1985) - Randy Cavanaugh Lethal Weapon (1987) - Cop #2 Code Name Vengeance (1987) - Harry Applegate Skin Deep (1989) - Curt The Exorcist III (1990) - Ryan The Borrower (1991) - Charles Krieger