Bruce Gordon
Bruce Gordon (Feb 1, 1916, Fitchburg, Massachusetts - January, 20, 2011, Santa Fe, New Mexico) was an American actor. He played gangster Frank Nitti in the TV series The Untouchables. Thereafter, Bruce Gordon was almost invariably cast as a mobster – though often with a morbidly humorous streak.
Biography
Along with Marilyn Monroe and Paul Valentine, Gordon was given an "Introducing" credit in the 1949 Marx Brothers opus "Love Happy". The swarthy, cleft-chinned Gordon played one of the henchmen of villainess Ilona Massey (the other henchman was Raymond Burr).
After spending the 1950s in "heavy" film roles, Gordon was shown in a rare heroic light as American intelligence agent Matson on the 1958 TV series "Behind Closed Doors". He had a recurring role as Gus Chernak in the TV series Peyton Place.
Zappa and Bruce Gordon
Zappa mentioned Gordon in his list of influences inside the album sleeve of Freak Out! (1966), under the heading: "These People Have Contributed Materially In Many Ways To Make Our Music What It Is. Please Do Not Hold It Against Them". Other actors from The Untouchables are also mentioned in this same list: Frank DeKova, Joe De Santis and Herman Rudin.
"I was a massive Spike Jones fan, and ah when I was I guess about six or seven years old he had a hit record called All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth. And I sent him a fan letter because of that, and … hem … I was expecting a photograph of Spike Jones in the mail, but instead I got a photograph of a man named George Rock who was the actual vocalist on that … hem … tune. And he looked like a master criminal. It was like a frightening thing to receive in a mail. [almost laughing] (...) And the, ah … the guy he looked, ah … if you remember the old Untouchables television series, there was a guy named Bruce Gordon who played Frank Nitti? (...) Well, that's what this guy looked like." Frank Zappa - Quoted from Ode To Gravity - Frank Zappa: World Affairs Commentator, Interview by Charles Amirkhanian, KPFA, April 15, 1991.
