Shirley Gordon (writer)

Shirley Gordon
Born	December 29, 1921 Geneva, Illinois, U.S.
Died	February 22, 2008(2008-02-22) (aged 86) Glendale, California, U.S.
Pen name	Shirl Gordon
Nationality	American
Education	East Aurora High School
Alma mater	Pasadena City College
Period	1943–1989
Genre	radio, television, children's books

Shirley Gordon (1921 – 2008) was an American writer of radio programs, television shows, and children's books.

Early life

Gordon was born on December 29, 1921, in Geneva, Illinois, to Russell Gordon, a police officer, and Viola LaVoy Gordon. She graduated from East Aurora High School in Aurora, Illinois in 1938.[1]

Writing career

Early in her career, Gordon wrote for and was assistant editor of Radio Life magazine.[2] She was also a publicist for CBS.[3]

Radio and television shows

During the Golden Age of Radio, Gordon wrote scripts for anthology series Suspense ("The Statement of Mary Blake" in 1950[4] and "Death Parade" in 1951[5]), The Whistler, and Elliott and Cathy Lewis' On Stage.[6] When dramatic radio was revived in the 1970s, Gordon wrote scripts for The Hollywood Radio Theatre and Sears Radio Theatre.[7]

From the 1950s-1970s, Gordon, sometimes credited as "Shirl Gordon", wrote episodes of popular sitcoms, including Bewitched, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, and My Three Sons. She wrote 49 episodes of The Bob Cummings Show.[8][9]

Children's books

Gordon published eight books for children in the 1970s and 1980s. Six are picture books and two are chapter books.

• The Green Hornet Lunchbox (Houghton Mifflin, 1970), illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham[10][11]
• Grandma Zoo (Harper & Row, 1978), illustrated by Whitney Darrow Jr.[12][13][14]
• The Boy Who Wanted a Family (Harper & Row, 1980), illustrated by Charles Robinson[15][16][17][18]
• Me and the Bad Guys (Harper & Row, 1980), illustrated by Edward Frascino[19][20][21]

Four of the books were narrated by a girl named Susan about her friend Crystal. All of the Crystal books were illustrated by Edward Frascino.

• Crystal Is the New Girl (Harper & Row, 1976)[22][23]
• Crystal Is My Friend (Harper & Row, 1978)[24][25][26]
• Happy Birthday, Crystal (Harper & Row, 1981)[27][28][29]
• Crystal's Christmas Carol (Harper & Row, 1989)[30][31]

Personal life

Gordon had one son, David Russell Gordon, whom she adopted. Two of her books, The Boy Who Wanted a Family and Me and the Bad Guys, were based on her son's experiences.

Gordon and several of her friends, including actress Barbra Fuller, met every Saturday for years to take walks around Hollywood; in a 1994 episode of Visiting... with Huell Howser, the "Hollywood walking ladies" reminisce about their experiences in Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s.[32]

Gordon died on February 22, 2008, in Glendale, California.[33]

References

1. The Speculum. East Aurora, Illinois: Aurora East High School. 1938. p. 32.
2. "Radio Life" (PDF). November 18, 1945. p. 2. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
3. "Shirley Gordon". Something About the Author. 48: 95–96 – via OCLC.
4. "Between the Commercials". Berkeley Daily Gazette. May 4, 1950. p. 24 – via NewspaperArchive.
5. Smith, Ronald L. (March 8, 2010). Horror Stars on Radio: The Broadcast Histories of 29 Chilling Hollywood Voices. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-5729-8.
6. Goldin, J. David (2019). "Shirley Gordon". radiogoldindex.com. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
7. Ellett, Ryan (October 25, 2017). Radio drama and comedy writers, 1928–1962. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476665931. OCLC 976239218.
8. "Shirley Gordon". IMDb. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
9. "'Whistler' Writer to Speak at School". The Signal. May 2, 1986. p. 2. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
10. Gordon, Shirley; Graham, Margaret Bloy (1970). The green hornet lunchbox. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC 102290.
11. The Green Hornet Lunchbox by Shirley Gordon | Kirkus Reviews.
12. Gordon, Shirley (1978). Grandma zoo. Darrow, Whitney, 1909–1999. (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 006022049X. OCLC 3844217.
13. Grandma Zoo by Shirley Gordon | Kirkus Reviews.
14. Chatfield, Carol; Gerhardt, Lillian N. (January 1979). "Reviews". School Library Journal. 25 (5): 42 – via EBSCOhost.
15. Gordon, Shirley (1980). The boy who wanted a family. Robinson, Charles, 1931– (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0060220511. OCLC 5499030.
16. The Boy Who Wanted a Family by Shirley Gordon | Kirkus Reviews.
17. Ritter, Karen; Gerhardt, Lillian N. (April 1980). "Reviews". School Library Journal. 26 (8): 93 – via EBSCOhost.
18. "For Young Readers". Santa Cruz Sentinel. May 11, 1980. p. 26. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
19. Gordon, Shirley (1980). Me and the bad guys. Frascino, Edward. (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 006022116X. OCLC 6249673.
20. Me and the Bad Guys by Shirley Gordon | Kirkus Reviews.
21. Bearden, Joseph (January 1981). "Reviews". School Library Journal. 27 (5): 60 – via EBSCOhost.
22. Gordon, Shirley (1976). Crystal is the new girl. Frascino, Edward (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0060220244. OCLC 2078042.
23. Crystal Is the New Girl by Shirley Gordon | Kirkus Reviews.
24. Gordon, Shirley (1978). Crystal is my friend. Frascino, Edward (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0060221127. OCLC 3311735.
25. Crystal Is My Friend by Shirley Gordon | Kirkus Reviews.
26. Klingberg, Delores R.; Gerhardt, Lillian N. (March 1978). "Reviews". School Library Journal. 24: 118 – via EBSCOhost.
27. Gordon, Shirley (1981). Happy birthday, Crystal. Frascino, Edward. (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0060220066. OCLC 7275835.
28. Happy Birthday, Crystal by Shirley Gordon | Kirkus Reviews.
29. Stebbins, Pamela Warren (February 1982). "Happy Birthday, Crystal". School Library Journal. 28 (6): 67 – via EBSCOhost.
30. Gordon, Shirley (1989). Crystal's Christmas carol. Frascino, Edward (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0060221275. OCLC 17297398.
31. Hepler, Susan (October 1989). "Crystal's Christmas Carol (Book)". School Library Journal. 35 (14): 41 – via EBSCOhost.
32. KCETOnline (August 26, 2015), Visiting with Huell Howser: Hollywood Ladies, retrieved April 27, 2019
33. "Library of Congress LCCN Permalink n79095489". lccn.loc.gov. Retrieved April 19, 2019.

External links

• Shirley Gordon on IMDb
• Script for On Stage episode "Call Me a Cab"
• Script for On Stage episode "The Bunch of Violets"