Gordon Gebert

Actor

Información

  • Date of Birth: 17 October 1941
  • Place Of Birth:  Des Moines, Iowa, USA

Biografía

Gordon Alan Gebert was the only son of Gordon and Violette Gebert. His father was a salesman for a trailer company and later managed sales of truck and bus fleets for the Ford Motor Co. in Iowa. In 1946, a boy was needed for a role in a play for Drake University. Gordon was chosen and received acting lessons through the theatre. In Spring of 1948, Gordon and his parents went to Los Angeles and Gordon started at Pasadena Playhouse in a production of ‘Life With Father’, opposite ‘Victor Jory’. An agent saw him and he was given a bit part in Come to the Stable (1949), which starred screen greats Loretta Young and Celeste Holm. His next film was Holiday Affair (1949), where he got the pivotal role as Janet Leigh’s son. As he tries to pair his widowed mother up with free-thinker Robert Mitchum, Gordon stole the show with an unforgettable performance. The Des Moines Tribune review stated, “Gordon boldly and skillfully walks away with the whole ‘Affair.’ Not from unknowns or has-beens, either. He’s up against such polished operators as Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh and Wendell Corey.” The Milwaukee Sentinel said that the film “shows up young Gebert as a screen natural.” He made more films with stars such as Burt Lancaster, Dan Duryea, Joel McCrea, Ray Milland, and John Wayne. He even portrayed young Audie Murphy in Audie’s autobiographical film, To Hell and Back (1955). As he grew up, he became interested in architecture. Graduating from Van Nuys High School, he attended UCLA and USC for three years. Then he drove across country and stopped at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he applied. He was accepted and never returned to acting. In June of 1966, he graduated with his bachelor’s degree in architecture. He then attended Princeton University and graduated from there with his master’s degree in January of 1968. He taught at Princeton for a year before becoming part of the staff of New York’s City College School of Architecture in July 1969. He is a professor teaching Modeling, Digital Media, Design and Construction Technology. He has been a consultant to various agencies including US Veterans Affairs, US Public Health Service, and the Department of Defense. In 1986, while in line for a flight to a speaking engagement, he met Lizabeth Paravisini, a professor at Vassar. They married and have a son, Gordon Jr.

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