Gordon Douglas Movies and Career Information

Gordon Douglas (December 15, 1907 – September 29, 1993) was an American film director, who directed many different genres of films over the course of a five-decade career in motion pictures. He was a native of New York City. Born Gordon Douglas Brickner, Gordon Douglas began his career as a child actor. As a teenager, he worked at the Hal Roach Studios, working in the office and appearing in bit parts in various Hal Roach films. He made walk-on appearances in at least three Our Gang shorts: Teacher’s Pet, Big Ears, and Birthday Blues. By 1934, Douglas was assistant to director Gus Meins, and served as assistant director on Laurel and Hardy’s 1934 film Babes in Toyland, and on the Our Gang comedies made between 1934 and mid-1936. Beginning with Bored of Education in 1936, Our Gang moved from two-reel (twenty-minute) comedies to one-reel (ten-minute) comedies, and Douglas became the senior director of the series. Bored of Education won the 1936 Academy Award for Live Action Short Film, and was the only Our Gang entry ever honored with the award. Douglas remained with the series as director for two years. His Our Gang shorts, featuring Spanky, Alfalfa, Darla, Porky, Buckwheat, Waldo,