Re-Animator filmmaker Stuart Gordon passed away Tuesday night at the age of 72. Born on August 11, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois, Gordon attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he became involved in experimental theater, mounting radical productions with sometimes extreme subject matter that pointed the way to his later work as a maker of over-the-top horror films. He later founded The Organic Theater Company with his wife Carolyn Purdy-Gordon.
Gordon’s theater work eventually did lead him to the world of film, where he made a momentous debut with his 1985 feature Re-Animator, a gruesome and comical H.P. Lovecraft adaptation that established the director as a unique cinematic talent. Gordon followed up Re-Animator with the equally horrific cult films From Beyond and Dolls before making the leap to studio filmmaking as the co-creator of Disney’s Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, which would go on to be a hit with $222 million at the global box office. But Gordon’s flirtation with the mainstream did nothing to dampen his love of cult cinema as he soon returned to the director’s chair for the post-apocalyptic sci-fi film Robot Jox and the Poe adaptation The Pit and the Pendulum.
As reported by Variety, Gordon died on Tuesday night aged 72. No cause of death has yet been released. He’s survived by his wife Purdy-Gordon, daughters Suzanna, Jillian and Margaret Gordon, four grandchildren and his brother, David George Gordon.
Though best known for his gory and hilarious horror films, Gordon also made an impact in other genres. In 1992 he directed Christopher Lambert in the action film Fortress, then returned to horror by producing 1993’s Body Snatchers, a remake of the classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers. 1995 marked something of a return home for Gordon as he directed Re-Animator stars Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton in the direct-to-video horror film Castle Freak, and in 1996 he teamed with Dennis Hopper for the satiric sci-fi film Space Truckers.
Gordon’s last feature film directorial effort came with 2007’s Stuck, starring Mena Suvari and Stephen Rea. The director also did work on television, directing an episode of Honey, I Shrunk the Kid: The TV Show as well as an installment of the anthology series Masters of Horror. Most recently, Gordon was again active in the theater, directing Re-Animator star Combs in the solo show Nevermore…An Evening with Edgar Allen Poe and directing Re-Animator: The Musical. Though theater was clearly his first love and one he returned to later in his life, there’s no question Gordon made his greatest impact as a director of unforgettable and highly influential genre movies. Re-Animator in particular stands as one of the great 1980s horror films and a key movie in the evolution of the horror-comedy genre.
Rest In Peace Stuart Gordon: August 11, 1947 - March 24, 2020
Source: Variety