Barry Gordon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Barry Gordon
Born	(1948-12-21) December 21, 1948 (age 76) Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Actor talk show host
Years active	1951–present
Spouse(s)	Sally Julian (divorced) Gail Schaper ​ (m. 1993)​
Children	2
President of the Screen Actors Guild
In office April 13, 1988 – July 11, 1995
Preceded by	Patty Duke
Succeeded by	Richard Masur

Barry Gordon (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and political talk show host. He is famous for being the voice of characters like Donatello and Bebop in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. He also served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild for seven years, from 1988 to 1995.

Barry Gordon's Early Life

Barry Gordon was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, in the United States. He is from a Jewish family. His stepfather, Bob Manning, was a popular singer in the 1940s and 1950s. Bob Manning was well-known for his song "The Nearness of You".

Barry Gordon's Acting Career

Starting as a Child Actor

Barry Gordon started acting when he was only three years old. His first TV appearance was on Ted Mack's Amateur Hour. He won second place by singing "Cry" by Johnnie Ray.

At six years old, Barry recorded a song called "Nuttin' for Christmas". This song became a big hit in 1955. It sold over one million copies and earned a gold disc award. He was the youngest performer to have a song on the Billboard charts at that time.

As a child, Barry also appeared on many famous TV shows. These included The Jackie Gleason Show, The Jack Benny Program, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He played Humberto in Sally and Chopper in Leave It to Beaver.

In 1962, he acted in the film Pressure Point. At 13, Barry started performing on Broadway in the play A Thousand Clowns. He was even nominated for a Tony Award for this role. He later acted in the movie version of A Thousand Clowns in 1965. His first movie role was in The Girl Can't Help It in 1956.

Acting as a Teenager and Adult

As a teenager, Barry Gordon starred in the 1967 comedy-horror film The Spirit Is Willing. In the 1970s, he appeared in the TV show Fish. He was also a regular on The New Dick Van Dyke Show from 1973 to 1974.

Barry became a familiar face in many movies and TV shows. He often played interesting supporting characters. On Archie Bunker's Place, he played Gary Rabinowitz, a lawyer. He also had guest roles on shows like Barney Miller and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. More recently, he played a Rabbi on Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Voice Acting Roles

Barry Gordon is well-known for his voice acting. His most famous voice roles are Donatello and Bebop in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. He also voiced Jake "Razor" Clawson in SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron.

He lent his voice to many other animated shows. These include Jabberjaw (as Clamhead) and The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! (as Captain Marvel Jr.). He was also the voice of Inky in Pac-Man. You might also recognize his voice as "Quicky" the Nesquik Bunny in commercials.

In 2009, he voiced the Cocker Spaniel in a Webkinz music video. He returned to voice Donatello and Bebop in the 2012 Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. In 2022, he voiced Donatello again for the video game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. This was his first time voicing Donatello in a video game.

Barry Gordon's Other Activities

When Barry Gordon was in his mid-30s, he went back to school. He studied political science at California State University, Los Angeles. He then went to Loyola Law School and became a lawyer in 1991.

He became the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild. This is a union that represents actors. He held this important position for seven years.

In 1998, Barry Gordon ran for United States Congress as a member of the Democratic Party. He ran in the Pasadena, California area. He was not elected, losing to Republican Party candidate James Rogan.

Barry has also hosted several political talk shows. He started a live call-in show on a local cable TV channel in Pasadena. He also hosted radio talk shows on KRLA and KCAA Radio. Since 2007, he has taught classes about politics and media at California State University, Los Angeles. In 2008, he started his own daily Internet talk show called Left Talk.

Barry Gordon's Personal Life

Barry Gordon's first marriage was to Sally Julian. He married Gail Schaper, a business psychologist, in 1993. They have two children together.

Filmography

Movies

Television Shows

Discography

Albums

• Bright Idea / A Fairy Tale (1965) - Attributed to Richard Hoh, Liz Seneff & Barry Gordon
• Yes Sir, That's My Baby (1966)
• Pieces Of Time (1971)
• Distant Songs (1989)
• Santa Swings (1997)
• The World Is Mine / The Pop Recordings 1964-1971 (2019) (Compilation Album)

Singles & EP's

• I Can Whistle (1956)
• Rock Around Mother goose (1956)
• Rock Little Chillun (1956)
• 10 Years To Go (1956)
• I Like Christmas (I Like It, I Like It) / Zoomah, The Santa Claus From Mars (1956)
• Yes! We Have No Bananas / The Thief (1957)
• They / Katy (1958)
• Rabbit Habit / The Bluebird Song (1958)
• She's Got Soul (1961)
• You Can't Lie To A Liar / You Can't See The Trees (For The Forest) (1962)
• Go Back Little Tear (1964)
• Sealed With A Kiss (1965)
• Let Me Try (1965)
• True Love Can Never Die (1965)
• Angelica (1967)
• The Girl I Left Behind / A House Built On Sand (1968)
• The Days Of Pearly Spencer (1968)
• You Can't Love A Child Like A Woman (1969)

Video Games

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge - Donatello, Bebop
• Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway - Donatello
• Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 - Donatello