Steve Gordon (director)

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Steve Gordon (director) (1938–1982) was an American screenwriter and film director best known for writing and directing the 1981 comedy Arthur, which starred Dudley Moore. He also wrote The One and Only (1978) and spent years writing for television, including creating the series The Practice (1976).

Early and personal life
Steve Gordon was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, and was raised by his aunt and uncle in Ottawa Hills, Ohio, after his parents died. He grew up in a Jewish family in the Toledo area and graduated from Ottawa Hills High School in 1957. He then attended Ohio State University, where he studied political science and history, graduating in 1961. Gordon lived in New York City after college and never married.

Death and legacy
Gordon died of a heart attack in New York City on November 27, 1982, at age 44. He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio. In 1982, his brother started a scholarship in his name for Ottawa Hills High School students. In 2010, Gordon was inducted into the Ottawa Hills Foundation’s Community Hall of Fame.

TV and film work
- TV (writer/creator): Lotsa Luck (1974); The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1974); Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers (1974); Chico and the Man (1974); Barney Miller (1975); The Practice (creator) (1976)
- Films: The One and Only (1978) (writer); Arthur (1981) (writer/director)

Overview
Steve Gordon had a relatively brief but influential career in both television and film, culminating in the hit film Arthur, for which he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.