I recently checked Victoria Gordon’s webpage and quickly found that she is young, multi-talented and very successful. It states, “Multi-hyphenate performer and creator Victoria Gordon has been described as elegant and witty. Her charismatic sparkle, both onstage and on camera, and her exceptional creativity as a producer, director, and writer, makes her the rare young person who ‘does it all.’”
Gordon has taken all of the things she learned growing up in a show business family and made it her own. A third-generation entertainer, she turns her well-earned respect for the past into new creations for new audiences. Gordon is under the age of 30 and producing her own comedy special which seems remarkable. To help explain that ,Victoria was – literally – born that way. “I grew up in a family of storytellers and creators,” she says with pride. “Everyone on my mom’s side was a musician.” In fact, her great-uncle, Dr. Ernst Katz, was the founder of the world-famous Los Angeles Junior Philharmonic Orchestra – and served as the conductor for 69 years, and was a Southern California institution for decades. It was with the Junior Philharmonic – at the ripe old age of two – when Victoria was first pushed out on stage by her mother, with the instruction to deliver the baton to Dr. Katz. “I don’t remember it, but apparently I stole the show,” she says today. “And that wasn’t something that happened too much when my great-uncle was on stage.”
On her dad’s side, Victoria is the granddaughter of legendary comedy writer Al Gordon, who joined the writing staff of the legendary “Jack Benny Program” just before it made the successful transition to Hollywood. In addition to decades of writing for Benny, the Emmy-winning Gordon later wrote for Carol Burnett, the Smothers Brothers, Flip Wilson, “Three’s Company,” and “227.” His two children also became show business professionals. “Growing up in that house, I had two options,” says Victoria. “I could either get some attention by talking, or let everyone else overtake me. Once I did, I didn’t hold back.”
Victoria Gordon generously agreed to answer some questions for Splash Magazines Worldwide as follows:
To what extent did having multiple generations of your family in show business impact your career as a writer, producer, director, and performer?
I think having so many people working in various facets of the industry taught me that not everything is glamorous. My great-uncle was a symphony conductor who routinely hosted celebrities at his concerts, and not everything that they dealt with backstage was red carpet-ready. And with my grandfather as a comedy writer and my dad as a TV director, I recognized how many people are involved behind the scenes in making any project happen. So I didn’t come in with a rose-colored perspective on the industry, and that’s really due to my family.
But they also made me want to perform and create! I saw the joy that their work brought people, and the way they could guide an audience through so many different feelings, and I wanted to do that, too!
Can you imagine a career other than show business?
I tried. I definitely tried! But I always came back to the idea of performing and writing, and later, producing and directing as well. I studied art history in college, and I considered careers in business or museum work, but I could never shake my love of entertaining others.
You have had a series of Vimeo performances. How difficult was it for you to adapt to the online format?
That was hard! The challenge for me was the lack of an audience. I was so used to having an audience to play off during shows, and I really missed that at first. I still do, but I’ve adjusted to the no-audience format. The second challenge is, of course, the fact that technology is unpredictable. I’ve definitely had a few slip-ups when it comes to my devices and the internet! But we’re all doing our best, and I’m glad I can still perform in these times.
What are the pluses and minuses of online performance replacing in-person performance?
For sure, being online has some freeing elements. Things can be pre-recorded and edited, which is helpful and takes away some of the pressure! And I’ve been able to reach audiences from all over the country and beyond, which would require a tour in non-pandemic times. But I do miss having an audience, and I think audiences miss that communal journey. Plus, people spend so much time staring at screens these days, so a show just means another hour of sitting at a desk, looking at a monitor. But still, we need to be entertained, and if it’s online or nothing, I’ll take online any day.
What are your future plans?
I’m continuing to work on developing some upcoming singing shows! I’m not exactly sure how they’re going to look at this point. And I’m still encouraging people to check out Pilot Season, a web series I recently created and appeared in on YouTube.
Are there any messages you would like to share with Splash Magazines Worldwide readers?
I’d love to encourage them to check out my website, and my Instagram, @thevictoriagordon. There, you can learn all about my existing and upcoming projects and get in touch with me. I always respond! And to Splash: thank you for having me!
Thank you, Victoria Gordon
All photos are courtesy of Victoria Gordon
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