If you remember Gale Gordon, you probably remember the slow burn.
As Theodore J. Mooney on The Lucy Show, Gordon perfected the look of a man who had just about had enough of Lucy Carmichael. He later played Lucille Ball’s boss on Here’s Lucy and appeared on I Love Lucy, Our Miss Brooks and Dennis the Menace.
But there was another side to Gordon that television viewers rarely saw.
He belonged to Borrego Springs.
Gordon’s connection to the desert began in 1948, when he went looking for 10 acres his mother, British actress Gloria Gordon, had purchased as an investment. He couldn’t find the property.
Instead, he found Borrego Springs.
According to a 1969 Borrego Sun article, Gordon’s search for the missing acreage led to repeated trips to the desert, where he eventually fell in love with the landscape. He and his wife, Virginia, bought 150 acres and established what became known as Tub Canyon Farm.
Gordon wasn’t simply a celebrity who owned a desert retreat. He became part of the community.
He served as honorary mayor of Borrego Springs from 1961 through 1974, according to the Borrego Springs Chamber of Commerce. He also served as president of the local Chamber of Commerce and promoted the community while continuing his acting career.
In fact, Gordon’s Hollywood career and his desert life existed side by side. He continued commuting to Los Angeles for television work while maintaining his home in Borrego Springs. A 1961 TV Guide profile described his 150-acre Tub Canyon property as his refuge from Hollywood and noted his role in the local Chamber of Commerce.
Then there was the carob.
Gordon planted carob trees on his property and harvested the beans commercially, becoming one of the few commercial carob growers in the United States. The unusual agricultural venture was part of the life he built away from Hollywood.
He also worked with his hands. Accounts of the ranch say Gordon built much of the house and studio himself and made furniture for the property.
That makes the contrast with his television persona especially striking. The man audiences knew for volcanic outbursts and increasingly exasperated expressions spent his free time in a remote desert community, working on his property, growing trees and taking part in local affairs.
And Borrego Springs had plenty of Hollywood connections. The Borrego Springs Performing Arts Center’s history notes that the community became a favorite hideaway for stars including Bing Crosby, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Burgess Meredith and James Arness. Gordon, however, became one of the town’s most enduring celebrity residents.
His connection to Borrego lasted until the end of his life.
Gordon died June 30, 1995, at age 89 in Escondido. His wife had died only weeks earlier. The Los Angeles Times obituary noted that Gordon had lived for many years at his Tub Canyon Ranch in Borrego Springs.
Today, Gordon remains easy to find on television reruns, where his trademark slow burn is still funny.
But his Borrego Springs story offers a very different picture: a Hollywood actor who found a home in the desert, served as its honorary mayor and traded some of the noise of show business for 150 acres of quiet.
For Gale Gordon, apparently, that was the real role he never wanted to leave.
Read more history stories here.
Sources:
Historic Borrego Sun, “Lost Acreage Brought Gale Gordon To Desert,” originally published June 21, 1969.
Los Angeles Times, “Gale Gordon, ‘Lucy’ Veteran, Dies at 89,” July 2, 1995.
Borrego Springs Chamber of Commerce, Honorary Mayor history.
The Gale Gordon Archive, biographical material and 1961 TV Guide profile.
Borrego Springs Performing Arts Center, history of the community’s Hollywood connections.