American Filmmaker & Visual Effects Artist Bert I. Gordon ‘Mr. B.I.G.’ Dead At 100

Bert I. Gordon, also known as Mr. B.I.G. about his initials and the colossal-sized creatures featured in his movies, has been confirmed to have died at 100 by his daughter, Patricia Gordon, via The New York Times.

Gordon was born September 24, 1922, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was in the Army Air Forces during World War II and, from a young age, had a serious interest in filmmaking. He became a director, producer, and screenwriter. His movies are known for being low-budget B movies with outlandish creatures and ideas.

Gordon’s directorial debut was King Dinosaur in 1955. The movie is about four scientists turned astronauts who head to the planet Nova where they discover supersized insects and reptiles. Impressively, it was shot in seven days and with only four actors. It also utilized stock footage for the scenes with the military and atomic bomb explosions.

Gordon is known for using rear projection enlargement to give the illusion that creatures are colossal-sized by having the actors stand in the foreground. 

He has worked with Orson Welles, Basil Rathbone, Ida Lupino, Lon Chaney, Don Amiche, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Peter Graves. (Via Deadline)

Some of Gordon’s most-known films are The Cyclops (1957), Village of the Giants (1965), The Food of the Gods (1976), Empire of the Ants (1977), and Burned at the Stake (1981). His last film as a screenwriter was Secrets of a Psychopath (2015).