Gordon was born in 1922 in Kenosha, Wisconsin and began making home movies in 16mm after his aunt gave him a camera for his 13th birthday. He dropped out of college to join the Army Air Forces in World War II. After the war, he married and he and his wife began making television commercials. He later edited British feature films to fit half-hour time slots and became a production assistant on "Racket Squad" and camera man on "Serpent Island" (1954).