You were legendary and yet never in my estimation, respected enough.
In truth, as a writer, director and producer, you held your own with such greats as George A. Romero, John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, Larry Cohen, Wes Craven, David Cronenberg and even James Whale, Tod Browning, Freddy Francis and Terence Fisher: an indisputable king of classic horror and fantastic fiction.
The proof is in the pudding: "Re-Animator"; "From Beyond"; "Dagon": "Castle Freak"; "The Pit and the Pendulum '91"; "Robot Jox"; "Robo Warriors"; "Body Snatchers '93"; "Progeny"; "Dolls"; "Fortress"; "Daughter of Darkness"; "Deathbed"; "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"; "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid"; "The Dentist"; "Space Truckers"; "Edmund"; "Stuck"; "King of the Ants"; "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit"; "Fear Itself: the Eater"; and two excellent "Masters of Horrors" episodes "Dreams of the Witch House" and "The Black Cat".
Each of these examples stands as a testament to your unique style and ability to transform the strangest into the most beautiful and sublime.
There was only ever one Stuart Gordon. In this respect, it's safe to say, there will never be another to rival your visionary grace.
For "The Twilight Zone", you occupied "Little Girl Lost" and for "The Outer Limits", "The Mutant". For "Star Trek, it was "A Taste of Armageddon"; for "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", "The Enemies".
For horror-film fans, you entered "Re-Animator", "The Arrival '91" and "Netherworld". For SF-film fans, there was "The Dark Side of the Moon" and the mighty "Robot Jox".
You were a welcome visitor to such series as "Mission: Impossible"; "Wonder Woman"; "Police Woman"; "The Virginian"; "Tales of Wells Fargo"; "Magnum P.I."; "Riptide"; "The Profiler"; "Quincy"; "Matlock"; "The A-Team"; "Hardcastle and McCormick"; "Dallas"; "Falcon Crest"; "Bridget Loves Bernie"; "The Powers of Matthew Star"; and "The Scarecrow and Mrs. King".
You were a familiar face, indeed, Mr. Sampson, and a versatile one at that, who made any production all the richer. You will be missed, my friend, but your work will always remain cherished, admired and enjoyed.
You were a character actor for all character actors to learn from and aspire to be, Mr. Koslo: cool, creepy and kind.
You especially shined in pulpy, hard-hitting cinema, covering the bases to an exhausting extent: "Nam's Angels/the Losers"; "Love and Bullets"; "The Stone Killer"; "Mr. Majestyk"; "Joe Kidd"; "Rooster Cogburn"; "Cleopatra Jones"; "Freebie and the Bean"; "The Drowning Pool"; "The Annihilators"; "Bootleggers"; "Inferno '99"; "Vanishing Point '71"; "Loose Cannons"; and the ominous "Omega Man".
You also made your way through a slew of television series, including "The Incredible Hulk"; "The Fall Guy"; "The A-Team"; "Galactica 1980"; "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century"; "Mission: Impossible"; "The Dukes of Hazzard"; "Longstreet"; "T.J. Hooker"; "Quincy" and "Hunter".
To many (myself included), your stand-out role came as the mad, Russian antagonist, Alexander in the cult classic, "Robot Jox". Man, you should have won an Oscar for that!!!
Without question, your varied personas and stupendous skills will inspire whatever exciting sectors you may now roam. As for our terrestrial realm, you left an incomparable legacy, to be relished for years to come.
