Screenwriter Bernard Gordon, who was blacklisted during the anti-Communist crusades in the 1950s, died 11 May 2007. Born 29 October 1918 in New Britain, Connecticut, he wrote the screenplay for 1962’s The Day of the Triffids.
Gordon also wrote The Man Who Turned to Stone (1957), Zombies of Mora Tau (1957), and Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956), all as Raymond T. Marcus. In addition, he was the producer of 1973’s Horror Express.
In the 1950s, Gordon was subpoenaed to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, which was investigating Communist influence in Hollywood. He was never called before the panel, but an acquaintance named him before the committee, and he was fired from a studio and blacklisted along with hundreds of other film industry workers. He continued to write films pseudonymously, and spent several years in Spain, where he wrote and produced movies. His last movie, which appeared in 1981, was Surfacing.