Bernice Gordon Explained

Bernice Gordon (January 11, 1914 – January 29, 2015[1]) was an American constructor of crosswords.[2] She created puzzles for many publications after beginning her career in the early 1950s, and holds the record as the oldest contributor to The New York Times crossword puzzle.[3] [4] A 1965 Times puzzle she wrote is credited as the first rebus puzzle, fitting an exclamation point into a single square.[5] She celebrated her 100th birthday in 2014, just a few weeks after the 100th anniversary of the crossword. Her last puzzle was published in the Los Angeles Times on December 2, 2014.[1]

History of puzzling

Having loved doing puzzles as a child,[6] Gordon started creating her own puzzles for fun in the early 1950s, shortly after her first husband died. Soon after, she started submitting them to Margaret Farrar, the first puzzle editor of The New York Times. Despite 6 or 7 quick rejections (due to "Too many abbreviations", unfamiliar words, etc.), her first puzzle was accepted by the Times in 1952, a weekday puzzle for which she was paid $5 or $10. According to current puzzle editor Will Shortz, this was the first of over 150 puzzles of hers that the NYTimes would subsequently print. In 1955, she was assigned the 'Sunday stumper'. This was the first of 9 Sunday puzzles she would author for the Times.

At age 95, she became the oldest known crossword puzzle writer for The New York Times.[7] She subsequently broke her own record by being published in the Times at age 96,[8] 97,[9] 98[10] 99, and again at age 100.[2] Gordon published thousands of puzzles during her 60+ year career, and continued to write new puzzles daily. She called herself a "cruciverbalist," and credited her productivity to chronic insomnia.[11]

Publishers and editors

Newspaper or Publisher Editor(s) Years
The New York Times Will Shortz
Eugene T. Maleska
Will Weng
Margaret Farrar		1952–2014[12] [13] [14] [15]
The Philadelphia Inquirer Herbert Etteson '80s, '90s
Los Angeles Times 2012,[16] 2013,[17] [18] 2014[19] [20]
Simon & Schuster John M. Samson
The Pennsylvania Gazette 2012–2014[21] [22]
The Crosswords Club
The Universal Crossword [23]
Dell Magazine
The Wall Street Journal 2008,[24] [25] 2009
Running Press

Personal life

Gordon was born January 11, 1914, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1935. She married Benjamin Lanard, cofounder of commercial realty company Lanard & Axilbund, in 1935. They had two sons, Ben and Bruce Lanard. Gordon was widowed in 1947, then remarried and added a daughter, Amanda, to the family.

In addition to writing puzzles, Gordon was an abstract painter and a needlepoint artist, finding inspiration in the places she traveled to, from her European honeymoon to Spain, Russia, Singapore, China, India, South America, and her favorite country, Egypt. She used to live in Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square. In January 2014, The Rittenhouse Square Flower Market for Children's Charities (RSFMCC) recognized its 100th-year anniversary with a joint birthday bash also celebrating Gordon's 100th birthday.[26] Times puzzle editor Will Shortz attended Gordon's 100th birthday party in Philadelphia.[12] Gordon had an extensive personal library of reference books.[2] On January 29, 2015, Gordon died of heart failure at the age of 101.[1] [27]

Notable puzzles

Use of symbols and signs

On Sunday, May 30, 1965, Gordon made puzzle history by introducing a convention-busting puzzle with answers including 'COWBOYS&INDIANS', 'CARMEN MIR&A', and 'SC&INAVIA', using ampersand signs in place of letters. This is now a common convention in crossword puzzles. Margaret Farrar initially rejected the puzzle with ten ampersands in it, calling it "trickery", but six months later decided to print it. The puzzle response was overwhelming, both evoking praise for originality, and anger from those who felt tricked. Gordon was also the first to include symbols in her answers, including answers like JIMMY*TER and BI*BONATE, where * had to be substituted for the letters 'CAR'.

Happy Hooker

Gordon once created an X-rated puzzle for the Happy Hooker, aka Xaviera Hollander, a writer and former call girl with a bestselling memoir in the 1970s. Hollander became a family friend after getting to know Gordon's son, Ben Lanard, in Europe. Hollander had to provide the clues and dirty words for Gordon to incorporate.

Collaborations

Norman Wizer

Norman S. Wizer of Malvern, Pennsylvania (deceased August 12, 2013[28]), also a veteran crossword puzzle writer, was one of Gordon's closest friends. The two collaborated often and co-authored puzzles in multiple publications, winning a best puzzle award for their contribution to the Mega Crossword Puzzle Book from Simon & Schuster.

David Steinberg

David Steinberg, who at 14 was the second youngest puzzle constructor to be printed in The New York Times, paired up with Gordon, then the oldest living Times constructor, on June 26, 2013, to create an age difference-themed puzzle. At the time the puzzle was published, Steinberg was 16, Gordon was 99. Will Shortz introduced Steinberg to Gordon initially. They collaborated remotely and exchanged more than 70 emails.

Awards and recognition

Online puzzles

Notes

  1. Sarah Smith (June 26, 2013). Puzzling collaboration has Phila. connection, The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  2. Peter Mucha (October 4, 2009). At 95, Bernice Gordon is still master of the crossword puzzle, The Philadelphia Inquirer (syndicated by Deseret News). Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  3. Bill Hogan (Nov 2013). Crosswords Are No Problem for Puzzle Maker Bernice Gordon, AARP. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  4. Jim Horne (December 21, 2010). "Interview with Will Shortz", Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of The New York Times. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  5. Will Shortz (December 30, 2011). "The Year in Puzzles, Part 2: The Puzzle Master’s Turn", Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of The New York Times. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  6. Patrick Merrell (September 19, 2010). "Monday: Longevity", Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of The New York Times. Retrieved December 26, 2013.

Notes and References

  1. News: Bernice Gordon, legendary crossword puzzle writer, dies at 101. Vitez. Michael. January 30, 2015. January 30, 2015. The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  2. Web site: Matheson. Kathy. Crossword Creator Bernice Gordon Celebrates 100th Birthday With Puzzle in the New York Times. The Huffington Post. January 16, 2014. January 15, 2014.
  3. Web site: Amlen. Deb. Four Score and Three. Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of The New York Times. December 26, 2013. June 25, 2013.
  4. Petrilla. Molly. Longtime Puzzler (2 words, 13 letters). The Pennsylvania Gazette. December 26, 2013. Nov–Dec 2012.
  5. News: Bernice Gordon, Prolific Crossword Constructor, Dies at 101. January 29, 2015. January 29, 2015. Amlen. Deb. The New York Times.
  6. News: Mucha. Peter. Construction worker Bernice Gordon, 95, has been coming across with downright nifty crossword puzzles for 60 years.. The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 26, 2013. September 24, 2009.
  7. Web site: Horne. Jim. Half-Century Puzzlemakers' Week: Notes from Will Shortz. Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of The New York Times. December 26, 2013. September 9, 2009.
  8. Web site: Horne. Jim. Ask Will #8. Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of The New York Times. December 26, 2013. January 17, 2010.
  9. Web site: Gaffney. Thomas. Tuesday: Ain't She Sweet. Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of The New York Times. December 26, 2013. August 29, 2011.
  10. Web site: Amlen. Deb. In Search of Bernice Gordno. Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of The New York Times. December 26, 2013. July 1, 2012.
  11. Web site: Kilpatrick. Kate. Celebrating 100 years of cr_ssw_rds. Aljazeera America. January 4, 2014. December 18, 2013.
  12. Web site: Amlen. Deb. Location, Location, Location. Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of The New York Times. January 16, 2014. January 16, 2014.
  13. Steinberg. David. Pre-Shortzian Constructor Interviews: Interview with Bernice Gordon. The Pre-Shortzian Puzzle Project: Bringing Old New York Times Crosswords into the Digital Age. December 26, 2013. March 2013.
  14. Book: Amende, Coral. The Crossword Obsession: The History and Lore of the World's Most Popular Pastime. Berkley Books. 2001.
  15. Web site: pannonica. David Steinberg and Bernice Gordon's New York Times crossword. Crosswordfiend.com. January 11, 2015. August 11, 2014.
  16. Web site: HeartRx. Thursday, May 24, 2012 Bernice Gordon. Crosswordcorner.blogspot.com. January 4, 2014. May 24, 2012.
  17. Web site: Argyle. Monday, February 4, 2013 Bernice Gordon. Crosswordcorner.blogspot.com. January 4, 2014. February 4, 2013.
  18. Web site: Butler. William Ernest. Monday, February 4, 2013 Bernice Gordon. LAXCrossword.com. January 4, 2014. February 4, 2013.
  19. Web site: Butler. William Ernest. Tuesday, 2 Dec, 2014 Bernice Gordon. LAXCrossword.com. January 11, 2015. December 2, 2014.
  20. Web site: Butler. William Ernest. Tuesday, 2 Dec, 2014 Bernice Gordon. LAXCrossword.com. January 11, 2015. April 9, 2014.
  21. Gordon. Bernice. Crossword. The Pennsylvania Gazette. December 26, 2013. Sep–Oct 2013.
  22. Gordon. Bernice. Crossword. The Pennsylvania Gazette. December 26, 2013. Nov–Dec 2012.
  23. Parker. Timothy E.. Universal signs Bernice Gordon. rec.puzzles.crosswords . December 26, 2013. October 9, 1997.
  24. https://www.wsj.com/edition/resources/applets/puzzle-20080307.html Built to Order
  25. Web site: Renaldo. Amy. Friday 3/7. Diary of a Crossword Fiend. December 26, 2013. March 6, 2008.
  26. Pomerantz. Barbara. Centennial Activities Announcement. rittenhousesquareflowermarket.com. December 26, 2013. September 20, 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150130003344/http://rittenhousesquareflowermarket.com/home/press-releases/centennial-activities-announcement/. January 30, 2015. mdy-all.
  27. News: Margalit Fox . Bernice Gordon, Who Toyed With Words, Dies at 101 . . January 30, 2015 . 2015-02-01 .
  28. News: Norman Wizer's obituary (on Legacy.com). The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News. December 26, 2013. August 13, 2013.

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