Doug Gordon, M.D.: The Film Doctor
by Kathy Hagood
It helps to have a sense of humor in the medical profession, especially
during these days of managed health care and malpractice lawsuits. And
Dr. Doug Gordon, M.D., has made an art of it.
The Space Coast, Fla.,
diagnostic radiologist combined his medical expertise and comedic sense
to write and produce “National Lampoon’s RoboDoc,” set to premier May 10
at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando.
“RoboDoc” is an outrageous
take on what happens when the perfect doctor, a robot, is created to
help a hospital avoid malpractice lawsuits, and a deliciously villainous
malpractice attorney sets out to sabotage those efforts.
With star power like Alan Thicke, David
Faustino, Michael Winslow, David DeLuise, Corin Nemec and Will Haze and
the reach of the National Lampoon distribution network, the humorous
film will seriously raise Gordon’s profile.
“Most of my patients have no idea that
I write comedy in addition to practicing medicine. I’ve kept the two
things separate until this project,” said Gordon of his practice with
Open MRI of Rockledge and Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach, Fla.
Gordon’s partners supported his RoboDoc
efforts, allowing him to take three months off while the movie was being
filmed.
The radiologist wrote the
movie in collaboration with his eldest brother Scott Gordon, M.D., a
Kissimmee, Fla., orthopedic surgeon. Scott Gordon also wrote and created
the music for the film, served as the executive producer and had a small
part. Brother Tom, a popular New Jersey talk radio show host on 101.5
FM, served as associate producer and creative consultant. Their mother,
Sydelle, who lives in Clermont, Fla., with their father, Bernard, had a
bit part in the film.
The three brothers have
worked together on various comedy projects over the years. Tom Gordon
has often served as the promoter,marketer and business consultant for
the group.
“My Dad told us always to
stick together. He held up a pencil and showed how easy it was to break,
and then held up seven pencils (in a bunch) and showed how they couldn’t
be broken,” Gordon said.
It was Scott Gordon who
first served as a model for Doug Gordon’s interest in both comedy and
medicine. Nine years Doug Gordon’s senior, the older brother’s college
adventures provided the fodder that inspired the younger brother’s comic
strips.
“My Dad kept copies of
them all,” Doug Gordon said.
The attention 10-year-old
Doug Gordon gained from his first attempts at comedy writing led him to
write a humor column for his New York high school and college newspapers
and later one for his medical school newsletter. Humor columnist Dave
Barry was his hero, and Gordon focused his sharp wit on social
commentary and political humor.
He first became interested in medicine
after his older brother Scott pursued a medical degree.
“Scott blazed the trail for me, and I
followed in his footsteps,” Doug Gordon said. “Although I enjoyed comedy
writing, and it was a great creative outlet for me, it wasn’t what I
considered a serious profession.”
But neither was Gordon interested in
becoming “a Marcus Welby type doctor.” He became fascinated by radiology
when he came across the specialty during medical school. Reading CAT
scans reminded him of geography, which Gordon had always enjoyed and
excelled in.
“I thought ‘this is the geography of
the body.’ I’m a visual person, so looking at images all day sounded
great to me,” Gordon said. “But I had no idea how much I’d have to study
because of my choice.”
Radiology is especially challenging
because of the need to understand the body from the top of the head to
the bottom of the feet, he said.
While Gordon was working on his medical
degree, one of his older brothers, Tom, suggested they work together on
some song parodies. Brothers Jason, now an attorney based in Cocoa
Beach, and Scott also became part of The Gordon Brothers team.
The brothers’ work wasn’t an overnight
success, but they kept at it and from 1988 to 1994 wrote radio comedy
bits for Alan Colmes, Rush Limbaugh and the All Star Comedy Network.
Doug Gordon’s next project
was to write a humor book, “The Loser’s Guide to Life,” published in
1995. The book was based on his own dating frustrations.
“I had always been a bit of a nerd and
been so focused on my career I hadn’t had much success dating,” he said.
After trying without
success to get an agent and a publisher for the book, Doug Gordon met
Paul Maluccio of Blue Note Publishing in Cape Canaveral. The Gordon
brothers convinced Barnes and Noble to pick up the self-published title,
and also collaborated on the follow-up “The Celebrity Who’s Who of
Losers” book in 1996.
Two years later Doug Gordon and his
brothers created a radio comedy show, “The Gordon Brothers Weekend
Revue,” which aired weekly on WDBO Orlando from 1998 to 2002.
“The show was on a Saturday night, so
as you can imagine, I didn’t date much then either,” he said.
A 20-minute sketch Gordon wrote on Bill
Clinton, based on “It’s A Wonderful Life,” convinced him he could handle
longer works, including a screenplay. His wrote his first screenplay,
God Inc., an epic comedy in 1999 after an epiphany during Thanksgiving
dinner at his sister’s house.
Although he wasn’t able to sell the
script at that time, it did help lead him to eventually writing “RoboDoc,”
which he had started keeping notes on in 1998.
“I’ve always written about the larger
issues we all face, and issues facing the health care profession were a
natural concern for me,” he said.
“The Gordon Brothers Weekend Revue”
also spurred Gordon’s interest in television and led him to produce and
create a TV pilot in 2001 called “Going Beserk” with the assistance of
Doug Tynes, then a film and video professor at Florida Metropolitan
University in Orlando, and his students.
Although Gordon was turned
away by all the Los Angeles TV executives he pitched the pilot to, one
encouraged him to get experience in his local Orlando market and come
back.
“It was like telling someone to go get
the wicked witch’s broom … an impossible task,” Gordon said. “But I was
too naïve to know that, so I went and did it.”
In February 2003 Gordon partnered with Tynes to form Gordon-Tynes Productions Inc. on the back lot of Universal
Studios in Orlando to create comedy for both television and film.
They kicked off Comedy
Night School in 2003, which was picked up by Orlando’s WKMG, thanks to
General Manager Henry Maldonado, who insisted he host the show, and then
later other markets and the National Lampoon Network. The highly rated
series showcased the video work of undiscovered comedy talents across
the country.
“Connecting with National Lampoon was
an amazing stroke of good fortune,” Gordon said. “I saw Kato Kaelin at a
conference I was attending and asked if I could have my picture taken
with him. When I asked him what he was doing at the conference, he said
‘I’m with National Lampoon and were looking for new comedy shows.’”
The alliance that started with Comedy
Night School eventually lead to National Lampoon agreeing to distribute RoboDoc.
“Having the backing of National Lampoon
helped bring in so much support,” Gordon said.
Another chance meeting, this time with
actress Andrea Elmer Faustino, former wife of David Faustino, in Orlando
helped Gordon lure Faustino and then other stars, including veteran
comedic actor Alan Thicke, to the film.
“Even though this was an independent
film they all really liked the script and wanted to be a part of the
project,” Gordon said. “I took that as a great compliment.”
Thicke, who plays Dr. Roskin in the
movie, praised Gordon’s work both as a writer and producer.
“What caught my attention about the
script was that he was able to find the humor in health care, which
should qualify him to be president,” Thicke said.
Thicke said working with Gordon was
“pain free”and that Gordon had a “calming effect” on the cast and crew.
“Another bonus for me is
that I got to play a doctor, which pleased my father, who is a
physician. I wimped out of medical school after fainting several times,”
Thicke said.
The movie was filmed in Central Florida
locations using local talent and crew as much as possible. Will Haze of
Tampa plays the “RoboDoc” character.
Gordon went part time as a radiologist
just after his 40th birthday. The move was strongly
influenced by the death of his grandparents the year before.
“I wasn’t happy with my life and knew I
had to make some changes,” Gordon said.
Gordon decided to reinvent himself,
buying two new condos, one in Cape Canaveral and one in Orlando, and
losing twenty pounds.
The drastic changes helped
bring love into his life. He met his wife of one year, Jennifer, at the
HealthFirst HealthPlex on Merritt Island in February 2003. Neither had
ever been married before.
“I knew I wanted to marry her after the
third date. It took her longer to become convinced I was the one,”
Gordon said.
As for Gordon’s next project, he hasn’t
locked himself into anything other than helping National Lampoon to
promote the new movie.
“I promised my wife I’d take a few
months off after the intense schedule we had filming it,” he said.
Will Gordon give up his medical
practice all together if “RoboDoc” is a huge hit?
“When I was young two different palm
readers told me I would pursue two careers during my life, which I
have,” Gordon said. “I’m not sure if I would be happy just practicing
one of them.”