Barry Gordon

Barry Gordon (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and political talk show host. He was the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, having served from 1988 to 1995. He is perhaps best known as the original voice of Donatello and Bebop in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Early life Gordon was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, United States. Gordon is Jewish. His stepfather, Bob Manning, was a crooner of popular love songs in the 1940s and 1950s, most known for his rendition of Hoagy Carmichael's "The Nearness of You". Acting Childhood career Gordon began performing at age three; in his television debut, he won second place on Ted Mack's Amateur Hour singing Johnnie Ray's "Cry". At six, Gordon recorded "Nuttin' for Christmas". He was the youngest performer to hit a pre-Hot 100 Billboard chart when that song hit No. 6 in 1955. It sold over 1 million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The next year, he charted his second and final single "Rock Around Mother Goose". In circa 1956, Bill Haley recorded a private demo recording "Six Year Olds Can Rock and Roll". He begins the recording (released in 1990) by dedicating it to Barry Gordon.