KITTY CORNER
Talk to a financial planner about making money and you may be told to buy some stocks or bonds. Talk to novelist and screenwriter Gordon Gordon and you’ll get some different advice.
Buy a cat.
In 1961, Gordon and his wife, Mildred, purchased a cat for $2 from the Los Angeles Humane Society. Two years later, that same feline inspired them to write “Undercover Cat,” which sold more than 4 million copies. That book spawned the 1965 Disney hit “That Darn Cat,” which the Gordons co-wrote as well. The story will soon find its third life this Valentine’s Day, when Disney releases a remake starring “The Addams Family’s” Christina Ricci.
“That [cat] was the best investment we ever made,” says Gordon, 90. “Better than AT&T; or any other stock.”
Upon bringing the black tomcat home, the Gordons quickly realized that they had purchased a problematic pet. The boisterous cat soon scared away all of the cats and dogs in his Encino neighborhood, Gordon says. So notorious became this feline that they named him Darn Cat, or D.C. for short.
“Undercover Cat” tells the tale of Informant X-14, a cat put under surveillance by the FBI. In the story, a bank teller taken hostage by robbers puts a bracelet around D.C.’s neck. When D.C.’s owner discovers the bracelet, she calls the police and they watch the cat to see if it will return to the robbers.
“Our real cat had gone from house to house begging for food,” Gordon says. “He was the poor starving cat that ‘the Gordons never fed.’ People took kindly to him and fed him.” As a result, D.C. often returned to the homes where the people treated him best. D.C. obviously found some TLC along the way, for the cat grew to 25 pounds.
Though already popular novelists at the time, having published several books, the Gordons found their greatest success with the help of their furry muse. More than 30 years later, Gordon says he still receives residuals from the original film, including a check last week from a European theater showing the movie. In fact, a plaque beside the door of Gordon’s Tucson home reads: “This home was bought and endowed by a cat.”
In all, Mildred, who died in 1978, and Gordon published 20 novels, including works that inspired the films “Experiment in Terror” (for which they also wrote the screenplay) and “Down Three Dark Streets.” Their books sold more than 14 million copies.
As for D.C., who died in 1971 at the age of 16, Gordon says he never quite cared about the hoopla surrounding him or “That Darn Cat.” He had more important issues to think about.
“Our cat was a very religious cat,” Gordon says. “He prayed in front of the refrigerator every day. I don’t think that he was too impressed that there was a movie being made about him. The only thing he cared about was what was in the refrigerator.”