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Bernice Gordon

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Vlanard (talk | contribs) at 21:13, 9 January 2014 (corrected organization name, per conversation with Barbara Pomerantz at this event). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Bernice Gordon (born January 11, 1914) is an award-winning constructor of crosswords. She has written puzzles for many publications since beginning her career in the early 1950s, and is the oldest contributor to The New York Times crossword puzzle.[1] .[2]

History of puzzling

Having loved doing puzzles as a child,[3] Gordon started creating her own puzzles for fun in the early 1950s, shortly after her first husband died.[2][3] 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 from her 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.[3]

At age 95, she became the oldest known crossword puzzle writer for the New York Times.[4] She has subsequently broken her own record by being published in the Times at age 96,[5] 97,[6] 98[7] and again at age 99.[1]

Gordon has published thousands of puzzles during her 60+ year career, and continues to write new puzzles daily. She calls herself a "cruciverbalist,"[3] and credits her productivity to chronic insomnia.[2][8]

Gordon has an extensive personal library of reference books.[3]

Publishers and Editors

Newspaper or Publisher Editor(s) Years
New York Times Will Shortz

Eugene T. Maleska
Will Weng
Margaret Farrar

1952–present[1][9][10][11]
Los Angeles Times 2012,[12] 2013[9][13][14]
Simon & Schuster John M. Samson [9][11]
The Pennsylvania Gazette 2012–present[9][15][16]
The Crosswords Club Will Weng past [11]
The Universal Crossword Timothy Parker past [3][10]
Dell Magazine [9][11]
Wall Street Journal 2008,[17][18] 2009 [3]
Running Press [11]

Personal life

Bernice Gordon was born in 1914, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 1935.[2] She married Benjamin Lanard in 1935, cofounder of commercial realty company Lanard & Axilbund.[3] They had two sons, Ben and Bruce Lanard. Gordon was widowed in 1946, then remarried and added a daughter, Amanda, to the family.[3]

In addition to writing puzzles, Gordon is an abstract painter and a needlepoint artist, finding inspiration in the places she's traveled, from her European honeymoon to Spain, Russia, Singapore, China, India, South America, and her favorite country, Egypt.[2][3]

She used to live in Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square.[4] In January 2014, The Rittenhouse Square Flower Market for Children’s Charities (RSFMCC) is recognizing its 100th-year anniversary with a Joint Birthday Bash also celebrating Gordon's 100th birthday.[19]

Interestingly, the printed Crossword puzzle celebrated its 100th year anniversary just a few weeks before Bernice Gordon's 100th birthday.[8]

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 10 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.[2][3]

She 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'.[3]

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.[3]

Collaborations

Norman Wizer

The late Norman S. Wizer of Malvern PA (deceased August 12, 2013[20]), also a veteran crossword puzzle writer,[10][11] was one of Bernice's closest friends. The two collaborated often and co-authored puzzles in multiple publications,[18] winning a best puzzle award for their contribution to the Mega Crossword Puzzle Book from Simon & Schuster.[3]

David Steinberg

David Steinberg, who at 14 was the 2nd youngest puzzle constructor to be printed in The New York Times, paired up with Bernice Gordon, the oldest living Times constructor,[2] on June 26, 2013 to create an age difference-themed puzzle.[1]

At the time the puzzle was published, Steinberg was 16, Gordon was 99. They collaborated remotely, over more than 70 exchanged emails. Will Shortz introduced Steinberg to Gordon initially.[1]

Awards and Recognition

  • Currently the oldest living contributor to The New York Times, having had her most recent puzzle published at age 99[1][2]
  • Lifetime achievement prize and annual constructor award named after her by Universal Crosswords, editor Timothy Parker, 2000[3]
  • Recognized as one of only a few constructors to contribute puzzles to The New York Times for over 50 years[3][4]
  • Best Puzzle Award for puzzle in Simon & Schuster's Mega Crossword Puzzle Book, co-authored with Norman Wizer [3]
  • Margaret Award for puzzle in Simon & Schusters' Series 217[11]
  • $1000 annual prize in her name by Masterpuzzles for outstanding work appearing on computers[11]
  • The Rittenhouse Square Flower Market for Children’s Charities recognized its 100th-year celebration with a Joint Birthday Bash celebrating Gordon's 100th birthday in January, 2014.[19]
  • Oldest living "New York Times" crossword constructor at age 95[4]
  • Oldest living "New York Times" crossword constructor at age 96[5]
  • Oldest living "New York Times" crossword constructor at age 97[6]

Online Puzzles

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Amlen, Deb (25 June 2013). "Four Score and Three". Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of the New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Petrilla, Molly (Nov/Dec 2012). "Longtime Puzzler (2 words, 13 letters)". The Pennsylvania Gazette. Retrieved 26 December 2013. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Mucha, Peter (24 September 2009). "Construction worker Bernice Gordon, 95, has been coming across with downright nifty crossword puzzles for 60 years". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d Horne, Jim (9 September 2009). "Half-Century Puzzlemakers' Week: Notes from Will Shortz". Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of the New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  5. ^ a b Horne, Jim (17 January 2010). "Ask Will #8". Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of the New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  6. ^ a b Gaffney, Thomas (29 August 2011). "Tuesday: Ain't She Sweet". Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of the New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  7. ^ Amlen, Deb (1 July 2012). In Search of Bernice Gordon "In Search of Bernice Gordno". Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of the New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2013. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  8. ^ a b Kilpatrick, Kate (18 December 2013). "Celebrating 100 years of cr_ssw_rds". Aljazeera America. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  9. ^ a b c d e Steinberg, David (March 2013). "Pre-Shortzian Constructor Interviews: Interview with Bernice Gordon" (Interview). The Pre-Shortzian Puzzle Project: Bringing Old New York Times Crosswords into the Digital Age. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  10. ^ a b c Parker, Timothy E. (9 October 1997). "Universal signs Bernice Gordon". Retrieved 26 December 2013. {{cite newsgroup}}: Unknown parameter |publisher= ignored (help)
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Amende, Coral (2001). The Crossword Obsession: The History and Lore of the World's Most Popular Pasttime. Berkley Books.
  12. ^ HeartRx (24 May 2012). "Thursday, May 24, 2012 Bernice Gordon". Crosswordcorner.blogspot.com. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  13. ^ Argyle (4 Feb 2013). "Monday, February 4, 2013 Bernice Gordon". Crosswordcorner.blogspot.com. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  14. ^ Butler, William Ernest (4 Feb 2013). "Monday, February 4, 2013 Bernice Gordon". LAXCrossword.com. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  15. ^ Gordon, Bernice (Sept/Oct 2013). "Crossword". The Pennsylvania Gazette. Retrieved 26 December 2013. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ^ Gordon, Bernice (Nov/Dec 2012). "Crossword". The Pennsylvania Gazette. Retrieved 26 December 2013. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. ^ Built to Order, by Bernice Gordon and Norman Wizer (edited by Mike Shenk); in the Wall Street Journal; published 2008-03-07; retrieved January 6, 2014
  18. ^ a b Renaldo, Amy (6 March 2008). "Friday 3/7". Diary of a Crossword Fiend. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  19. ^ a b Pomerantz, Barbara (20 September 2013). "Centennial Activities Announcement" (Press release). rittenhousesquareflowermarket.com. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  20. ^ "Norman Wizer's obituary (on Legacy.com)". Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.

Additional References

  1. Sarah Smith (Jun 26, 2013). Puzzling collaboration has Phila. connection, The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved Dec 26, 2013.
  2. Peter Mucha (Oct 4, 2009). At 95, Bernice Gordon is still master of the crossword puzzle, The Philadelphia Inquirer (syndicated by Deseret News). Retrieved Oct 4, 2013.
  3. Jim Horne (Dec 21, 2010). "Interview with Will Shortz", Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of the New York Times. Retrieved Dec 26, 2013.
  4. Will Shortz (Dec 30, 2011). "The Year in Puzzles, Part 2: The Puzzle Master’s Turn", Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of the New York Times. Retrieved Dec 26, 2013.
  5. Patrick Merrell (Sept 19, 2010). "Monday: Longevity", Wordplay: The Crossword Blog of the New York Times. Retrieved Dec 26, 2013.

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