Anita Gordon

Biography

At age 6 in 1935, Anita Gordon moved with her family from Texas to Hollywood where she became a successful child star. As a teenager, she achieved singing fame on network radio as a regular on ventriloquist Edgar Bergen's show (allegedly, his famous dummy Charlie McCarthy was smitten with her). She was the voice who said "I don't talk to strangers" on the Buddy Clark hit "Linda" (1946), and she voiced the Singing Harp who helped Mickey Mouse escape from the Beanstalk Giant with "... in his right vest pocket you'll find a key..." for Disney in 1947. In the early days of television, Anita was a regular on the Ken Murray Show, and later a featured singer on the Tennessee Ernie Ford show on ABC. In 1948 she married Dale Sheets, who was later an MCA/Universal executive, and she gave birth to their three daughters. In the 1960s she appeared on various episodic television show, then enjoyed a mini-career as the "ghost singer" for various female film stars in movie musicals, including Jean Seberg in the role of Elizabeth in "Paint Your Wagon" (1969). In the 1980s and 1990s she wrote music and co-produced videos for various international clients including Philippine Airlines and Continental Airlines. Anita and Dale eventually divorced and she later married El Chan; they were married for 41 years. They retired to Newhall, California, where they stayed active and in touch with her three daughters, 9 grandchildren, and 21 great-grandchildren. She was married to him for 41 years. Her health declined rapidly in the year before her death in 2015.