Obituary: Mort Gordon

Mort Gordon, a licensing executive and a former editor for the Daily News Record, has died at the age of 87.

Gordon worked at DNR, the menswear newspaper published by Fairchild, rising to co-editor and then publisher of Fairchild’s Men’s Wear magazine before he left publishing for the apparel business in 1980. He was SVP of licensing for Playboy Enterprises until 1983 when he started Mort Gordon Enterprises.

“I worked with Mort in various capacities for about 40 years and to fall back on a trusty southern expression, he was a gentleman and a scholar,” said designer Alexander Julian. “He was literally a giant in the menswear business, a true industry icon. I think Mort’s real strength was his innate sense of knowing the heart of the business; he was always on top of what’s really going on. He fostered new talent, he was incredibly generous, and he genuinely loved the people in this industry. He was also a helluva tennis player. I will miss him.”

Stu Nifoussi, publisher emeritus of MR Magazine and MRketplace.com said, “I have known and admired Mort for 25 years. He was a gifted businessman and a guy who created opportunities for his clients, both vendors and licensors. He had great ability to conceptualize ideas, a long list of contacts, and always figured out just what he had to do to make a deal happen. I spoke to him just recently about a licensing deal he was pursuing. The guy was always working on something interesting, and was always fun to talk with. I’ll miss him.”

A memorial service is scheduled for Friday, February 6 at 10:30am at the Westchester Reform Temple, 255 Mamaroneck Road, Scarsdale, NY.