PETER GORDENO (Alias Peter Carlin)
Peter Gordeno, besides being an actor, is well known as a dancer, choreographer and singer. As a dancer, he has been seen in numerous London stage shows and also on television, and the Peter Gordono Dancers were those featured in the successful "Showtime" TV series.
The dark-halred, brown-eyed, 5 11° Peter was born in Rangoon, Burma, of an Italian-American father and hallScot-half-Burmese mother, on June 20, 1939.
He went to school in the Himalayas and, starting at the age of 17, worked in clubs in Calcutta and throughout India, gradually improving as a dancer. Peter did well in India until he felt that the time had come for him to try his luck in England.
In London he worked in various odd Jobs and then heard that "West Side Story" was opening. He went along for an audition, was engaged for the chorus, later took the role of Pepe, and stayed with the show for three years.
Towards the end of the three years, he was asked by TV producer Ernest Maxim to appear in Kathy Kirby snow. And Maxim, who had heard a demonstration record Peter had made, gave him the chance to sing.
Things then began to happen rapidly. His demo disc led to his first record of "You're Following Me" and "I've Got Eyes". He went into the Max Bygraves show, "Do Re Mi", later into "Man of La Mancha", and became more and more in demand as dancer and choreographer on television.
Just before Christmas In 1968, he did a solo spot on the David Frost programme in which he sang a ballad as well as danced, Then followed a 13-week engagement on the TV show "The Saturday Crowd" as singer and dancer, duetting with Anita Harris, and attracting sufficient attention to catch the eye of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, who tested him for "U.F.O."
Meanwhile, Peter had married an English girl, Angela. Their first son, Peter, was born on February 20, 1964; the second, Jeremy, on October 20, 1965; and they have since adopted a daughter, Nicola Jean, who was born on October 2, 1968.
"The twentieth of the month seems to be my lucky day!" comments this young man whose own birthday is 20th as well.