Former child star Susan Aviner dies

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Susan Aviner, who as button-cute Susan Gordon shared the screen with the likes of Danny Kaye, Ed Wynn and Ronald Reagan, has died. The former child star was 62.

Aviner, who lived in Teaneck, N.J., died Dec. 11. The cause was thyroid cancer, her family said.

Susan Gordon began acting at age 8 with a role in the movie "Attack of the Puppet People," directed by her father, Bert I. Gordon. The following year, she played the daughter of jazzman Loring "Red" Nichols (Kaye) in the "The Three Pennies," also starring Louis Armstrong. The New York Times singled out her performance.

In 1959, she appeared opposite Ed Wynn's Kriss Kringle in a live NBC production of "Miracle on 34th Street."

In 1962, she was in a General Electric Theater production, "My Dark Days," with Ronald Reagan.

Her other television credits include "My Three Sons," "Gunsmoke," and the "Twilight Zone" episode titled "The Fugitive."

Susan Gordon acted through her teens and, during college, participated in a study-abroad program.

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After visiting more than 30 countries, she fell in love with Tokyo and stayed. She rediscovered her Jewish roots and married Avi Aviner, an Israeli who served as leader of the Jewish community in Tokyo.After moving to Israel, then Los Angeles, the family settled in Teaneck in 1987.

Survivors include her husband of 34 years and her six children.

-- The Record