The passing of time makes it increasingly difficult to verify or refute the various versions of his life and career, since many of his former close associates like his Australian colleagues Max Moore and Alan Heffernan are now deceased.

[3] His "Alien Certificate" (see image below), issued to him by the Australian Department of Immigration shortly after his arrival there in 1953, records his birth as 8 March 1923 in Michigan, although other sources claim that Gordon was born in 1917 in Coral Gables, Florida.

It also indicates that he travelled from the U.S. by ship (vessel registration N1025V), disembarking in Sydney, and the attached identifying photograph provides a rare image of Gordon before he underwent plastic surgery to change the shape of his nose.

The mystery that surrounds his activities in Cuba, up until his arrival in Australia, vividly illustrate the contradictory, probably exaggerated and possibly even fictitious stories that Gordon told about his life.

Stocking the stores with TV sets, Gordon hired staff and used his proven hard-sell tactics and by the end of the first week he managed to make enough money to pay his bills; a short time later he apparently sold the business for a handsome profit.

[9] Gordon's new company, which traded as The Big Show Pty Ltd, opened an office at 151 Bayswater Road, Rushcutters Bay and in January 1955 he hired book-keeper and future promoter Max Moore as his assistant.

Adding to its drawbacks, the building had no air-conditioning or forced ventilation and its metal skin made it both unbearably hot in the sweltering Sydney summer (when many concert tours were scheduled) and deafeningly loud in heavy rain.

Lee Gordon's first concert promotion, staged in July 1954, was an all-star variety 'package' tour featuring three of the biggest names in American jazz-vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, drummer-bandleader Buddy Rich and clarinettist-bandleader Artie Shaw, supported by comedian Jerry Colonna.

As revealed by the original court documents (now in the U.S. Archives) Fitzgerald et al. alleged that Pan-American Airlines officials in Honolulu had ordered the singer and two of her three travelling companions (her assistant and cousin Georgiana Henry and her accompanist John Lewis) to leave the plane, even though they all had first-class tickets, and that they were even refused permission to re-board the aircraft to retrieve their luggage and clothing – although her (white) manager Norman Granz was not similarly treated, thus making it obvious that their treatment was based on their colour.

A week after tickets went on sale, receipts were so poor that Gordon faced ruin — according to Max Moore, visits by overseas acts were so rare at that time that many people thought these early tour promotions were hoaxes.

Gordon kicked off the year with Nat King Cole (supported by singer June Christy and comedy duo Dan Rowan and Dick Martin) in early January.

Referring directly to the recent Big Show tours, Wilson claimed that local audiences were "being fooled", that Australian performers who had made their names overseas were unable to get a hearing, and he expressed the (predictable for the time) view that "we all know the British acts are better".

Wilson also expressed amazement that Australian Actors Equity had not objected to the "flooding" of the local entertainment market by American imports, and his criticisms were strongly supported by Gordon Cooper, the manager of the Tivoli Theatre circuit (who not coincidentally were in direct competition with Big Show Pty Ltd. and their venue partners, Stadiums Ltd.).

By the time he arrived in Australia in January 1955 he was on the brink of the peak phase of his 'new' career, and within months he would record and release of two of his greatest albums, In The Wee Small Hours (his first 12" LP), and Songs For Swinging Lovers.

For this tour "Mr Emotions" was supported by tap-dancing duo The Clark Brothers, popular swing singer Helen O'Connell (longtime vocalist of the Jimmy Dorsey big band), and standup comedian Danny Crystal.

[36] 1956 began with the second tour by Nat King Cole in February, which also marked the first time that Big Show staged concerts in the Western Australian capital of Perth, where they were held at Subiaco Oval.

This was followed by the "Record Star Parade", which featured Don Cornell, satirist, radio star and voice artist Stan Freberg, Joe "Fingers" Carr, superstar drummer Buddy Rich and dance duo The Nilsson Twins, which proved very popular with audiences 1957 was a turning point both for Gordon and Australia, with Big Show presenting two of the first genuine "rock 'n' roll" tours to visit Australia, headlined by two of the hottest acts of the emerging genre (see following section), but the company also continued to promote more mainstream tours, with varying success.

Believing that he had found a winning formula with the first Record Star Parade, Gordon booked a similar tour for April 1957, featuring Lionel Hampton, Stan Kenton and vocalists Cathy Carr, and Guy Mitchell.

[38] In September, Gordon presented the third tour by Johnny Ray, supported by Australian jazz legend Graeme Bell, although preparations were disrupted when thieves broke into the Big Show premises on the night of 25 February and ransacked the office in an attempt to steal tickets.

The company's last major promotion of the year saw The Nat King Cole Trio return for their third tour, supported by pioneering Australian indigenous singer Georgia Lee – credited as the first indigenous Australian female singer to record blues music – plus Afro-Caribbean dancing duo Yolanda and Antonio Rodrigues, The Gill Brothers, Joe Jenkins and Joe Martin, who acted as the MC for many Big Show tours.

The all-star bill was headed by three of the biggest rock'n'roll stars in American music at that time -- Little Richard, Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps, and Eddie Cochran, supported by a singer then being touted as "the female Elvis", Alis Lesley.

O'Keefe spent a hellish period in a straight jacket, confined to a padded cell and heavily sedated with drugs, but several days later he was recognised by an Australian doctor, who confirmed his identity.

Johnny "Scat" Brown was, in fact, a pseudonym (invented by Alan Heffernan) for an anonymous American Elvis soundalike vocalist who cut a number of covers of current US hits such as Sheb Wooley's "The Purple People Eater" and David Seville's "Witch Doctor".

Gordon spotted her singing in a Sydney club in early 1959 and signed her as the support singer for the Stan Freberg tour of New Zealand, which also featured the Australian Jazz Quartet and Frank Ifield.

According to Big Show tour manager Max Moore, several acts including Ricky Nelson and Jimmie Rodgers, "felt the full wrath of Australian audiences when they couldn't cut it with the local talent".

As the session progressed, the young staff panel operator expressed his displeasure with the rather staid presentation, and when challenged by Gordon, he proposed adding music 'stings' of the artists being promoted, to make the advertisements more exciting.

While claims of Gordon's connections with organized crime cannot be substantiated, there is some circumstantial evidence in the form of his various business dealings in the early 1960s with notorious Sydney career criminal Abe Saffron, the reputed kingpin of the Kings Cross vice scene.

[43] In January 1962, Gordon travelled to Acapulco, Mexico, where he married his de facto partner, Queensland-born dancer and model Arlene Topfer, with Frank Sinatra acting as his best man.

Presumably through his "Rat Pack" connections in the United States, Gordon was able to promote what proved to be an ill-fated and controversial visit by legendary American comedian Lenny Bruce, who was booked to perform a two-week engagement of standup shows at Aaron's Exchange Hotel in Gresham St in Sydney's CBD.

In most cases, it was the first time that any of the top-ranking American jazz, popular song and comedy artists had visited the country and these tours were enormously significant to the Australian music scene, especially in Gordon's adoptive home of Sydney.