Gordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in musical films of the 1950's. He was born in New Jersey and made his Broadway debut in the mid-1940's, acquiring his first recording contract soon afterwards. He appeared in his first of 27 films in 1848. He soon began an on-screen partnership with Doris Day. This was followed by starring roles in two major Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Carousel and Oklahoma, opposite Shirley Jones.

He was married to Sheila MacRae for 26 years and they had four children. He had one child with his second wife, Elizabeth and they moved to Lincoln, Nebraska. That's where he met and worked with Chuck Penington. "I consider it a high point in my life to have been Gordon's friend and conductor for over 10 years," Penington said. "My songwriting partner, Randy Jaroch and I wrote "One More Time" for Gordon as an autobiographical reference to his struggle with and recovery from alcoholism. We were able to reconstruct this recording from a rough demo recorded more than twenty years ago."

Gordon acted and recorded almost until the end of his life. He died at his home in Lincoln at the age of 64.