Known For
Acting
Born
Feb 23, 1880
Died
Mar 26, 1952
Place of Birth
Terowie, Australia
Credits
255 titles
J.P. McGowan
Biography
From Wikipedia John Paterson McGowan (February 24, 1880 – March 26, 1952) was a pioneering Hollywood actor and director and occasionally a screenwriter and producer. J. P. McGowan, as he was usually known, remains the only Australian to have been made a life member of the Screen Directors Guild (now Directors Guild of America). Born in the then-bustling railway centre of Terowie in South Australia, McGowan grew up in Adelaide (Islington) and Sydney. He was a capable horseman and served in the Second Boer War with Montmorency's Scouts as a special dispatch rider. McGowan directed and often acted in the first 33 episodes of Kalem's 1914 adventure film series, The Hazards of Helen, which eventually ran to 54 episodes, some still with McGowan's participation. While filming he began a relationship with Helen Holmes, the film's star, and the two married. They left Kalem to set up their own production company, Signal Films, which successfully made a series of railroad melodramas but lost out when their distributor (Mutual) failed. The collaboration ended when they divorced in 1925. There was an adopted daughter, Kaye. McGowan successfully made the transition from silent film to talkies. While never a major star, in a busy career that spanned four decades he is credited with acting in 232 films—mostly strong roles like sheriff or villain—writing 26 screenplays and directing 242 productions. In 1932 he directed a young John Wayne in the 12-episode rail vs airplane serial The Hurricane Express for the independent Mascot Pictures. From 1938 to 1951, as Executive Secretary of the Screen Directors Guild, he fought to secure recognition for the director within the studio systems of the film and emerging television industry. J.P. McGowan died in 1952 in Hollywood and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Known For
Filmography
Savage Fury
Ship's Captain
The Lady and the Bandit
Old Man
Stagecoach
Bit Part (uncredited)
Code of the Fearless
Undetermined Minor Role
The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
Scudder
Kidnapped
Clansman
Hunted Men
Cop
The Buccaneer
Jailer
Where the West Begins
Director
Prairie Thunder
Col. Stanton
Heart of the Rockies
Ed Dawson
Roaring Six Guns
Director
Rough Riding Rhythm
Pete Hobart
Empty Holsters
U.S. Marshal Billy O'Neill
She Had to Eat
Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Slave Ship
Helmsman
What Price Vengeance
Writer
Hit the Saddle
Rance McGowan
Borderland
El Rio Sheriff
Jungle Jim
Ship Captain J.S. Robinson
Sinner Take All
Police Officer Murphy (uncredited)
Stampede
Matt Stevens
The Accusing Finger
Inner Guard
Fury and the Woman
Anderson
The Three Mesquiteers
Brack Canfield
Ride 'Em Cowboy
Jim Howard
Guns and Guitars
Dave Morgan
Secret Patrol
Blacksmith Barstow
Robin Hood of El Dorado
Danglong
The Prisoner of Shark Island
Ship's Captain (uncredited)
Silverspurs
Webb Allison
Bar 20 Rides Again
Buck Peters
East of Java
Sergeant, Rescue Party
The Silent Code
Commissioner
Diamond Jim
Engineer
Border Brigands
Inspector Winston - RCMP
Murder in the Fleet
Chief of Police (Uncredited)
Whispering Smith Speaks
Caboose Passenger (uncredited)
Les Misérables
Javert's Plainclothesman
The Call of the Savage
Freighter Captain
Mississippi
Dealer (uncredited)
The Outlaw Tamer
Sheriff Jim Porter
The Lone Bandit
Director
Rustlers of Red Dog
Capt. Trent [Chs. 3-4]
When Lightning Strikes
Lafe Broderick
Wagon Wheels
Couch
The Red Rider
Scotty McKee
No More Women
Captain of The Hawk
War of the Range
Director
Somewhere in Sonora
Monte Black