Acting · Terowie, Australia · Born February 23, 1880
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.
MovieSavage Fury
1956
as Ship's Captain
MovieThe Lady and the Bandit
1951
as Old Man
MovieStagecoach
1939
as Bit Part (uncredited)
MovieCode of the Fearless
1939
as Undetermined Minor Role
MovieThe Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
1938
as Scudder
MovieKidnapped
1938
as Clansman
MovieHunted Men
1938
as Cop
MovieThe Buccaneer
1938
as Jailer
MoviePrairie Thunder
1937
as Col. Stanton
MovieHeart of the Rockies
1937
as Ed Dawson
MovieRough Riding Rhythm
1937
as Pete Hobart
MovieEmpty Holsters
1937
as U.S. Marshal Billy O'Neill
MovieShe Had to Eat
1937
as Police Sergeant (uncredited)
MovieSlave Ship
1937
as Helmsman
MovieHit the Saddle
1937
as Rance McGowan
MovieBorderland
1937
as El Rio Sheriff
MovieJungle Jim
1937
as Ship Captain J.S. Robinson
MovieSinner Take All
1936
as Police Officer Murphy (uncredited)
MovieStampede
1936
as Matt Stevens
MovieThe Accusing Finger
1936
as Inner Guard
MovieFury and the Woman
1936
as Anderson
MovieThe Three Mesquiteers
1936
as Brack Canfield
MovieRide 'Em Cowboy
1936
as Jim Howard
MovieGuns and Guitars
1936
as Dave Morgan
MovieSecret Patrol
1936
as Blacksmith Barstow
MovieRobin Hood of El Dorado
1936
as Danglong
MovieThe Prisoner of Shark Island
1936
as Ship's Captain (uncredited)
MovieSilverspurs
1936
as Webb Allison
MovieBar 20 Rides Again
1935
as Buck Peters
MovieEast of Java
1935
as Sergeant, Rescue Party
MovieThe Silent Code
1935
as Commissioner
MovieDiamond Jim
1935
as Engineer
MovieBorder Brigands
1935
as Inspector Winston - RCMP
MovieMurder in the Fleet
1935
as Chief of Police (Uncredited)
MovieWhispering Smith Speaks
1935
as Caboose Passenger (uncredited)
MovieLes Misérables
1935
as Javert's Plainclothesman
MovieThe Call of the Savage
1935
as Freighter Captain
MovieMississippi
1935
as Dealer (uncredited)
MovieThe Outlaw Tamer
1935
as Sheriff Jim Porter
MovieRustlers of Red Dog
1935
as Capt. Trent [Chs. 3-4]
MovieWhen Lightning Strikes
1934
as Lafe Broderick
MovieWagon Wheels
1934
as Couch
MovieThe Red Rider
1934
as Scotty McKee
MovieNo More Women
1934
as Captain of The Hawk
MovieSomewhere in Sonora
1933
as Monte Black
MovieFlaming Gold
1932
as Mack
MovieLawless Valley
1932
as Big Mike Carter, aka El Lobo, aka Texas Rand
MovieQuick Trigger Lee
1931
as Brings note / Director
MovieThe Canyon of Missing Men
1930
as Slug Sagel
Covered Wagon Trails
1930
Breezy Bill
1930
as Sheriff
MovieO'Malley Rides Alone
1930
as Angus McGregor
MovieA Texas Cowboy
1929
as Brute Kettle
MovieSeñor Americano
1929
as Maddox
MovieThe Oklahoma Kid
1929
MoviePioneers of the West
1929
as Tom Dorgan
The Invaders
1929
MovieThe Cowboy and the Outlaw
1929
as Pepper Hardcastle
MovieThe Law of the Plains
1929
as Seagrue
MovieThe Fighting Terror
1929
MovieThe Last Roundup
1929
as Hash
MoviePlunging Hoofs
1929
as Jim Wales
MovieBad Men's Money
1929
as Sheriff Bud Jennings
MovieThe Lawless Legion
1929
as Matson
MovieHeadin' Westward
1929
as Sneezer Clark
MovieBelow the Deadline
1929
as Taggart
Movie'Neath Western Skies
1929
as Dugan
MovieShips of the Night
1928
as Motilla
MovieTwo Outlaws
1928
as Abner Whitcomb
The Old Code
1928
as Raoul de Valle
The Lightnin’ Shot
1928
MovieThe Black Ace
1928
MovieThe Chinatown Mystery
1928
Arizona Days
1928
as Ed Hicks
MovieThe Code of the Scarlet
1928
as Blake
The Devil’s Tower
1928
as George Stilwell
Dugan of the Dugouts
1928
as Capt. von Brinken
The Slaver
1927
as ’Iron' Larsen
MovieGun Gospel
1927
as Bill Brogan
MovieThe Red Raiders
1927
as Captain Ortwell
MovieArizona Nights
1927
as Jeff Decker
The Royal American
1927
as Capt. Burke
The Lost Limited
1927
as Thomas Webber
MovieRed Signals
1927
as Jim Twyler
MoviePerils of the Rail
1926
as Barker's Accomplice at Smelter Junction
MovieCrack O' Dawn
1926
as Earle Thorpe Sr.
MovieThe Lost Express
1926
as Train Engineer
MovieMoran of the Mounted
1926
as Sgt. Churchill
MovieSenor Daredevil
1926
as Jesse Wilks
MovieThe Patent Leather Pug
1925
as James Curtis
MovieThe Fast Freight
1925
MovieRed Blood
1925
as Eagle Custer
MovieDuped
1925
as 'Hard Rock' Ralston
MovieBarriers of the Law
1925
as Steve Redding
MovieOutwitted
1925
as Tiger McGuire
MovieCrossed Trails
1924
as 'Pepper' Baldwin
MovieA Two Fisted Tenderfoot
1924
as Stephen Lawlor
The Whipping Boss
1924
as Livingston
MovieBaffled
1924
as Jack Norton
MovieStormy Seas
1923
as Capt. Morgan
MovieHills of Missing Men
1922
as Capt. Brandt / The Dragon
MovieCold Steel
1921
as Steele Weir
MovieDo or Die
1921
as Capt. Alvarez / Satan
MovieKing of the Circus
1920
MovieElmo the Fearless
1920
MovieThe Railroad Raiders
1917
as Thomas Desmond
MovieThe Hazards of Helen
1917
as Various roles
MovieMedicine Bend
1916
as Whispering Smith
MovieWhispering Smith
1916
as Whispering Smith
A Desperate Leap
1915
MovieThe Mettle of Jerry McGuire
1915
as Jerry McGuire
MovieThe Broken Rail
1915
as Trow - of the Working Crew
MovieA Railroader's Bravery
1915
as Thomas - the Chief of the Gang
MovieThe Broken Train
1915
as Warren - Railroad Employee
MovieThe Railroad Raiders of '62
1915
as Lockwood - the old one-armed Flagman
MovieThe Leap from the Water Tower
1915
as Rand - the Fireman
MovieThe Girl Telegrapher's Peril
1915
as Blake - a Lineman
MovieThe Girl and the Game
1915
as Spike
MovieThe Escape on the Limited
1914
as Brandt - a Defaulting Cashier
MovieThe Black Diamond Express
1914
as Dan Haddon - a Cowboy
MovieThe Flying Freight's Captive
1914
as Rand - a Yeggman
MovieHis Nemesis
1914
as Mammoth - Manning's Business Rival
MovieHelen's Sacrifice
1914
as Benton
Kaintucky Bill
1914
as Kaintucky Bill - a Moonshiner
MovieThe Wives of Jamestown
1913
as The O’Rourke
The Shaughraun
1912
as Corry Kinchela
MovieIreland, the Oppressed
1912
as Lord Kilhannack
The Mayor from Ireland
1912
as Shamus Foley
MovieThe Little Gluers
1912
as Valentine Hay
MovieFrom the Manger to the Cross
1912
as Wise Man 1
MovieThe Poacher's Pardon
1912
as Mr. Wallace - the Gamekeeper
The Grit of the Girl Telegrapher
1912
MovieWinning a Widow
1912
MovieTragedy of the Desert
1912
as The Arab Sheik
MovieCaptured by Bedouins
1912
as Lt. Greig
MovieAn Arabian Tragedy
1912
MovieDust of the Desert
1912
as Sheik Mohammad
Far from Erin's Isle
1912
Vagabonds
1912
as Big Jim
MovieHis Mother
1912
as John Foster
The Fishermaid of Ballydavid
1911
as Policeman
MovieThe Colleen Bawn
1911
as Hardress Cregan
MovieRory O'More
1911
as Commander of the English troops
The Special Messenger
1911
as Royal
MovieRailroad Raiders of '62
1911
as Federal Officer
MovieWhen the Dead Return
1911
as Jacques
The Fiddler’s Requiem
1911
as Dolores' father
Slim Jim's Last Chance
1911
as The Rancher
MovieBy a Woman's Wit
1911
A Sawmill Hero
1911
When Lovers Part
1910
MovieThe Lad from Old Ireland
1910
as Election Agent
Danger Quest
as Col. Spiffy
