Cast
J.P. McGowan
Acting
Cast
J.P. McGowan
Known for
Acting
Born
1880-02-23
From
Terowie, Australia
Died
1952-03-26
Also known as John Paterson 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.
The Red Raiders
as Captain Ortwell
Stagecoach
as Bit Part (uncredited)
Les Misérables
as Javert's Plainclothesman
The Buccaneer
as Jailer
Borderland
as El Rio Sheriff
Flaming Gold
as Mack
Mississippi
as Dealer (uncredited)
Two Outlaws
as Abner Whitcomb
Slave Ship
as Helmsman
Gun Gospel
as Bill Brogan
Senor Daredevil
as Jesse Wilks
Arizona Nights
as Jeff Decker
Outwitted
as Tiger McGuire
Red Signals
as Jim Twyler
Silverspurs
as Webb Allison
Lawless Valley
as Big Mike Carter, aka El Lobo, aka Texas Rand
Kidnapped
as Clansman
Vagabonds
as Big Jim
The Prisoner of Shark Island
as Ship's Captain (uncredited)
Baffled
as Jack Norton
Diamond Jim
as Engineer
The Lady and the Bandit
as Old Man
Robin Hood of El Dorado
as Danglong
Jungle Jim
as Ship Captain J.S. Robinson
Hit the Saddle
as Rance McGowan
The Accusing Finger
as Inner Guard
Murder in the Fleet
as Chief of Police (Uncredited)
Elmo the Fearless
Border Brigands
as Inspector Winston - RCMP
Somewhere in Sonora
as Monte Black
The Lawless Legion
as Matson
Empty Holsters
as U.S. Marshal Billy O'Neill
Medicine Bend
as Whispering Smith
The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
as Scudder
Crossed Trails
as 'Pepper' Baldwin
East of Java
as Sergeant, Rescue Party
Crack O' Dawn
as Earle Thorpe Sr.
The Whipping Boss
as Livingston
Savage Fury
as Ship's Captain
Secret Patrol
as Blacksmith Barstow
Hunted Men
as Cop
From the Manger to the Cross
as Wise Man 1
The Code of the Scarlet
as Blake
Breezy Bill
as Sheriff
Guns and Guitars
as Dave Morgan
The Hazards of Helen
as Various roles
The Railroad Raiders
as Thomas Desmond
Railroad Raiders of '62
as Federal Officer
Bar 20 Rides Again
as Buck Peters
The Outlaw Tamer
as Sheriff Jim Porter
An Arabian Tragedy
Headin' Westward
as Sneezer Clark
The Slaver
as ’Iron' Larsen
No More Women
as Captain of The Hawk
The Red Rider
as Scotty McKee
'Neath Western Skies
as Dugan
The Old Code
as Raoul de Valle
The Lost Limited
as Thomas Webber
Prairie Thunder
as Col. Stanton
The Girl and the Game
as Spike
Sinner Take All
as Police Officer Murphy (uncredited)
Whispering Smith Speaks
as Caboose Passenger (uncredited)
Rustlers of Red Dog
as Capt. Trent [Chs. 3-4]
The Royal American
as Capt. Burke
The Lad from Old Ireland
as Election Agent
Stampede
as Matt Stevens
Rough Riding Rhythm
as Pete Hobart
Barriers of the Law
as Steve Redding
Code of the Fearless
as Undetermined Minor Role
Wagon Wheels
as Couch
The Three Mesquiteers
as Brack Canfield
Danger Quest
as Col. Spiffy
Fury and the Woman
as Anderson
She Had to Eat
as Police Sergeant (uncredited)
The Invaders
The Poacher's Pardon
as Mr. Wallace - the Gamekeeper
Below the Deadline
as Taggart
The Fishermaid of Ballydavid
as Policeman
The Fast Freight
Kaintucky Bill
as Kaintucky Bill - a Moonshiner
By a Woman's Wit
When Lovers Part
The Call of the Savage
as Freighter Captain
A Two Fisted Tenderfoot
as Stephen Lawlor
The Last Roundup
as Hash
Perils of the Rail
as Barker's Accomplice at Smelter Junction
Quick Trigger Lee
as Brings note / Director
Hills of Missing Men
as Capt. Brandt / The Dragon
The Chinatown Mystery
The Black Diamond Express
as Dan Haddon - a Cowboy
The Patent Leather Pug
as James Curtis
The Shaughraun
as Corry Kinchela
Dugan of the Dugouts
as Capt. von Brinken
The Fighting Terror
The Fiddler’s Requiem
as Dolores' father
The Colleen Bawn
as Hardress Cregan
Do or Die
as Capt. Alvarez / Satan
Ride 'Em Cowboy
as Jim Howard
Ireland, the Oppressed
as Lord Kilhannack
The Canyon of Missing Men
as Slug Sagel
The Silent Code
as Commissioner
His Mother
as John Foster
The Broken Train
as Warren - Railroad Employee
When Lightning Strikes
as Lafe Broderick
Rory O'More
as Commander of the English troops
The Broken Rail
as Trow - of the Working Crew
The Mayor from Ireland
as Shamus Foley
The Grit of the Girl Telegrapher
Tragedy of the Desert
as The Arab Sheik
Heart of the Rockies
as Ed Dawson
The Cowboy and the Outlaw
as Pepper Hardcastle
King of the Circus
Slim Jim's Last Chance
as The Rancher
Señor Americano
as Maddox
The Railroad Raiders of '62
as Lockwood - the old one-armed Flagman
A Railroader's Bravery
as Thomas - the Chief of the Gang
Covered Wagon Trails
The Mettle of Jerry McGuire
as Jerry McGuire
Bad Men's Money
as Sheriff Bud Jennings
The Law of the Plains
as Seagrue
The Little Gluers
as Valentine Hay
Stormy Seas
as Capt. Morgan
The Escape on the Limited
as Brandt - a Defaulting Cashier
Ships of the Night
as Motilla
The Wives of Jamestown
as The O’Rourke
Whispering Smith
as Whispering Smith
O'Malley Rides Alone
as Angus McGregor
Captured by Bedouins
as Lt. Greig
The Oklahoma Kid
Arizona Days
as Ed Hicks
Helen's Sacrifice
as Benton
Duped
as 'Hard Rock' Ralston
A Sawmill Hero
Moran of the Mounted
as Sgt. Churchill
Pioneers of the West
as Tom Dorgan
The Special Messenger
as Royal
A Texas Cowboy
as Brute Kettle
The Black Ace
The Lost Express
as Train Engineer
Plunging Hoofs
as Jim Wales
The Lightnin’ Shot
The Leap from the Water Tower
as Rand - the Fireman
The Girl Telegrapher's Peril
as Blake - a Lineman
The Flying Freight's Captive
as Rand - a Yeggman
A Desperate Leap
When the Dead Return
as Jacques
Dust of the Desert
as Sheik Mohammad
Far from Erin's Isle
His Nemesis
as Mammoth - Manning's Business Rival
Cold Steel
as Steele Weir
The Devil’s Tower
as George Stilwell
