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.

J.P. McGowan

J.P. McGowan

Biography

Gun Gospel

Señor Americano

Whispering Smith

Stagecoach

Baffled

The Slaver

Stormy Seas

Danger Quest

Duped

The Invaders

Kaintucky Bill

Les Misérables

The Red Raiders

His Nemesis

The Lightnin’ Shot

Medicine Bend

Cold Steel

The Whipping Boss

The Patent Leather Pug

The Code of the Scarlet

The Devil’s Tower

The Old Code

The Mettle of Jerry McGuire

The Prisoner of Shark Island

Fury and the Woman

The Special Messenger

The Lost Limited

Murder in the Fleet

The Accusing Finger

Bad Men's Money

The Buccaneer

Silverspurs

Slave Ship

Dugan of the Dugouts

The Grit of the Girl Telegrapher

Robin Hood of El Dorado

The Three Mesquiteers

Diamond Jim

Elmo the Fearless

Dust of the Desert

Hills of Missing Men

The Broken Rail

Pioneers of the West

Helen's Sacrifice

Rustlers of Red Dog

An Arabian Tragedy

Moran of the Mounted

The Black Diamond Express

A Desperate Leap

She Had to Eat

The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok

The Lost Express

The Girl Telegrapher's Peril

A Two Fisted Tenderfoot

A Railroader's Bravery

Rough Riding Rhythm

Somewhere in Sonora

The Lady and the Bandit

Sinner Take All

The Fast Freight

Mississippi

East of Java

Hunted Men

The Fiddler’s Requiem

The Flying Freight's Captive

The Red Rider

The Broken Train

Hit the Saddle

Guns and Guitars

The Law of the Plains

The Outlaw Tamer

Covered Wagon Trails

Ride 'Em Cowboy

By a Woman's Wit

Do or Die

The Lad from Old Ireland

The Girl and the Game