Person
J.P. McGowan
Terowie, Australia
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. McGow…
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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.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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1956
Savage Fury
Movie Ship's Captain
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1951
The Lady and the Bandit
Movie Old Man
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1939
Stagecoach
Movie Bit Part (uncredited)
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1939
Code of the Fearless
Movie Undetermined Minor Role
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1938
The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
Movie Scudder
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1938
Kidnapped
Movie Clansman
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1938
Hunted Men
Movie Cop
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1938
The Buccaneer
Movie Jailer
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1938
Where the West Begins
Movie Director
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1937
Prairie Thunder
Movie Col. Stanton
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1937
Heart of the Rockies
Movie Ed Dawson
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1937
Roaring Six Guns
Movie Director
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1937
Rough Riding Rhythm
Movie Pete Hobart
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1937
Empty Holsters
Movie U.S. Marshal Billy O'Neill
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1937
She Had to Eat
Movie Police Sergeant (uncredited)
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1937
Slave Ship
Movie Helmsman
More credits
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1937
What Price Vengeance
Movie Writer
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1937
Hit the Saddle
Movie Rance McGowan
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1937
Borderland
Movie El Rio Sheriff
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1937
Jungle Jim
Movie Ship Captain J.S. Robinson
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1936
Sinner Take All
Movie Police Officer Murphy (uncredited)
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1936
Stampede
Movie Matt Stevens
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1936
The Accusing Finger
Movie Inner Guard
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1936
The Three Mesquiteers
Movie Brack Canfield
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1936
Fury and the Woman
Movie Anderson
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1936
Ride 'Em Cowboy
Movie Jim Howard
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1936
Guns and Guitars
Movie Dave Morgan
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1936
Secret Patrol
Movie Blacksmith Barstow
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1936
Robin Hood of El Dorado
Movie Danglong
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1936
The Prisoner of Shark Island
Movie Ship's Captain (uncredited)
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1936
Silverspurs
Movie Webb Allison
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1935
Bar 20 Rides Again
Movie Buck Peters
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1935
East of Java
Movie Sergeant, Rescue Party
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1935
The Silent Code
Movie Commissioner
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1935
Diamond Jim
Movie Engineer
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1935
Border Brigands
Movie Inspector Winston - RCMP
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1935
Murder in the Fleet
Movie Chief of Police (Uncredited)
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1935
Whispering Smith Speaks
Movie Caboose Passenger (uncredited)
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1935
Les Misérables
Movie Javert's Plainclothesman
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1935
The Call of the Savage
Movie Freighter Captain
