J.P. McGowan
Known For: Acting
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: February 23, 1880
Day of Death: March 26, 1952 (72 years old)
Place of Birth: 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. 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.
1951
1939
1938
1937
Actor Rance McGowan
Hit the Saddle
Actor Ship Captain J.S. Robinson
Jungle Jim
Actor El Rio Sheriff
Borderland
Actor U.S. Marshal Billy O'Neill
Empty Holsters
Actor Ed Dawson
Heart of the Rockies
Actor Pete Hobart
Rough Riding Rhythm
Actor Col. Stanton
Prairie Thunder
Actor Helmsman
Slave Ship
Actor Police Sergeant (uncredited)
She Had to Eat
Director
Roaring Six Guns
Director
Rough Riding Rhythm
Writer
What Price Vengeance
1936
Actor Webb Allison
Silver Spurs
Actor Dave Morgan
Guns and Guitars
Actor Matt Stevens
Stampede
Actor Blacksmith Barstow
Secret Patrol
Actor Anderson
Fury and the Woman
Actor Danglong
Robin Hood of El Dorado
Actor Jim Howard
Ride 'Em Cowboy
Actor Brack Canfield
The Three Mesquiteers
Actor Police Officer Murphy (uncredited)
Sinner Take All
Actor Inner Guard
The Accusing Finger
Screenplay
Secret Patrol
1935
Actor Commissioner
The Silent Code
Actor Dealer
Mississippi
Actor Freighter Captain
The Call of the Savage
Actor Buck Peters
Bar 20 Rides Again
Actor Chief of Police (Uncredited)
Murder in the Fleet
Actor Sheriff Jim Porter
The Outlaw Tamer
Actor Caboose Passenger (uncredited)
Whispering Smith Speaks
Actor Inspector Winston - RCMP
Border Brigands
Actor Engineer
Diamond Jim
Actor Capt. Trent [Chs. 3-4]
Rustlers of Red Dog
Actor Sergeant, Rescue Party
East of Java
Actor Javert's Plainclothesman
Les Misérables
Director
The Outlaw Tamer
1934
1933
1932
1931
1930
Actor
Covered Wagon Trails
Actor
The Canyon of Missing Men
Actor Sheriff
Breezy Bill
Actor Angus McGregor
O'Malley Rides Alone
Producer
O'Malley Rides Alone
Director
O'Malley Rides Alone
Director
Under Texas Skies
Director
Canyon Hawks
Director
Code of Honor
Director
The Oklahoma Sheriff
Director
The Hunted Men
Director
Western Honor
Director
Breezy Bill
Director
The Man from Nowhere
Director
Beyond the Law
Director
Call of the Desert
Director
Covered Wagon Trails
Director
The Canyon of Missing Men
Director
Near the Rainbow's End
1929
Actor Dugan
'Neath Western Skies
Actor Jim Wales
Plunging Hoofs
Actor Brute Kettle
A Texas Cowboy
Actor
The Invaders
Actor Matson
The Lawless Legion
Actor Maddox
Señor Americano
Actor Hash
The Last Roundup
Actor Sneezer Clark
Headin' Westward
Actor Pepper Hardcastle
The Cowboy and the Outlaw
Actor Taggart
Below the Deadline
Actor
The Fighting Terror
Actor
The Oklahoma Kid
Actor Seagrue
Law of the Plains
Director
The Last Roundup
Director
Code of the West
Director
A Texas Cowboy
Director
The Invaders
Director
Captain Cowboy
Writer
Captain Cowboy
Director
Headin' Westward
Director
'Neath Western Skies
Producer
'Neath Western Skies
Director
The Cowboy and the Outlaw
Director
Below the Deadline
Director
The Fighting Terror
Director
Riders of the Rio Grande
Director
Law of the Plains
Director
The Oklahoma Kid
1928
Actor Ed Hicks
Arizona Days
Actor Abner Whitcomb
Two Outlaws
Actor
The Chinatown Mystery
Actor Capt. von Brinken
Dugan of the Dugouts
Actor Blake
The Code of the Scarlet
Actor Motilla
Ships of the Night
Actor
The Black Ace
Director
Arizona Days
Writer
Dugan of the Dugouts
Director
The Chinatown Mystery
Director
Manhattan Cowboy
1927
1926
1925
Actor
The Fast Freight
Actor Train Engineer
The Lost Express
Actor Tiger McGuire
Outwitted
Actor Steve Redding
Barriers of the Law
Scenario Writer
The Fast Freight
Director
The Fast Freight
Director
The Ace of Clubs
Writer
Outwitted
Director
The Road Agent
Director
Mistaken Orders
Director
The Lost Express
Director
Barriers of the Law
Director
Ambushed
Director
Cold Nerve
Director
Outwitted
Director
A Desperate Chance
Director
Webs of Steel
1924
1923
1922
1921
1920
1919
1918
1917
1916
Actor Whispering Smith
Whispering Smith
Actor Whispering Smith
Medicine Bend
Director
Medicine Bend
Director
Judith of the Cumberlands
Director
The Diamond Runners
Scenario Writer
The Diamond Runners
Director
A Lass of the Lumberlands
Director
Whispering Smith
Director
The Manager of the B & A
Producer
A Lass of the Lumberlands
Producer
Judith of the Cumberlands
1915
Actor Blake - a Lineman
The Girl Telegrapher's Peril
Actor Lockwood - the old one-armed Flagman
The Railroad Raiders of '62
Actor Warren - Railroad Employee
The Broken Train
Actor Thomas - the Chief of the Gang
A Railroader's Bravery
Actor Trow - of the Working Crew
The Broken Rail
Actor
A Desperate Leap
Actor Jerry McGuire
The Mettle of Jerry McGuire
Actor Spike
The Girl and the Game
Actor Rand - the Fireman
The Leap from the Water Tower
Director
The Death Train
Director
A Deed of Daring
Director
A Railroader's Bravery
Director
The Fate of Number One
Director
The Girl on the Engine
Director
The Broken Circuit
Director
The Girl Telegrapher's Peril
Director
The Fast Mail's Danger
Director
The Little Engineer
Director
The Girl at Lone Point
Director
The Mettle of Jerry McGuire
Director
The Open Drawbridge
Director
A Desperate Leap
Director
When Rogues Fall Out
Director
The Engineer's Peril
Director
The Railroad Raiders of '62
Director
The Girl on the Trestle
Director
A Race for a Crossing
Director
The Box Car Trap
Director
A Life in the Balance
Director
The Girl Engineer
Director
The Human Chain
Director
The Broken Train
Director
The Midnight Limited
Director
A Wild Ride
Director
Near Eternity
Director
The Hazards of Helen Ep26: The Wild Engine
Director
The Hazards of Helen Ep33: In Danger's Path
Director
The Girl and the Game
Director
The Pay Train
Director
The Leap from the Water Tower
Director
Blackbirds
Writer
The Girl and the Game
1914
Actor Rand - a Yeggman
The Flying Freight's Captive
Actor Dan Haddon - a Cowboy
The Black Diamond Express
Actor Brandt - a Defaulting Cashier
The Escape on the Limited
Actor Benton
Helen's Sacrifice
Actor Mammoth - Manning's Business Rival
His Nemesis
Actor Kaintucky Bill - a Moonshiner
Kaintucky Bill
Director
The Operator at Black Rock
Director
Helen's Sacrifice
Writer
His Nemesis
Director
His Nemesis
Director
The Plot at the Railroad Cut
Director
The Girl at the Throttle
Director
The Stolen Engine
Director
The Flying Freight's Captive
Director
The Black Diamond Express
Director
The Escape on the Limited
Director
The Lost Mail Sack
Director
The Flaw in the Alibi
Director
Kaintucky Bill
Director
The Car of Death
Director
A String of Pearls
1913
1912
Actor Sheik Mohammad
Dust of the Desert
Actor Mr. Wallace - the Gamekeeper
The Poacher's Pardon
Actor
An Arabian Tragedy
Actor Lord Kilhannack
Ireland, the Oppressed
Actor Valentine Hay
The Little Gluers
Actor Corry Kinchela
The Shaughraun
Actor Wise Man 1
From the Manger to the Cross
Actor Lt. Greig
Captured by Bedouins
Actor
Winning a Widow
Actor John Foster
His Mother
Actor The Arab Sheik
Tragedy of the Desert
1911
Actor Federal Officer
Railroad Raiders of '62
Actor The Rancher
Slim Jim's Last Chance
Actor
By a Woman's Wit
Actor Jacques
When the Dead Return
Actor Hardress Cregan
The Colleen Bawn
Actor
A Sawmill Hero
Actor Dolores' father
The Fiddler’s Requiem
Actor Commander of the English troops
Rory O'More
Actor Royal
The Special Messenger
