J.P. McGowan

Acting · 0.5 popularity

Age

146

Movies

153

Born: February 23, 1880 – March 26, 1952
From: Terowie, Australia

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.

Works

153 films

Stagecoach

19397.6

Gun Gospel

192710.0

Señor Americano

19297.0

Stormy Seas

19238.0

Red Blood

19253.0

The Prisoner of Shark Island

19366.9

The Buccaneer

19386.4

Les Misérables

19357.1

His Nemesis

191410.0

The Red Raiders

19278.0

Whispering Smith

1916

Danger Quest

20268.0

Robin Hood of El Dorado

19365.2

Kaintucky Bill

19148.0

Slave Ship

19375.1

Rough Riding Rhythm

19379.0

Mississippi

19356.8

The Slaver

192710.0

The Accusing Finger

19365.8

The Three Mesquiteers

19367.0

Cold Steel

1921

Baffled

19248.0

The Invaders

19297.0

The Call of the Savage

19356.0

Bad Men's Money

192910.0

The Red Rider

19347.0

The Code of the Scarlet

192810.0

Elmo the Fearless

19208.0

Rustlers of Red Dog

19358.5

Heart of the Rockies

19378.0

Diamond Jim

19356.5

Flaming Gold

19326.2

The Mettle of Jerry McGuire

19157.0

Duped

19258.0

The Patent Leather Pug

19258.0

Helen's Sacrifice

1914

Prairie Thunder

19374.3

Murder in the Fleet

19356.6

Somewhere in Sonora

19335.1

Medicine Bend

1916

Sinner Take All

19364.9

Crack O' Dawn

19266.0

Silverspurs

193610.0

The Old Code

1928

Guns and Guitars

19365.8

An Arabian Tragedy

19127.0

The Whipping Boss

19247.0

Winning a Widow

19128.0

Wagon Wheels

19345.1

Hunted Men

19385.7

Jungle Jim

19375.4

The Devil’s Tower

19285.5

The Broken Rail

1915

Kidnapped

19386.0

Hills of Missing Men

192210.0

The Lost Limited

19278.0

Hit the Saddle

19376.0

Outwitted

19258.0

Dust of the Desert

1912

The Outlaw Tamer

19359.0

East of Java

19357.5

Bar 20 Rides Again

19356.7

Covered Wagon Trails

193010.0

Code of the Fearless

19394.7

She Had to Eat

19375.6

Fury and the Woman

19367.0

Pioneers of the West

19299.0

The Lady and the Bandit

19516.8

A Desperate Leap

191510.0

A Railroader's Bravery

1915

The Lightnin’ Shot

19287.0

The Fiddler’s Requiem

19117.0

The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok

19389.0

Below the Deadline

19294.0

Whispering Smith Speaks

193510.0

A Two Fisted Tenderfoot

19248.0

The Black Diamond Express

1914

Border Brigands

19357.0

Plunging Hoofs

19298.0

Savage Fury

19567.0

The Lost Express

19269.0

The Flying Freight's Captive

1914

The Chinatown Mystery

19289.0

The Girl Telegrapher's Peril

1915

The Fast Freight

19254.5

The Grit of the Girl Telegrapher

191210.0

The Leap from the Water Tower

1915

Moran of the Mounted

19267.0

From the Manger to the Cross

19125.1

No More Women

19344.8

The Special Messenger

19118.0

By a Woman's Wit

19116.7

When Lightning Strikes

19347.5

The Cowboy and the Outlaw

19298.0

Borderland

19377.5

Arizona Nights

19279.0

Dugan of the Dugouts

19287.0

Senor Daredevil

192610.0

Quick Trigger Lee

19318.0

Do or Die

19218.0

Ride 'Em Cowboy

193610.0

The Girl and the Game

1915

The Broken Train

1915

Headin' Westward

19298.0

The Railroad Raiders

1917

The Black Ace

192810.0

Lawless Valley

19324.5

Perils of the Rail

19267.5

The Little Gluers

19129.0

Arizona Days

19283.7

The Law of the Plains

19299.0

The Silent Code

19356.5

O'Malley Rides Alone

193010.0

The Lad from Old Ireland

19105.4

Ships of the Night

19288.0

A Texas Cowboy

19297.0

Barriers of the Law

19259.0

King of the Circus

19208.0

The Escape on the Limited

1914

Rory O'More

19115.2

Crossed Trails

192410.0

Red Signals

19279.0

The Lawless Legion

19299.0

When Lovers Part

19104.0

Two Outlaws

19289.0

The Hazards of Helen

1917

Secret Patrol

19369.0

Breezy Bill

193010.0

Railroad Raiders of '62

19115.0

His Mother

19125.5

The Canyon of Missing Men

19309.0

Stampede

19369.0

The Colleen Bawn

19117.4

The Royal American

19278.0

Tragedy of the Desert

19129.0

The Oklahoma Kid

19297.0

When the Dead Return

1911

Captured by Bedouins

191210.0

Empty Holsters

19378.0

The Fishermaid of Ballydavid

1911

Ireland, the Oppressed

191210.0

The Fighting Terror

19298.0

'Neath Western Skies

19298.0

Vagabonds

1912

The Last Roundup

19297.0

The Shaughraun

19127.0

The Railroad Raiders of '62

1915

The Poacher's Pardon

19127.0

The Mayor from Ireland

1912

The Wives of Jamestown

1913

Far from Erin's Isle

1912

Slim Jim's Last Chance

19116.0

A Sawmill Hero

1911