Gordon Jones

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Gordon Wynnivo Jones (April 5, 1911 – June 20, 1963) was an American character actor, a member of John Wayne's informal acting company best known for playing Lou Costello's TV nemesis "Mike the Cop" and appearing as The Green Hornet in the first of two movie serials based on that old-time radio program.

Iowa-born Jones had been a student athlete and star football guard ("Bull" Jones) at University of California, Los Angeles, and had also played a few seasons of professional football. He started out playing small roles in Wesley Ruggles' and Ernest B. Schoedsack's The Monkey's Paw (1933), his first credited role in Sam Wood's Let 'Em Have It (1935), and Sidney Lanfield's Red Salute (1935). By 1937, he had moved on to a contract at RKO Radio Pictures. In 1940, Jones had the title role in The Green Hornet but did not reprise the role in the sequel.

Jones held a reserve commission in the army and was called into the service after filming his roles as "The Wreck" in My Sister Eileen (1942) and "Alabama Smith" in Flying Tigers (1942), a John Wayne vehicle that was one of the most popular action films of the war. This picture began Jones' 20-year onscreen association with Wayne, who was also a former football player at the University of Southern California.

Jones remained associated with the service after the war, encouraging college students to consider the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. After resuming his acting career in the late 1940s, Jones appeared in prominent roles in the John Wayne features Big Jim McLain (1952) and Island in the Sky (1953).

By the end of the 1940s, Jones had aged into a beefier screen presence and into very physical character roles. He was no longer a leading man but he had developed a comic villain persona which meshed with the work of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Jones' association with the duo began in The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947) with the role of the film's heavy, Jake Frame, and continued through their television series The Abbott and Costello Show. Jones played "Mike the Cop", Costello's hulking, loud-voiced antagonist. The program was produced for only two seasons, but ensured continued recognition for Jones via frequent reruns and a 21st Century DVD release.

Jones also remained busy in films and on television throughout the 1950s, in pictures that ranged from the sci-fi chiller The Monster That Challenged the World to the Tony Curtis/Janet Leigh sex comedy The Perfect Furlough, and on TV series ranging from The Real McCoys to The Rifleman. Jones also appeared in two very successful Disney movies during the early '60s, The Absent-Minded Professor and Son of Flubber. He played harried school coaches in both pictures. He also starred with Mitzi Green and Virginia Gibson in the short-lived TV sitcom So This Is Hollywood (1955), and had a recurring role as neighbor Butch Barton during the early years of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

Jones returned to the John Wayne stock company portraying Douglas, the bureaucrat antagonist to Wayne's G.W. McLintock in the Western comedy McLintock! (1963). Jones unexpectedly succumbed to a heart attack on June 12, 1963, five months before the release of that movie.

Jones has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on the West side of the 1600 block of Vine Street.

See more on

IMDb

The Abbott and Costello Show: Who's On First?

2011

as Mike the Cop (archive footage)

McLintock!

1963

as Matt Douglas

The Lucy Show

1962

as Charlie Vantassel

Everything's Ducky

1961

as Conroy

Master of the World

1961

as Talkative Townsman

The Case of the Dangerous Robin

1960

as Nels Bergstrom

Surfside 6

1960

The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond

1960

as Police Sgt. Joe Cassidy

Battle of the Coral Sea

1959

as Torpedoman Bates

Hawaiian Eye

1959

Dennis the Menace

1959

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

1959

Laramie

1959

Battle Flame

1959

as Sgt. McKelvey

The Shaggy Dog

1959

as Captain Scanlon, Police Chief

The Perfect Furlough

1958

as MP "Sylvia"

77 Sunset Strip

1958

The Rifleman

1958

Live Fast, Die Young

1958

as Pop Winters

Maverick

1957

Perry Mason

1957

as Deputy Gillis

Sugarfoot

1957

as Wasco Wolters

Sugarfoot

1957

as Sheriff

Have Gun, Will Travel

1957

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

1957

as Mike Gower

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

1957

as Joel Finlay

The Monster That Challenged the World

1957

as Sheriff Josh Peters

Shoot-Out At Medicine Bend

1957

as Will Clegg

Spring Reunion

1957

as Jack Frazer

The Adventures of Jim Bowie

1956

Cheyenne

1955

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

1955

Smoke Signal

1955

as Corporal Rogers

Treasure of Ruby Hills

1955

as Jack Voyle

Lassie

1954

The Outlaw Stallion

1954

as Wagner

Take the High Ground!

1953

as Moose (uncredited)

Island in the Sky

1953

as Walrus

Woman They Almost Lynched

1953

as Yankee Sergeant

I'm the Law

1953

The Abbott and Costello Show

1952

The Abbott and Costello Show

1952

as Mike Kelly

The Ghost of Crossbone Canyon

1952

as Curly Wolf

Cavalcade of America

1952

as Lt. Treusch

Wagon Team

1952

as Marshal Sam Taplin

Big Jim McLain

1952

as Olaf

The Winning Team

1952

as George Glasheen

Sound Off

1952

as Crockett

Gobs and Gals

1952

as CPO Mike Donovan

Dangerous Assignment

1952

Corky of Gasoline Alley

1951

as Elwood Martin

Racket Squad

1951

The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok

1951

as Curly Wolf

Heart of the Rockies

1951

as Splinters McGonigle

Spoilers of the Plains

1951

as Splinters

Trail of Robin Hood

1950

as Splinters McGonigle

North of the Great Divide

1950

as Splinters McGonagle

Sunset in the West

1950

as Splinters

Big Timber

1950

as Jocko

The Gene Autry Show

1950

Trigger, Jr.

1950

as Splinters

The Arizona Cowboy

1950

as I.Q. Barton

The Palomino

1950

as Bill Hennessey

Belle of Old Mexico

1950

as Tex Barnet

Dear Wife

1949

as Taxi Cab Driver

Tokyo Joe

1949

as Idaho

Easy Living

1949

as Bill 'Holly' Holloran

Black Midnight

1949

as Roy

Mr. Soft Touch

1949

as Muggles (Uncredited)

The Untamed Breed

1948

as Happy Keegan

Black Eagle

1948

as Benjy Laughton

Sons of Adventure

1948

as Andy Baldwin

A Foreign Affair

1948

as Military Police

Whispering City

1947

as Reporter

The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap

1947

as Jake Frame

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

1947

as Tubby Wadsworth

Youth Runs Wild

1944

as Truck Driver (uncredited)

Flying Tigers

1942

as Alabama Smith

Highways by Night

1942

as 'Footsy' Fogarty

My Sister Eileen

1942

as 'The Wreck' Loomis

Among the Living

1941

as Bill Oakley

You Belong to Me

1941

as Robert Andrews

The Blonde from Singapore

1941

as 'Waffles' Billings

The Feminine Touch

1941

as Rubber-Legs Ryan

The Texas Rangers Ride Again

1940

as Ranger Radio Man (uncredited)

Girl from Havana

1940

as Tubby Waters

Up in the Air

1940

as Tex Barton

I Take This Oath

1940

as Steve Hanagan

The Doctor Takes a Wife

1940

as O'Brien

The Green Hornet

1940

as Britt Reid / The Green Hornet

Henry Goes Arizona

1939

as Tug Evans (uncredited)

Disputed Passage

1939

as Bill Anderson

Invitation to Happiness

1939

as Dutch Arnold (uncredited)

Big Town Czar

1939

as Chuck Hardy

Pride of the Navy

1939

as Joe Falcon

The Long Shot

1939

as Jeff Clayton

Out West with the Hardys

1938

as Ray Holt

I Stand Accused

1938

as Blackie

Rich Man, Poor Girl

1938

as Tom Grogan

Quick Money

1937

as Bill Adams

Fight for Your Lady

1937

as Mike Scanlon

The Big Shot

1937

as Chester Scott

There Goes My Girl

1937

as Dunn

China Passage

1937

as Joe Dugan

Sea Devils

1937

as Puggy

They Wanted to Marry

1937

as Jim Tyler

We Who Are About to Die

1937

as Slim Tolliver

Night Waitress

1936

as Martin Rhodes

Don't Turn 'em Loose

1936

as Joe Graves

Walking on Air

1936

as Joe

Devil's Squadron

1936

as Tex

Strike Me Pink

1936

as Butch Carson

Red Salute

1935

as Michael (Lefty) Jones

Let 'em Have It

1935

as Tex

Wild Girl

1932

as Vigilante (uncredited)

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Gordon Jones

Acted in

The Abbott and Costello Show: Who's On First?

McLintock!

The Lucy Show

Everything's Ducky

Master of the World

The Case of the Dangerous Robin

Surfside 6

The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond

Battle of the Coral Sea

Hawaiian Eye

Dennis the Menace

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

Laramie

Battle Flame

The Shaggy Dog

The Perfect Furlough

77 Sunset Strip

The Rifleman

Live Fast, Die Young

Maverick

Perry Mason

Sugarfoot

Sugarfoot

Have Gun, Will Travel

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

The Monster That Challenged the World

Shoot-Out At Medicine Bend

Spring Reunion

The Adventures of Jim Bowie

Cheyenne

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

Smoke Signal

Treasure of Ruby Hills

Lassie

The Outlaw Stallion

Take the High Ground!

Island in the Sky

Woman They Almost Lynched

I'm the Law

The Abbott and Costello Show

The Abbott and Costello Show

The Ghost of Crossbone Canyon

Cavalcade of America

Wagon Team

Big Jim McLain

The Winning Team

Sound Off

Gobs and Gals

Dangerous Assignment

Corky of Gasoline Alley

Racket Squad

The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok

Heart of the Rockies

Spoilers of the Plains

Trail of Robin Hood

North of the Great Divide

Sunset in the West

Big Timber

The Gene Autry Show

Trigger, Jr.

The Arizona Cowboy

The Palomino

Belle of Old Mexico

Dear Wife

Tokyo Joe

Easy Living

Black Midnight

Mr. Soft Touch

The Untamed Breed

Black Eagle

Sons of Adventure

A Foreign Affair

Whispering City

The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Youth Runs Wild

Flying Tigers