J.P. McGowan
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.
Acted in
The Lady and the Bandit
1951
as Old Man
Stagecoach
1939
as (uncredited)
Code of the Fearless
1939
as Undetermined Minor Role
The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
1938
as Scudder
Kidnapped
1938
as Clansman
The Buccaneer
1938
as Jailer
Prairie Thunder
1937
as Col. Stanton
Heart of the Rockies
1937
as Ed Dawson
Rough Riding Rhythm
1937
as Pete Hobart
Empty Holsters
1937
as U.S. Marshal Billy O'Neill
She Had to Eat
1937
as Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Slave Ship
1937
as Helmsman
Hit the Saddle
1937
as Rance McGowan
Borderland
1937
as El Rio Sheriff
Jungle Jim
1937
as Ship Captain J.S. Robinson
Sinner Take All
1936
as Police Officer Murphy (uncredited)
Stampede
1936
as Matt Stevens
The Accusing Finger
1936
as Inner Guard
Fury and the Woman
1936
as Anderson
The Three Mesquiteers
1936
as Brack Canfield
Ride 'Em Cowboy
1936
as Jim Howard
Guns and Guitars
1936
as Dave Morgan
Secret Patrol
1936
as Blacksmith Barstow
Robin Hood of El Dorado
1936
as Danglong
Silver Spurs
1936
as Webb Allison
Bar 20 Rides Again
1935
as Buck Peters
East of Java
1935
as Sergeant, Rescue Party
The Silent Code
1935
as Commissioner
Diamond Jim
1935
as Engineer
Border Brigands
1935
as Inspector Winston - RCMP
Murder in the Fleet
1935
as Chief of Police (Uncredited)
Whispering Smith Speaks
1935
as Caboose Passenger (uncredited)
Les Misérables
1935
as Javert's Plainclothesman
The Call of the Savage
1935
as Freighter Captain
Mississippi
1935
as Dealer
The Outlaw Tamer
1935
as Sheriff Jim Porter
Rustlers of Red Dog
1935
as Capt. Trent [Chs. 3-4]
When Lightning Strikes
1934
as Lafe Broderick
The Red Rider
1934
as Scotty McKee
No More Women
1934
as Captain of The Hawk
Somewhere in Sonora
1933
as Monte Black
Flaming Gold
1932
as Mack
Lawless Valley
1932
as Big Mike Carter, aka El Lobo, aka Texas Rand
Quick Trigger Lee
1931
as Brings note / Director
The Canyon of Missing Men
1930
Covered Wagon Trails
1930
Breezy Bill
1930
as Sheriff
O'Malley Rides Alone
1930
as Angus McGregor
A Texas Cowboy
1929
as Brute Kettle
Señor Americano
1929
as Maddox
The Oklahoma Kid
1929
The Invaders
1929
The Cowboy and the Outlaw
1929
as Pepper Hardcastle
Law of the Plains
1929
as Seagrue
The Fighting Terror
1929
The Last Roundup
1929
as Hash
Plunging Hoofs
1929
as Jim Wales
The Lawless Legion
1929
as Matson
Headin' Westward
1929
as Sneezer Clark
Below the Deadline
1929
as Taggart
'Neath Western Skies
1929
as Dugan
Ships of the Night
1928
as Motilla
Two Outlaws
1928
as Abner Whitcomb
The Black Ace
1928
The Chinatown Mystery
1928
Arizona Days
1928
as Ed Hicks
The Code of the Scarlet
1928
as Blake
Dugan of the Dugouts
1928
as Capt. von Brinken
Gun Gospel
1927
as Bill Brogan
The Red Raiders
1927
as Captain Ortwell
Arizona Nights
1927
as Jeff Decker
The Royal American
1927
as Capt. Burke
Red Signals
1927
as Jim Twyler
Perils of the Rail
1926
as Barker's Accomplice at Smelter Junction
Crack O' Dawn
1926
as Earle Thorpe Sr.
Senor Daredevil
1926
as Jesse Wilks
The Lost Express
1925
as Train Engineer
The Fast Freight
1925
Barriers of the Law
1925
as Steve Redding
Outwitted
1925
as Tiger McGuire
Crossed Trails
1924
as 'Pepper' Baldwin
A Two Fisted Tenderfoot
1924
as Stephen Lawlor
The Whipping Boss
1924
as Livingston
Baffled
1924
as Jack Norton
Stormy Seas
1923
as Capt. Morgan
Hills of Missing Men
1922
as Capt. Brandt / The Dragon
Do or Die
1921
as Capt. Alvarez / Satan
King of the Circus
1920
Elmo the Fearless
1920
The Railroad Raiders
1917
as Thomas Desmond
The Hazards of Helen
1917
as Various roles
Medicine Bend
1916
as Whispering Smith
Whispering Smith
1916
as Whispering Smith
A Desperate Leap
1915
The Mettle of Jerry McGuire
1915
as Jerry McGuire
The Broken Rail
1915
as Trow - of the Working Crew
A Railroader's Bravery
1915
as Thomas - the Chief of the Gang
The Broken Train
1915
as Warren - Railroad Employee
The Railroad Raiders of '62
1915
as Lockwood - the old one-armed Flagman
The Leap from the Water Tower
1915
as Rand - the Fireman
The Girl Telegrapher's Peril
1915
as Blake - a Lineman
The Girl and the Game
1915
as Spike
The Escape on the Limited
1914
as Brandt - a Defaulting Cashier
The Black Diamond Express
1914
as Dan Haddon - a Cowboy
The Flying Freight's Captive
1914
as Rand - a Yeggman
His Nemesis
1914
as Mammoth - Manning's Business Rival
Helen's Sacrifice
1914
as Benton
Kaintucky Bill
1914
as Kaintucky Bill - a Moonshiner
The Shaughraun
1912
as Corry Kinchela
Ireland, the Oppressed
1912
as Lord Kilhannack
The Little Gluers
1912
as Valentine Hay
From the Manger to the Cross
1912
as Wise Man 1
The Poacher's Pardon
1912
as Mr. Wallace - the Gamekeeper
Winning a Widow
1912
Tragedy of the Desert
1912
as The Arab Sheik
Captured by Bedouins
1912
as Lt. Greig
An Arabian Tragedy
1912
Dust of the Desert
1912
as Sheik Mohammad
His Mother
1912
as John Foster
The Colleen Bawn
1911
as Hardress Cregan
Rory O'More
1911
as Commander of the English troops
The Special Messenger
1911
as Royal
Railroad Raiders of '62
1911
as Federal Officer
When the Dead Return
1911
as Jacques
The Fiddler’s Requiem
1911
as Dolores' father
Slim Jim's Last Chance
1911
as The Rancher
By a Woman's Wit
1911
A Sawmill Hero
1911
When Lovers Part
1910
The Lad from Old Ireland
1910
as Election Agent