Don Porter
Donald "Don" Porter (September 24, 1912 –February 11, 1997) was an American actor who appeared in a number of films since the 1940s, including Top Sergeant and Eagle Squadron. On television, he portrayed the widowed father of 15-year-old Frances "Gidget" Lawrence (Sally Field) in the 1965 ABC sitcom Gidget. Besides his work in film and television, Porter was active on stage, as he acted in more than 200 plays, including The Front Page, Plaza Suite, and Any Wednesday. He appeared in various films in the 1940s before landing the role of Peter Sands, the boss of Susan Camille MacNamara (Ann Sothern), on the 1950s sitcom Private Secretary. A retooled version of the series appeared later, titled The Ann Sothern Show. It featured many of the same actors, including Porter as hotel manager James Devery in the venue of a fashionable New York City hotel. He later guest starred on episodes of Green Acres, Love, American Style, The Mod Squad, Barnaby Jones, The Six Million Dollar Man, Hawaii Five-O, Three's Company (on which he played Jack Tripper's uncle), and Switch.
Acted in
Matlock
1986
Hotel
1982
The Ghosts of Buxley Hall
1980
as Judge Oliver Haynes
The Last Song
1980
as Philip Brockhurst
The Murder That Wouldn't Die
1980
as Gen. Rocky Jensen
Interview with Pontius Pilate
1980
as Theodore Michael
Tropic of Desire
1979
as Commodore Phillips
Vega$
1978
The Paper Chase
1978
Dallas
1978
as Matt Devlin
The President's Mistress
1978
as Craig
Christmas Miracle in Caufield, U.S.A.
1977
as Caufield
The Love Boat
1977
as Slade Summerhill
Three's Company
1977
City of Angels
1976
The Bionic Woman
1976
Ellery Queen
1975
Switch
1975
as Paul Lorimer
Switch
1975
as Salvensen
A Woman for All Men
1975
as Barney
White Line Fever
1975
as Cutler
Last Hours Before Morning
1975
as Mr. Pace
The Legend of Lizzie Borden
1975
as George Robinson
Archer
1975
Happy Anniversary and Goodbye
1974
as Ed 'Mad Dog' Murphy
Murder or Mercy
1974
as Henry Balin
Mame
1974
as Mr. Upson
The Morning After
1974
as Rudy King
The Six Million Dollar Man
1974
as Dr. Stanley Bacon
40 Carats
1973
as Mr. Latham
The Norliss Tapes
1973
as Sanford T. Evans
Barnaby Jones
1973
as Jeremy Markham
The Rookies
1972
The Candidate
1972
as Senator Crocker Jarmon
Love, American Style
1969
Live a Little, Love a Little
1968
as Mike Lansdown
The Mod Squad
1968
Here's Lucy
1968
as Ken Richards
Hawaii Five-O
1968
as Jonathan Cavel
Hawaii Five-O
1968
as Alex Kelsey
Judd for the Defense
1967
The F.B.I.
1965
as Mason Hammond
Green Acres
1965
Gidget
1965
as Professor Russell Lawrence
Youngblood Hawke
1964
as Ferdie Lax
Gidget Goes to Rome
1963
as Russell Lawrence
Vacation Playhouse
1963
as Battersea, The Housekeeper
Bachelor in Paradise
1961
as Thomas W. Jynson
Desk Set
1957
as Don the Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Our Miss Brooks
1956
as Lawrence Nolan
Private Secretary
1953
Because You're Mine
1952
as Captain Burton Nordell Loring
The Savage
1952
as Running Dog
The Turning Point
1952
as Joe Silbray
Cripple Creek
1952
as Denver Jones
The Fallbrook Story
1952
as Narrator
The Racket
1951
as R. G. Connolly
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone
1950
as Myron Brynk
711 Ocean Drive
1950
as Larry Mason
My Friend Irma Goes West
1950
as Mr. Brent
Buck Privates Come Home
1947
as Capt. Christie
Wild Beauty
1946
as Dr. Dave Morrow
Danger Woman
1946
as Professor Claude Ruppert
Cuban Pete
1946
as Roberts
She-Wolf of London
1946
as Barry Lanfield
Resisting Enemy Interrogation
1944
as Lt. Frank L. Williams, Jr. - American Co-pilot
How to Fly the B-26 Airplane
1944
as Captain Dick
Keep 'Em Slugging
1943
as Jerry
Reconnaissance Pilot
1943
as Camera Instructor
Madame Spy
1942
as David Bannister
Who Done It?
1942
as 'Murder at Midnight' program manager
Night Monster
1942
as Dick Baldwin
Eyes of the Underworld
1942
as Edward Jason
Eagle Squadron
1942
as Ramsey
Top Sergeant
1942
as Al Bennett
Mystery of the White Room
1939
as Dr. Donald Fox