Acting
J.P. McGowan
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.
Movies with J.P. McGowan
Stagecoach
1939
Les Misérables
1935
The Buccaneer
1938
The Prisoner of Shark Island
1936
Silverspurs
1936
Gun Gospel
1927
Flaming Gold
1932
Señor Americano
1929
East of Java
1935
Medicine Bend
1916
Hunted Men
1938
Diamond Jim
1935
Mississippi
1935
Baffled
1924
Slave Ship
1937
Stormy Seas
1923
Outwitted
1925
The Three Mesquiteers
1936
His Nemesis
1914
Robin Hood of El Dorado
1936
The Accusing Finger
1936
Wagon Wheels
1934
Sinner Take All
1936
Whispering Smith
1916
She Had to Eat
1937
Rough Riding Rhythm
1937
Kidnapped
1938
Hit the Saddle
1937
The Red Rider
1934
The Code of the Scarlet
1928
Murder in the Fleet
1935
Duped
1925
The Patent Leather Pug
1925
The Slaver
1927
Kaintucky Bill
1914
From the Manger to the Cross
1912
Savage Fury
1956
Bar 20 Rides Again
1935
Crack O' Dawn
1926
The Call of the Savage
1935
By a Woman's Wit
1911
Ride 'Em Cowboy
1936
Cold Steel
1921
The Invaders
1929
Bad Men's Money
1929
The Special Messenger
1911
Heart of the Rockies
1937
The Fiddler’s Requiem
1911
Fury and the Woman
1936
The Cowboy and the Outlaw
1929
Borderland
1937
Stampede
1936
The Girl and the Game
1915
The Grit of the Girl Telegrapher
1912
The Devil’s Tower
1928
Pioneers of the West
1929
Danger Quest
Prairie Thunder
1937
Rustlers of Red Dog
1935
The Old Code
1928
Somewhere in Sonora
1933
The Lost Express
1925
Moran of the Mounted
1926
Guns and Guitars
1936
Code of the Fearless
1939
The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
1938
The Whipping Boss
1924
A Two Fisted Tenderfoot
1924
Secret Patrol
1936
King of the Circus
1920
The Outlaw Tamer
1935
Dugan of the Dugouts
1928
Ships of the Night
1928
The Mettle of Jerry McGuire
1915
Hills of Missing Men
1922
Plunging Hoofs
1929
Winning a Widow
1912
The Red Raiders
1927
The Lad from Old Ireland
1910
Empty Holsters
1937
Tragedy of the Desert
1912
The Lady and the Bandit
1951
The Fast Freight
1925
The Hazards of Helen
1917
The Lost Limited
1927
The Shaughraun
1912
The Black Diamond Express
1914
Perils of the Rail
1926
The Chinatown Mystery
1928
Helen's Sacrifice
1914
A Desperate Leap
1915
Senor Daredevil
1926
The Canyon of Missing Men
1930
Barriers of the Law
1925
Do or Die
1921
Covered Wagon Trails
1930
Border Brigands
1935
Jungle Jim
1937
Whispering Smith Speaks
1935
No More Women
1934
The Royal American
1927
Slim Jim's Last Chance
1911
The Law of the Plains
1929
The Wives of Jamestown
1913
An Arabian Tragedy
1912
The Fishermaid of Ballydavid
1911
Red Signals
1927
The Mayor from Ireland
1912
The Lightnin’ Shot
1928
Dust of the Desert
1912
The Broken Train
1915
Arizona Nights
1927
A Railroader's Bravery
1915
Elmo the Fearless
1920
The Flying Freight's Captive
1914
The Little Gluers
1912
The Oklahoma Kid
1929
The Leap from the Water Tower
1915
Crossed Trails
1924
The Broken Rail
1915
O'Malley Rides Alone
1930
Lawless Valley
1932
Far from Erin's Isle
1912
Two Outlaws
1928
The Railroad Raiders
1917
The Girl Telegrapher's Peril
1915
The Poacher's Pardon
1912
Below the Deadline
1929
Breezy Bill
1930
Headin' Westward
1929
Arizona Days
1928
The Colleen Bawn
1911
The Last Roundup
1929
The Black Ace
1928
Railroad Raiders of '62
1911
When the Dead Return
1911
Quick Trigger Lee
1931
The Silent Code
1935
When Lovers Part
1910
A Texas Cowboy
1929
The Escape on the Limited
1914
A Sawmill Hero
1911
When Lightning Strikes
1934
Captured by Bedouins
1912
'Neath Western Skies
1929
The Lawless Legion
1929
His Mother
1912
Ireland, the Oppressed
1912
The Fighting Terror
1929
The Railroad Raiders of '62
1915
Rory O'More
1911
Vagabonds
1912