J.P. McGowan

Acting

Born February 23, 1880 · Terowie, Australia

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.

Directed (149)

Where the West Begins

1938

Roaring Six Guns

1937

Rough Riding Rhythm

1937

The Outlaw Tamer

1935

War of the Range

1933

Deadwood Pass

1933

Drum Taps

1933

When a Man Rides Alone

1933

The Hurricane Express

1932

The Scarlet Brand

1932

Tangled Fortunes

1932

Lawless Valley

1932

Mark of the Spur

1932

Human Targets

1932

Quick Trigger Lee

1931

Shotgun Pass

1931

Headin' for Trouble

1931

So This Is Arizona

1931

Riders of the North

1931

Under Texas Skies

1930

Code of Honor

1930

Beyond the Law

1930

Canyon Hawks

1930

The Oklahoma Sheriff

1930

Near the Rainbow's End

1930

The Canyon of Missing Men

1930

Western Honor

1930

The Man from Nowhere

1930

The Hunted Men

1930

Call of the Desert

1930

Covered Wagon Trails

1930

Breezy Bill

1930

O'Malley Rides Alone

1930

A Texas Cowboy

1929

Code of the West

1929

The Oklahoma Kid

1929

Pioneers of the West

1929

The Invaders

1929

The Cowboy and the Outlaw

1929

Riders of the Rio Grande

1929

The Law of the Plains

1929

The Fighting Terror

1929

The Man from Nevada

1929

The Last Roundup

1929

Captain Cowboy

1929

Bad Men's Money

1929

Headin' Westward

1929

Below the Deadline

1929

'Neath Western Skies

1929

Manhattan Cowboy

1928

The Chinatown Mystery

1928

Arizona Days

1928

The Outlaw Dog

1927

The Lost Limited

1927

Thunderbolt's Tracks

1927

Tarzan and the Golden Lion

1927

Red Signals

1927

Perils of the Rail

1926

Crossed Signals

1926

Webs of Steel

1925

The Road Agent

1925

The Lost Express

1925

The Ace of Clubs

1925

The Bandit Tamer

1925

The Fast Freight

1925

Ambushed

1925

A Desperate Chance

1925

Mistaken Orders

1925

Cold Nerve

1925

The Fighting Sheriff

1925

Barriers of the Law

1925

Outwitted

1925

Courage

1924

A Desperate Adventure

1924

Crossed Trails

1924

A Two Fisted Tenderfoot

1924

The Whipping Boss

1924

Baffled

1924

Stormy Seas

1923

Perils of the Yukon

1922

Captain Kidd

1922

Hills of Missing Men

1922

Below the Deadline

1921

Tiger True

1921

Do or Die

1921

The Vanishing Dagger

1920

King of the Circus

1920

Elmo the Fearless

1920

The Red Glove

1919

Elmo, the Mighty

1919

The Lure of the Circus

1918

The Lost Express

1917

The Railroad Raiders

1917

The Hazards of Helen

1917

The Manager of the B & A

1916

The Diamond Runners

1916

Judith of the Cumberlands

1916

Medicine Bend

1916

Whispering Smith

1916

A Lass of the Lumberlands

1916

When Rogues Fall Out

1915

A Desperate Leap

1915

The Mettle of Jerry McGuire

1915

Blackbirds

1915

The Girl on the Engine

1915

A Deed of Daring

1915

The Fate of Number One

1915

A Wild Ride

1915

The Midnight Limited

1915

In Danger's Path

1915

Near Eternity

1915

The Pay Train

1915

The Human Chain

1915

A Railroader's Bravery

1915

The Broken Train

1915

The Hazards of Helen Ep26: The Wild Engine

1915

The Box Car Trap

1915

A Race for a Crossing

1915

The Girl Engineer

1915

The Girl on the Trestle

1915

A Life in the Balance

1915

The Girl at Lone Point

1915

The Railroad Raiders of '62

1915

The Death Train

1915

The Open Drawbridge

1915

The Engineer's Peril

1915

The Little Engineer

1915

The Fast Mail's Danger

1915

The Broken Circuit

1915

The Leap from the Water Tower

1915

The Girl Telegrapher's Peril

1915

The Girl and the Game

1915

The Escape on the Limited

1914

The Black Diamond Express

1914

The Flying Freight's Captive

1914

The Stolen Engine

1914

The Girl at the Throttle

1914

The Plot at the Railroad Cut

1914

His Nemesis

1914

Helen's Sacrifice

1914

The Lost Mail Sack

1914

The Car of Death

1914

The Operator at Black Rock

1914

Kaintucky Bill

1914

The Flaw in the Alibi

1914

A String of Pearls

1914

The Pursuit of the Smugglers

1913

A Sawmill Hazard

1913

The Grit of the Girl Telegrapher

1912

J.P. McGowan

Directed (149)

Acting (145)