J.p. Mcgowan

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.

Known For	Acting
Most Rating	2.161
Birthday	1880-02-23
Place of Birth	Terowie, Australia
Also Known As	John Paterson McGowan,

Covered Wagon Trails

The Canyon of Missing Men

Arizona Days

'Neath Western Skies

The Hazards of Helen

The Railroad Raiders

Two Outlaws

Plunging Hoofs

Stormy Seas

Breezy Bill

A Texas Cowboy

The Invaders

When Lightning Strikes

No More Women

Perils of the Rail

Silver Spurs

Whispering Smith

Somewhere in Sonora

The Fast Freight

Dust of the Desert

The Poacher's Pardon

An Arabian Tragedy

The Little Gluers

Ireland, the Oppressed

The Shaughraun

King of the Circus

Do or Die

The Chinatown Mystery

The Flying Freight's Captive

The Black Diamond Express

The Escape on the Limited

The Girl Telegrapher's Peril

The Railroad Raiders of '62

Helen's Sacrifice

The Broken Train

His Nemesis

A Railroader's Bravery

The Broken Rail

The Mettle of Jerry McGuire

Medicine Bend

A Desperate Leap

Hit the Saddle

Guns and Guitars

Elmo the Fearless

Stampede

Secret Patrol

The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok

Railroad Raiders of '62

Jungle Jim

Kaintucky Bill

Lawless Valley

The Girl and the Game

Dugan of the Dugouts

Hills of Missing Men

Senor Daredevil

The Red Raiders

The Code of the Scarlet

Gun Gospel

The Lawless Legion

Señor Americano

The Royal American

The Leap from the Water Tower

From the Manger to the Cross

Fury and the Woman

The Silent Code

Ships of the Night

The Last Roundup

Robin Hood of El Dorado

Code of the Fearless

Ride 'Em Cowboy

Borderland

Mississippi

Stagecoach

The Call of the Savage

Bar 20 Rides Again

Murder in the Fleet

The Outlaw Tamer

Kidnapped

Whispering Smith Speaks

Quick Trigger Lee