J.P. McGowan
1880-02-23 ( 145 years old ) in 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.

Movies

The Lady and the Bandit 1951-08-13
Stagecoach 1939-03-02
Code of the Fearless 1939-01-05
The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok 1938-06-30
Kidnapped 1938-05-27
Hunted Men 1938-05-27
The Buccaneer 1938-02-04
Prairie Thunder 1937-09-10
Heart of the Rockies 1937-09-06
Rough Riding Rhythm 1937-08-14
Empty Holsters 1937-07-10
She Had to Eat 1937-07-02
Slave Ship 1937-06-16
Hit the Saddle 1937-03-03
Borderland 1937-02-26
Jungle Jim 1937-01-18
Sinner Take All 1936-12-18
Stampede 1936-11-26
The Accusing Finger 1936-11-17
Fury and the Woman 1936-09-22
The Three Mesquiteers 1936-09-22
Ride 'Em Cowboy 1936-09-20
Guns and Guitars 1936-06-22
Secret Patrol 1936-06-02
Robin Hood of El Dorado 1936-03-17
Silver Spurs 1936-01-29
Bar 20 Rides Again 1935-12-06
East of Java 1935-12-01
The Silent Code 1935-11-20
Diamond Jim 1935-09-01
Border Brigands 1935-05-31
Murder in the Fleet 1935-05-24
Whispering Smith Speaks 1935-05-15
Les Misérables 1935-04-20
The Call of the Savage 1935-04-14
Mississippi 1935-03-22
The Outlaw Tamer 1935-03-15
Rustlers of Red Dog 1935-01-01
When Lightning Strikes 1934-12-18
The Red Rider 1934-07-16
No More Women 1934-03-03
Somewhere in Sonora 1933-05-27
Flaming Gold 1932-09-28
Lawless Valley 1932-03-03
Quick Trigger Lee 1931-11-24
The Canyon of Missing Men 1930-06-01
Covered Wagon Trails 1930-02-01
Breezy Bill 1930-01-24
O'Malley Rides Alone 1930-01-01
A Texas Cowboy 1929-12-26
Señor Americano 1929-11-10
The Oklahoma Kid 1929-11-01
The Invaders 1929-10-01
The Cowboy and the Outlaw 1929-10-01
Law of the Plains 1929-08-19
The Fighting Terror 1929-08-01
The Last Roundup 1929-06-30
Plunging Hoofs 1929-04-10
The Lawless Legion 1929-02-17
Headin' Westward 1929-02-15
Below the Deadline 1929-01-02
'Neath Western Skies 1929-01-01
Ships of the Night 1928-11-27
Two Outlaws 1928-11-18
The Black Ace 1928-09-02
The Chinatown Mystery 1928-09-01
Arizona Days 1928-08-01
The Code of the Scarlet 1928-07-01
Dugan of the Dugouts 1928-04-15
Gun Gospel 1927-11-06
The Red Raiders 1927-09-27
Arizona Nights 1927-08-28
The Royal American 1927-07-01
Red Signals 1927-03-01
Perils of the Rail 1926-10-22
Crack O' Dawn 1926-10-16
Senor Daredevil 1926-08-01
The Lost Express 1925-07-28
The Fast Freight 1925-07-01
Barriers of the Law 1925-03-26
Outwitted 1925-01-01
Crossed Trails 1924-04-08
A Two Fisted Tenderfoot 1924-02-13
The Whipping Boss 1924-02-09
Baffled 1924-02-01
Stormy Seas 1923-07-01
Hills of Missing Men 1922-02-26
Do or Die 1921-01-02
King of the Circus 1920-01-02
Elmo the Fearless 1920-01-02
The Railroad Raiders 1917-04-09
The Hazards of Helen 1917-02-24
Medicine Bend 1916-07-03
Whispering Smith 1916-06-05
A Desperate Leap 1915-11-27
The Mettle of Jerry McGuire 1915-11-06
The Broken Rail 1915-09-04
A Railroader's Bravery 1915-05-29
The Broken Train 1915-05-22
The Railroad Raiders of '62 1915-03-20
The Leap from the Water Tower 1915-01-09
The Girl Telegrapher's Peril 1915-01-02
The Girl and the Game 1915-01-02
The Escape on the Limited 1914-12-26
The Black Diamond Express 1914-12-19
The Flying Freight's Captive 1914-12-12
His Nemesis 1914-11-18
Helen's Sacrifice 1914-11-14
Kaintucky Bill 1914-07-07
The Wives of Jamestown 1913-01-10
The Shaughraun 1912-12-23
Ireland, the Oppressed 1912-12-14
The Mayor from Ireland 1912-11-30
The Little Gluers 1912-11-18
From the Manger to the Cross 1912-10-03
The Poacher's Pardon 1912-09-30
Winning a Widow 1912-07-05
Tragedy of the Desert 1912-07-01
Captured by Bedouins 1912-06-26
An Arabian Tragedy 1912-06-19
Dust of the Desert 1912-06-03
Far from Erin's Isle 1912-02-14
Vagabonds 1912-02-09
His Mother 1912-01-25
The Fishermaid of Ballydavid 1911-11-17
The Colleen Bawn 1911-10-16
Rory O'More 1911-09-03
The Special Messenger 1911-08-16
Railroad Raiders of '62 1911-06-15
When the Dead Return 1911-05-05
The Fiddler’s Requiem 1911-05-03
Slim Jim's Last Chance 1911-04-13
By a Woman's Wit 1911-04-04
A Sawmill Hero 1911-03-22
When Lovers Part 1910-12-23
The Lad from Old Ireland 1910-11-23

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