J.P. McGowan

From WikipediaJohn Paterson McGowan (February 24, 1880 – March 26, 1952)was a pioneering Hollywood actor and director and occasionally a screenwriterand producer. J. P. McGowan, as he was usually known, remains the onlyAustralian to have been made a life member of the Screen Directors Guild (nowDirectors Guild of America).Born in the then-bustling railway centre of Terowie in SouthAustralia, McGowan grew up in Adelaide (Islington) and Sydney. He was a capablehorseman and served in the Second Boer War with Montmorencys Scouts as a specialdispatch rider.McGowan directed and often acted in the first 33 episodes ofKalems 1914 adventure film series, The Hazards of Helen, which eventually ranto 54 episodes, some still with McGowans participation. While filming he begana relationship with Helen Holmes, the films star, and the two married. Theyleft Kalem to set up their own production company, Signal Films, whichsuccessfully made a series of railroad melodramas but lost out when theirdistributor (Mutual) failed. The collaboration ended when they divorced in1925. There was an adopted daughter, Kaye.McGowan successfully made the transition from silent film totalkies. While never a major star, in a busy career that spanned four decadeshe is credited with acting in 232 films—mostly strong roles like sheriff orvillain—writing 26 screenplays and directing 242 productions. In 1932 hedirected a young John Wayne in the 12-episode rail vs airplane serial TheHurricane Express for the independent Mascot Pictures. From 1938 to 1951, asExecutive Secretary of the Screen Directors Guild, he fought to securerecognition for the director within the studio systems of the film and emergingtelevision industry.J.P. McGowan died in 1952 in Hollywood and was interred inthe Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

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