Don Porter | |
---|---|
Porter as Russell Lawrence on the 1965 sitcom Gidget | |
Born | Donald Cecil Porter September 24, 1912 Miami, Oklahoma, U.S. |
Died | February 11, 1997 84) | (aged
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1929 – 1988 |
Spouse |
Donald Cecil Porter (September 24, 1912 – February 11, 1997) was an American stage, film, and television actor.
On television, he played Peter Sands, the boss of Ann Sothern's character on Private Secretary , [1] : 857 and Russell Lawrence, the widowed father of 15-year-old Frances "Gidget" Lawrence (Sally Field) in the 1965 ABC sitcom Gidget . [1]
Porter was born in Miami, Oklahoma, and as a youth also lived in Nebraska and Oregon. [2] [3] [4] [5] He joined the Oklahoma National Guard at the age of 14, claiming to be 18, and was commissioned a lieutenant. He served as a combat photographer during World War II [5] and also appeared in training films.
Porter's first roles as an actor began when he was 17, playing dramatic parts on the radio. In 1936, he appeared on stage in Portland in Maxwell Anderson's Elizabeth the Queen . [5] He went on to appear in more than 200 plays. [4] His Broadway credits include The Front Page (1968), Plaza Suite (1967), and Any Wednesday (1963). [6]
He appeared in various films in the 1940s before landing the role of Peter Sands, the boss of Susan Camille MacNamara (Ann Sothern), on the 1950s sitcom Private Secretary . A retooled version of the series appeared later, titled The Ann Sothern Show . It featured many of the same actors, including Porter as hotel manager James Devery in the venue of a fashionable New York City hotel. [3] He later guest-starred on episodes of Green Acres ; Love, American Style ; The Mod Squad ; Barnaby Jones ; The Six Million Dollar Man ; Hawaii Five-O ; Three's Company (on which he played Jack Tripper's uncle); and Switch . Porter also had a lucrative stage career that included the long-running hit Any Wednesday (1964) opposite Sandy Dennis and Gene Hackman.
Porter also appeared in numerous films, including The Turning Point (1952), Our Miss Brooks (1956), Gidget Goes to Rome (playing Russell Lawrence two years prior to repeating the role in the series), and Live a Little, Love a Little (1968) starring with Elvis Presley.
In The Candidate (1972), he played Crocker Jarmon, a United States Senator being challenged by a character played by Robert Redford. Commenting on a scene in which Jarmon gave a stirring speech with feigned sincerity, the New Statesman observed that Porter gave "a beautiful performance of Jarman giving a beautiful performance." [5]
Porter played Mr. Upson in the 1974 film adaptation of Mame with Lucille Ball and Bea Arthur. Porter made his last onscreen appearance in a 1988 episode of CBS Summer Playhouse .
Porter was married to actress Peggy Converse with whom he had two children. He died at age 84 in his Beverly Hills, California home on February 11, 1997. [3]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1939 | Mystery of the White Room | Dr. Donald Fox | |
1941 | Sing for Your Supper | Tim | Uncredited |
1942 | Top Sergeant | Al Bennett | |
1942 | Eagle Squadron | Ramsey | |
1942 | Eyes of the Underworld | Edward Jason | |
1942 | Night Monster | Dick Baldwin | |
1942 | Who Done It? | Art Fraser | |
1943 | Madame Spy | David Bannister | |
1943 | Keep 'Em Slugging | Jerry | |
1944 | Resisting Enemy Interrogation | Lieutenant Frank L. Williams, Jr. | Uncredited |
1946 | She-Wolf of London | Barry Lanfield | Alternative title: The Curse of the Allenbys |
1946 | Cuban Pete | Roberts | Alternative title: Down Cuba Way |
1946 | Danger Woman | Professor Claude Ruppert | |
1946 | Wild Beauty | Dr. Dave Morrow | |
1947 | Buck Privates Come Home | Captain Christie | Alternative title: Rookies Come Home |
1950 | My Friend Irma Goes West | Mr. Brent | |
1950 | 711 Ocean Drive | Larry Mason | |
1950 | Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone | Myron Brynk | |
1951 | The Racket | R.G. Connolly | |
1952 | Cripple Creek | Denver Jones | |
1952 | Because You're Mine | Captain Burton Nordell Loring | |
1952 | The Savage | Running Dog | Credited as Donald Porter |
1952 | The Turning Point | Joe Silbray | |
1956 | Our Miss Brooks | Lawrence Nolan | |
1957 | Desk Set | Elevator operator Don | Uncredited Alternative title: His Other Woman |
1961 | Bachelor in Paradise | Thomas W. Jynson | |
1963 | Gidget Goes to Rome | Russell Lawrence | |
1964 | Youngblood Hawke | Ferdie Lax | |
1968 | Live a Little, Love a Little | Mike Lansdown | With Elvis Presley |
1972 | The Candidate | Senator Crocker Jarmon | |
1973 | 40 Carats | Mr. Latham | |
1974 | The Morning After | Rudy King | |
1974 | Mame | Claude Upson | |
1975 | White Line Fever | Cutler | |
1975 | A Woman for All Men | Barney | |
1979 | Butterflies in Heat | Commodore Phillips | |
1980 | The Last Song | Philip Brokhurst | TV movie |
1985 | Joey | Alternative title: Making Contact |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1953–1957 | Private Secretary | Peter Sands | 103 episodes |
1959–1961 | The Ann Sothern Show | James Devery | 45 episodes |
1965–1966 | Gidget | Professor Russell Lawrence | 32 episodes |
1969 | Judd, for the Defense | Frank Vinton | Episode: "Epitaph on a Computer Card" |
1971 | Green Acres | Manager of Hotel Rexford, Carter | Episode: "Hawaiian Honeymoon" backdoor pilot for sitcom featuring Don Porter |
1972 | Cade's County | Martin Russell | Episode: "Blackout" |
1972 | Banacek | Arnold Leeland | Episode: "A Million the Hard Way" |
1972 | The Rookies | General Brooker | Episode: "A Deadly Velocity" |
1973 | Hawaii Five-O | Jonathan Cavel-IRS Investigator (The Star in the episode) | Episode: "Murder is a Taxing Affair" |
1973 | The New Adventures of Perry Mason | Otis Temple | Episode: "The Case of the Deadly Deeds" |
1973 | Tenafly | Miles | Episode: "The Cash and Carry Caper" |
1974 | Here's Lucy | Ken Richards | Episode: "Meanwhile, Back At the Office" |
1974 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Dr. Stanley Bacon | Episode: "Population: Zero" |
1974 | Chase | Miller | Episode: "Out of Gas" |
1974 | The F.B.I. | Mason Hammond | Episode: "The Lost Man" |
1974 | Barnaby Jones | Adam Montgomery | Episode: "Web of Deceit" |
1975 | Ellery Queen | Gregory Layton | Episode: "The Adventure of Veronica's Veils" |
1975 | McMillan & Wife | Adrian Danzinger | Episode: "Secrets for Sale" |
1976–1977 | The Bionic Woman | Dr. James Courtney | 3 episodes |
1977 | Three's Company | Uncle Fremont | Episode: "Jack's Uncle" |
1978 | The Paper Chase | Franklin Ford II | Episode: "The Man Who Would Be King" |
1978 | Vega$ | Senator William Mitchell | Episode: "The Games Girls Play" |
1978 | Sword of Justice | Judge Addams | Episode: "Judgement Day" |
1978 | The Love Boat | Slade Summerhill | Episode: “Gopher the Rebel” |
1979 | Turnabout | Ed | Episode: "Till Dad Do Us Part" |
1980 | Dallas | Matt Devlin | 4 episodes |
1981 | Fantasy Island | Emmett Latham | Episode: "Also Rans/Portrait of Solange" |
1983 | The Love Boat | George Cowens | Episode: "He Ain't Heavy" |
1983 | Hotel | Jonathan Corry | Episode: "Faith, Hope & Charity" |
1986 | Matlock | Professor Erskine Tate | Episode: "The Professor" |
Year | Award | Result | Category | Series |
---|---|---|---|---|
1974 | Daytime Emmy Award | Nominated | Best Actor in Daytime Drama - For a Special Program | The ABC Afternoon Playbreak |
Tony Danza is an American actor and retired professional boxer. He is known for co-starring in the television series Taxi (1978–1983) and Who's the Boss? (1984–1992), for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards. In 1998, Danza won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series for his work on the 1997 sitcom The Tony Danza Show. He has also appeared in films such as The Hollywood Knights (1980), Going Ape! (1981), She's Out of Control (1989), Angels in the Outfield (1994), Crash (2004), and Don Jon (2013).
Edward Mulhare was an Irish actor whose career spanned five decades. He is best known for his starring roles in two television series, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir and Knight Rider.
Katherine Marie Helmond was an American actress. Over an acting career spanning six decades, she was best known for her starring role as Jessica Tate on the sitcom Soap (1977–1981) and her co-starring role as Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss? (1984–1992). Helmond also played Doris Sherman on Coach (1995–1997) and Lois Whelan on Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2004). She also appeared as a guest on several talk and variety shows.
Ann Sothern was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920s in bit parts in films. In 1930, she made her Broadway stage debut and soon worked her way up to starring roles. In 1939, MGM cast her as Maisie Ravier, a brash yet lovable Brooklyn showgirl. The character proved to be popular and spawned a successful film series and a network radio series.
Dominick DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, director, chef, and author. Known primarily for comedy roles, he rose to fame in the 1970s as a frequent guest on television variety shows. He is widely recognized for his performances in the films of Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder, as well as a series of collaborations and a double act with Burt Reynolds. Beginning in the 1980s, his popularity expanded to younger audiences from voicing characters in several major animated productions, particularly those of Don Bluth.
Adam Garcia is an Australian stage, television, and film actor who is best known for lead roles in musicals such as Saturday Night Fever and Kiss Me, Kate. He is also a trained tap dancer and singer. Garcia has been nominated twice at the Laurence Olivier Awards in 1999 and 2013.
Jesse White was an American actor who was best known for his portrayal as "Ol' Lonely" the repairman in Maytag television commercials from 1967 to 1988.
Gidget is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel, Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas. The novel follows the adventures of a teenage girl and her surfing friends on the beach in Malibu. The name Gidget is a portmanteau of "girl" and "midget". Following the novel's publication, the character appeared in several films, television series, and television movies.
Gidget is an American sitcom television series by Screen Gems about a surfing, boy-crazy teenager called "Gidget" and her widowed father Russ Lawrence, a UCLA professor. Sally Field stars as Gidget with Don Porter as father Russell Lawrence. The series was first broadcast on ABC from September 15, 1965, to April 21, 1966. Reruns were aired until September 1, 1966.
Michael Callan, sometimes known as Mickey Collins, was an American actor best known for originating the role of Riff in West Side Story on Broadway, and for his film roles for Columbia Pictures, notably Gidget Goes Hawaiian, The Interns and Cat Ballou.
The New Gidget is an American sitcom sequel to the original 1965–66 sitcom Gidget. It aired in syndication from September 15, 1986, to May 12, 1988. The series was produced by original Gidget series producer Harry Ackerman and was launched after the made-for-television film Gidget's Summer Reunion, starring Caryn Richman as Gidget, aired in 1985.
Robert Sterling was an American actor. He was best known for starring in the television series Topper (1953–1955).
Stark Sands is an American actor. He is known for his role as Tunny in the original Broadway cast of American Idiot, and originating the role of Charlie Price in Kinky Boots on Broadway. He is a two-time Tony Award nominee. He is also known for the roles of Lance Sussman in Die, Mommie, Die! and Lt. Nathaniel Fick in Generation Kill. He starred as Dash Parker in FOX's series Minority Report.
Private Secretary is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from February 1, 1953, to March 17, 1957. Created by Ned Marin, the series stars Ann Sothern as Susan Camille "Susie" MacNamara, devoted secretary to handsome talent agent Peter Sands, played by Don Porter.
The Ann Sothern Show is an American sitcom starring Ann Sothern that aired on CBS for three seasons from October 6, 1958, to March 30, 1961. Created by Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf, the series was the second starring vehicle for Sothern, who had previously starred in Private Secretary, which also aired on CBS from 1953 to 1957.
Ann Tyrrell was an American stage, film and television actress. Tyrrell is best known for her roles in both of the Ann Sothern CBS sitcoms Private Secretary (1953–1957) and The Ann Sothern Show (1958–1961).
Sylvia Field was an American actress whose career encompassed performances on stage, screen, and TV. She was best known for playing the understanding Mrs. Martha Wilson on the television sitcom Dennis the Menace on CBS from 1959 to 1962.
Arthur James Millhollin was an American character actor.
Roger Pryor was an American film actor.
Anne Barton was an American stage, film and television actress. She performed in the films Destination 60,000 (1957), Pawnee (1957), The Green-Eyed Blonde (1957), The Left Handed Gun (1958), The Comancheros (1961), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), The Way West (1967) and The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972), among others.