Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
September 24, 1912
Place of Birth:
Miami, Oklahoma, USA
Social Media
Don Porter
Biography
Donald "Don" Porter (September 24, 1912 –February 11, 1997) was an American actor who appeared in a number of films since the 1940s, including Top Sergeant and Eagle Squadron. On television, he portrayed the widowed father of 15-year-old Frances "Gidget" Lawrence (Sally Field) in the 1965 ABC sitcom Gidget. Besides his work in film and television, Porter was active on stage, as he acted in more than 200 plays, including The Front Page, Plaza Suite, and Any Wednesday. 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. 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.
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | The Murder That Wouldn't Die | Gen. Rocky Jensen |
| 1980 | The Ghosts of Buxley Hall | Judge Oliver Haynes |
| 1980 | Interview with Pontius Pilate | Theodore Michael |
| 1980 | The Last Song | Philip Brockhurst |
| 1979 | Tropic of Desire | Commodore Phillips |
| 1978 | The President's Mistress | Craig |
| 1977 | Christmas Miracle in Caufield, U.S.A. | Caufield |
| 1975 | White Line Fever | Cutler |
| 1975 | Last Hours Before Morning | Mr. Pace |
| 1975 | The Legend of Lizzie Borden | George Robinson |
| 1975 | A Woman for All Men | Barney |
| 1974 | The Morning After | Rudy King |
| 1974 | Murder or Mercy | Henry Balin |
| 1974 | Mame | Mr. Upson |
| 1974 | Happy Anniversary and Goodbye | Ed 'Mad Dog' Murphy |
| 1973 | The Norliss Tapes | Sanford T. Evans |
| 1973 | 40 Carats | Mr. Latham |
| 1972 | The Candidate | Senator Crocker Jarmon |
| 1968 | Live a Little, Love a Little | Mike Lansdown |
| 1964 | Youngblood Hawke | Ferdie Lax |
| 1963 | Gidget Goes to Rome | Russell Lawrence |
| 1961 | Bachelor in Paradise | Thomas W. Jynson |
| 1957 | Desk Set | Don the Elevator Operator (uncredited) |
| 1956 | Our Miss Brooks | Lawrence Nolan |
| 1952 | The Turning Point | Joe Silbray |
| 1952 | Cripple Creek | Denver Jones |
| 1952 | The Savage | Running Dog |
| 1952 | Because You're Mine | Captain Burton Nordell Loring |
| 1952 | The Fallbrook Story | Narrator |
| 1951 | The Racket | R. G. Connolly |
| 1950 | 711 Ocean Drive | Larry Mason |
| 1950 | Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone | Myron Brynk |
| 1950 | My Friend Irma Goes West | Mr. Brent |
| 1947 | Buck Privates Come Home | Capt. Christie |
| 1946 | She-Wolf of London | Barry Lanfield |
| 1946 | Danger Woman | Professor Claude Ruppert |
| 1946 | Cuban Pete | Roberts |
| 1946 | Wild Beauty | Dr. Dave Morrow |
| 1944 | Resisting Enemy Interrogation | Lt. Frank L. Williams, Jr. - American Co-pilot |
| 1944 | How to Fly the B-26 Airplane | Captain Dick |
| 1943 | Keep 'Em Slugging | Jerry |
| 1943 | Reconnaissance Pilot | Camera Instructor |
| 1942 | Who Done It? | 'Murder at Midnight' program manager |
| 1942 | Eyes of the Underworld | Edward Jason |
| 1942 | Night Monster | Dick Baldwin |
| 1942 | Eagle Squadron | Ramsey |
| 1942 | Top Sergeant | Al Bennett |
| 1942 | Madame Spy | David Bannister |
| 1939 | Mystery of the White Room | Dr. Donald Fox |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Matlock | |
| 1982 | Hotel | |
| 1978 | Dallas | Matt Devlin |
| 1978 | Vega$ | |
| 1978 | The Paper Chase | |
| 1977 | The Love Boat | Slade Summerhill |
| 1977 | Three's Company | |
| 1976 | The Bionic Woman | |
| 1976 | City of Angels | |
| 1975 | Switch | Paul Lorimer |
| 1975 | Ellery Queen | |
| 1975 | Archer | |
| 1975 | Switch | Salvensen |
| 1974 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Dr. Stanley Bacon |
| 1973 | Barnaby Jones | Jeremy Markham |
| 1972 | The Rookies | |
| 1969 | Love, American Style | |
| 1968 | Here's Lucy | Ken Richards |
| 1968 | Hawaii Five-O | Jonathan Cavel |
| 1968 | The Mod Squad | |
| 1968 | Hawaii Five-O | Alex Kelsey |
| 1967 | Judd for the Defense | |
| 1965 | Green Acres | |
| 1965 | Gidget | Professor Russell Lawrence |
| 1965 | The F.B.I. | Mason Hammond |
| 1963 | Vacation Playhouse | Battersea, The Housekeeper |
| 1953 | Private Secretary |