Don Porter
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1912-09-24
Day of Death
1997-02-11 (84 years old)
Place of Birth
Miami, Oklahoma, USA
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.
Acting
(1980)
The Ghosts of Buxley Hall
as Judge Oliver Haynes
(1980)
The Last Song
as Philip Brockhurst
(1980)
The Murder That Wouldn't Die
as Gen. Rocky Jensen
(1980)
Interview with Pontius Pilate
as Theodore Michael
(1979)
Tropic of Desire
as Commodore Phillips
(1978)
The President's Mistress
as Craig
(1977)
Christmas Miracle in Caufield, U.S.A.
as Caufield
(1975)
White Line Fever
as Cutler
(1975)
The Legend of Lizzie Borden
as George Robinson
(1975)
A Woman for All Men
as Barney
(1975)
Last Hours Before Morning
as Mr. Pace
(1974)
Mame
as Mr. Upson
(1974)
Happy Anniversary and Goodbye
as Ed 'Mad Dog' Murphy
(1974)
Murder or Mercy
as Henry Balin
(1974)
The Morning After
as Rudy King
(1973)
40 Carats
as Mr. Latham
(1973)
The Norliss Tapes
as Sanford T. Evans
(1972)
The Candidate
as Senator Crocker Jarmon
(1968)
Live a Little, Love a Little
as Mike Lansdown
(1964)
Youngblood Hawke
as Ferdie Lax
(1963)
Gidget Goes to Rome
as Russell Lawrence
(1961)
Bachelor in Paradise
as Thomas W. Jynson
(1957)
Desk Set
as Don the Elevator Operator (uncredited)
(1956)
Our Miss Brooks
as Lawrence Nolan
(1952)
The Turning Point
as Joe Silbray
(1952)
The Savage
as Running Dog
(1952)
Cripple Creek
as Denver Jones
(1952)
Because You're Mine
as Captain Burton Nordell Loring
(1952)
The Fallbrook Story
as Narrator
(1951)
The Racket
as R. G. Connolly
(1950)
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone
as Myron Brynk
(1950)
711 Ocean Drive
as Larry Mason
(1950)
My Friend Irma Goes West
as Mr. Brent
(1947)
Buck Privates Come Home
as Capt. Christie
(1946)
She-Wolf of London
as Barry Lanfield
(1946)
Wild Beauty
as Dr. Dave Morrow
(1946)
Cuban Pete
as Roberts
(1946)
Danger Woman
as Professor Claude Ruppert
(1944)
Resisting Enemy Interrogation
as Lt. Frank L. Williams, Jr. - American Co-pilot
(1944)
How to Fly the B-26 Airplane
as Captain Dick
(1943)
Reconnaissance Pilot
as Camera Instructor
(1943)
Keep 'Em Slugging
as Jerry
(1942)
Who Done It?
as 'Murder at Midnight' program manager
(1942)
Night Monster
as Dick Baldwin
(1942)
Eagle Squadron
as Ramsey
(1942)
Top Sergeant
as Al Bennett
(1942)
Eyes of the Underworld
as Edward Jason
(1942)
Madame Spy
as David Bannister
(1939)
Mystery of the White Room
as Dr. Donald Fox