Don Porter
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- September 24, 1912
- Died
- February 11, 1997 (aged 84)
- Birthplace
- Miami, Oklahoma, USA
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
Photos
Filmography
Matlock
TV · as Erskine Tate · 1 ep
Hotel
TV · as Jonathan Corry · 1 ep
The Murder That Wouldn't Die
Movie · as Gen. Rocky Jensen
The Ghosts of Buxley Hall
Movie · as Judge Oliver Haynes
Interview with Pontius Pilate
Movie · as Theodore Michael
The Last Song
Movie · as Philip Brockhurst
Tropic of Desire
Movie · as Commodore Phillips
The President's Mistress
Movie · as Craig
Dallas
TV · as Matt Devlin · 4 eps
Vega$
TV · 1 ep
The Paper Chase
TV · 1 ep
Christmas Miracle in Caufield, U.S.A.
Movie · as Caufield
The Love Boat
TV · as Slade Summerhill, George Cowens · 1 ep
Three's Company
TV · 1 ep
The Bionic Woman
TV · 2 eps
City of Angels
TV · 1 ep
White Line Fever
Movie · as Cutler
Last Hours Before Morning
Movie · as Mr. Pace
The Legend of Lizzie Borden
Movie · as George Robinson
A Woman for All Men
Movie · as Barney
Switch
TV · as Paul Lorimer, Salvensen · 1 ep
Ellery Queen
TV · 1 ep
Archer
TV · 1 ep
The Morning After
Movie · as Rudy King
Murder or Mercy
Movie · as Henry Balin
Mame
Movie · as Mr. Upson
Happy Anniversary and Goodbye
Movie · as Ed Murphy
The Six Million Dollar Man
TV · as Dr. Stanley Bacon · 1 ep
The Norliss Tapes
Movie · as Sanford T. Evans
40 Carats
Movie · as Mr. Latham
Barnaby Jones
TV · as Jeremy Markham · 1 ep
The Candidate
Movie · as Senator Crocker Jarmon
The Rookies
TV · 1 ep
Hawaii Five-O
TV · as Jonathan Cavel, Alex Kelsey · 1 ep
Love, American Style
TV · 2 eps
Live a Little, Love a Little
Movie · as Mike Lansdown
Here's Lucy
TV · as Ken Richards · 1 ep
The Mod Squad
TV · 2 eps
Judd, for the Defense
TV · 1 ep
Green Acres
TV · 1 ep
Gidget
TV · as Professor Russell Lawrence · 32 eps
The F.B.I.
TV · as Mason Hammond · 1 ep
Youngblood Hawke
Movie · as Ferdie Lax
Gidget Goes to Rome
Movie · as Russell Lawrence
Vacation Playhouse
TV · as Battersea, The Housekeeper · 1 ep
Bachelor in Paradise
Movie · as Thomas W. Jynson
Desk Set
Movie · as Don the Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Our Miss Brooks
Movie · as Lawrence Nolan
Private Secretary
TV · 104 eps
The Turning Point
Movie · as Joe Silbray
Cripple Creek
Movie · as Denver Jones
The Savage
Movie · as Running Dog
Because You're Mine
Movie · as Captain Burton Nordell Loring
The Fallbrook Story
Movie · as Narrator
The Racket
Movie · as R. G. Connolly
711 Ocean Drive
Movie · as Larry Mason
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone
Movie · as Myron Brynk
My Friend Irma Goes West
Movie · as Mr. Brent
Buck Privates Come Home
Movie · as Capt. Christie
She-Wolf of London
Movie · as Barry Lanfield
Danger Woman
Movie · as Professor Claude Ruppert
Cuban Pete
Movie · as Roberts
Wild Beauty
Movie · as Dr. Dave Morrow
Resisting Enemy Interrogation
Movie · as Lt. Frank L. Williams, Jr. - American Co-pilot
How to Fly the B-26 Airplane
Movie · as Captain Dick
Keep 'Em Slugging
Movie · as Jerry
Reconnaissance Pilot
Movie · as Camera Instructor
Who Done It?
Movie · as 'Murder at Midnight' program manager
Eyes of the Underworld
Movie · as Edward Jason
Night Monster
Movie · as Dick Baldwin
Eagle Squadron
Movie · as Ramsey
Top Sergeant
Movie · as Al Bennett
Madame Spy
Movie · as David Bannister
Mystery of the White Room
Movie · as Dr. Donald Fox