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
Senator Crocker Jarmon
The Candidate
R. G. Connolly
The Racket
Capt. Christie
Buck Privates Come Home
Cutler
White Line Fever
Larry Mason
711 Ocean Drive
Joe Silbray
The Turning Point
Barry Lanfield
She-Wolf of London
'Murder at Midnight' program manager
Who Done It?
Sanford T. Evans
The Norliss Tapes
Mike Lansdown
Live a Little, Love a Little
Thomas W. Jynson
Bachelor in Paradise
Professor Claude Ruppert
Danger Woman
Lawrence Nolan
Our Miss Brooks
Edward Jason
Eyes of the Underworld
Dick Baldwin
Night Monster
Ferdie Lax
Youngblood Hawke
Lt. Frank L. Williams, Jr. - American Co-pilot
Resisting Enemy Interrogation
Don the Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Desk Set
Denver Jones
Cripple Creek
Rudy King
The Morning After
Roberts
Cuban Pete
Running Dog
The Savage
Mr. Pace
Last Hours Before Morning
Gen. Rocky Jensen
The Murder That Wouldn't Die
George Robinson
The Legend of Lizzie Borden
Henry Balin
Murder or Mercy
Mr. Upson
Mame
Judge Oliver Haynes
The Ghosts of Buxley Hall
Dr. Dave Morrow
Wild Beauty
Ramsey
Eagle Squadron
Al Bennett
Top Sergeant
Commodore Phillips
Tropic of Desire
Theodore Michael
Interview with Pontius Pilate
David Bannister
Madame Spy
Craig
The President's Mistress
Myron Brynk
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone
Jerry
Keep 'Em Slugging
Mr. Brent
My Friend Irma Goes West
Barney
A Woman for All Men
Mr. Latham
40 Carats
Dr. Donald Fox
Mystery of the White Room
Russell Lawrence
Gidget Goes to Rome
Camera Instructor
Reconnaissance Pilot
Captain Dick
How to Fly the B-26 Airplane
Philip Brockhurst
The Last Song
Captain Burton Nordell Loring
Because You're Mine
Narrator
The Fallbrook Story
Caufield
Christmas Miracle in Caufield, U.S.A.
Ed 'Mad Dog' Murphy
Happy Anniversary and Goodbye
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
49
Gender
Male
Birthday
1912-09-24
Place of Birth
Miami, Oklahoma, USA
Also Known As
Donald Porter