# Don Porter

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,$^{:857}$ and Russell Lawrence, the widowed father of 15-year-old Frances "Gidget" Lawrence (Sally Field) in the 1965 ABC sitcom Gidget.

## Life and career

Porter was born in Miami, Oklahoma, and as a youth also lived in Nebraska and Oregon. 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 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. He went on to appear in more than 200 plays. His Broadway credits include The Front Page (1968), Plaza Suite (1967), and Any Wednesday (1963).
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. 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."
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.

## Personal life and death

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.

## Filmography
### Film

| 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 |

### Television

| 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" |

## Awards and honors

| Year | Award | Result | Category | Series |
| 1974 | Daytime Emmy Award | Nominated | Best Actor in Daytime Drama - For a Special Program | The ABC Afternoon Playbreak |