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 Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920 ...

's character on ''

Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in ...

'', and Russell Lawrence, the widowed father of 15-year-old Frances "Gidget" Lawrence ( Sally Field) in the 1965 ABC

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

Gidget Gidget () is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner (based on his teenaged daughter, Kathy) in his 1957 novel, ''Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas''. The novel follows the adventures of a teenaged girl and her surfing fri ...

''.

Life and career

Porter was born in

Miami, Oklahoma Miami ( ) is a city in and county seat of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States, founded in 1891. Lead and zinc mining were established by 1918, causing the area's economy to boom. This area was part of Indian Territory. Miami is the capital of ...

, and as a youth also lived in Nebraska and Oregon. He joined the

Oklahoma National Guard The Oklahoma National Guard, a division of the Oklahoma Military Department, is the component of the United States National Guard in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It comprises both Army (OKARNG) and Air (OKANG) National Guard components. The Governo ...

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 James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Background Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...

's '' Elizabeth the Queen''. He went on to appear in more than 200 plays. His

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

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 (

), on the 1950s

''. A retooled version of the series appeared later, titled ''

The Ann Sothern Show ''The Ann Sothern Show'' is an American sitcom starring Ann Sothern that aired on CBS for three seasons from October 6, 1958, to March 30, 1961. Created by Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf, the series was the second starring vehicle for Sothern, who ...

''. It featured many of the same actors, including Porter as hotel manager James Devery in the venue of a fashionable

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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. He later guest starred on episodes of '' Green Acres''; '' Love, American Style''; ''

The Mod Squad ''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, Clarence Williams III ...

''; ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was o ...

''; ''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin is re ...

''; ''

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''; ''

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'' (on which he played Jack Tripper's uncle); and ''

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

''. Porter also had a lucrative stage career that included the long-running hit ''

Any Wednesday ''Any Wednesday'' is a 1966 American Technicolor romantic comedy film starring Jane Fonda, Jason Robards, and Dean Jones. It was directed by Robert Ellis Miller from a screenplay by producer Julius J. Epstein based on the Broadway play of the ...

'' (1964) opposite Sandy Dennis and Gene Hackman. Porter also appeared in numerous films including '' The Turning Point'' (1952), ''

Our Miss Brooks ''Our Miss Brooks'' is an American sitcom starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high-school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television (1952–56), it became one of the medi ...

'' (1956), ''

Gidget Goes to Rome ''Gidget Goes to Rome'' is a 1963 Columbia Pictures Eastmancolor feature film starring Cindy Carol as the archetypal high school teen surfer girl originally portrayed by Sandra Dee in the 1959 film ''Gidget''. The film is the third of three Gidge ...

'' (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 Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. In '' The Candidate'' (1972), he played Crocker Jarmon, a ruthless, corrupt

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

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 The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...

'' observed that Porter gave "a beautiful performance of Jarman giving a beautiful performance." Porter played Mr. Upson in the 1974 film adaptation of ''

Mame MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. Its intention is to preserve ...

'' with

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golde ...

and

Bea Arthur Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress and comedian. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Arthur began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving ...

. 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

Television

Awards and honors

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Don 1912 births 1997 deaths People from Miami, Oklahoma Male actors from Oklahoma American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors United States Army Air Forces soldiers First Motion Picture Unit personnel 20th-century American male actors