Acting credits
72
Prolific
Very extensive acting filmography.
Actor
Don Porter
Acting
Career Snapshot
ExplainedThese indicators come from TMDB. They are relative signals, not review ratings.
TMDB popularity
1.6
Low visibility
TMDB internal trend index. Higher usually means more searches and page activity now.
Movies: 48Series: 24Crew credits: 1
TMDB ID: 94294
IMDb ID: nm0692093
Known for: Acting
Born: September 24, 1912
Died: February 11, 1997
Age: 84
Place of birth: Miami, Oklahoma, USA
Gender: Male
Adult content flag: No
Career span: 1939 - 1986
Years active: 48
Average TMDB rating: 6.57
Wikidata: Q5293332
Also known as
Donald Porter • Donald Cecil Porter
Other jobs
Director (1)
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.
Photos
Movies
Movies
Movie credits linked with Don Porter.
6.3
The Ghosts of Buxley Hall
as Judge Oliver Haynes
1980 Movie
7.0
The Last Song
as Philip Brockhurst
1980 Movie
2.0
The Murder That Wouldn't Die
as Gen. Rocky Jensen
1980 Movie
6.4
Tropic of Desire
as Commodore Phillips
1979 Movie
6.7
The President's Mistress
as Craig
1978 Movie
5.4
Christmas Miracle in Caufield, U.S.A.
as Caufield
1977 Movie
4.7
A Woman for All Men
as Barney
1975 Movie
6.0
White Line Fever
as Cutler
1975 Movie
2.0
Last Hours Before Morning
as Mr. Pace
1975 Movie
6.8
The Legend of Lizzie Borden
as George Robinson
1975 Movie
4.8
Happy Anniversary and Goodbye
as Ed 'Mad Dog' Murphy
1974 Movie
Murder or Mercy
as Henry Balin
1974 Movie
6.0
Mame
as Mr. Upson
1974 Movie
6.5
The Morning After
as Rudy King
1974 Movie
5.7
40 Carats
as Mr. Latham
1973 Movie
6.0
The Norliss Tapes
as Sanford T. Evans
1973 Movie
6.5
The Candidate
as Senator Crocker Jarmon
1972 Movie
5.5
Live a Little, Love a Little
as Mike Lansdown
1968 Movie
6.1
Youngblood Hawke
as Ferdie Lax
1964 Movie
4.8
Gidget Goes to Rome
as Russell Lawrence
1963 Movie
6.3
Bachelor in Paradise
as Thomas W. Jynson
1961 Movie
7.0
Desk Set
as Don the Elevator Operator (uncredited)
1957 Movie
6.6
Our Miss Brooks
as Lawrence Nolan
1956 Movie
6.7
Because You're Mine
as Captain Burton Nordell Loring
1952 Movie
Series
Series
Series credits linked with Don Porter.
7.1
Matlock
as Erskine Tate • 1 eps
1986 Series
6.8
Hotel
1 eps
1982 Series
7.0
Vega$
1 eps
1978 Series
7.6
The Paper Chase
1 eps
1978 Series
6.8
Dallas
as Matt Devlin • 4 eps
1978 Series
6.3
The Love Boat
as Slade Summerhill • 1 eps
1977 Series
7.6
Three's Company
1 eps
1977 Series
5.2
City of Angels
1 eps
1976 Series
6.9
The Bionic Woman
2 eps
1976 Series
7.5
Ellery Queen
1 eps
1975 Series
6.7
Switch
as Paul Lorimer • 1 eps
1975 Series
7.3
The Six Million Dollar Man
as Dr. Stanley Bacon • 1 eps
1974 Series
6.9
Barnaby Jones
as Jeremy Markham • 1 eps
1973 Series
6.8
The Rookies
1 eps
1972 Series
6.1
Love, American Style
2 eps
1969 Series
6.2
The Mod Squad
2 eps
1968 Series
6.7
Here's Lucy
as Ken Richards • 1 eps
1968 Series
7.1
Hawaii Five-O
as Jonathan Cavel • 1 eps
1968 Series
7.5
Judd for the Defense
1 eps
1967 Series
5.4
The F.B.I.
as Mason Hammond • 1 eps
1965 Series
7.3
Green Acres
1 eps
1965 Series
6.6
Gidget
as Professor Russell Lawrence • 32 eps
1965 Series
7.0
Vacation Playhouse
as Battersea, The Housekeeper • 1 eps
1963 Series
5.0
Private Secretary
104 eps
1953 Series