Don Porter
Known For
Acting
Born
1912-09-24 in Miami, Oklahoma, USA
Died
1997-02-11
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.
Most Known For
The Love Boat
as Slade Summerhill
Dallas
as Matt Devlin
The Six Million Dollar Man
as Dr. Stanley Bacon
Hawaii Five-O
as Jonathan Cavel
Hawaii Five-O
as Alex Kelsey
Matlock
as Erskine Tate
Hotel
Love, American Style
Green Acres
The F.B.I.
as Mason Hammond
Three's Company
Barnaby Jones
as Jeremy Markham
The Rookies
The Bionic Woman
Here's Lucy
as Ken Richards
Switch
as Paul Lorimer
Switch
as Salvensen
The Mod Squad
Vega$
