John Paterson McGowan (February 24, 1880 â€" March 26, 1952) was a
pioneering Hollywood actor and director and occasionally a
screenwriter and producer. McGowan remains the only Australian to have
been made a life member of the Screen Directors Guild (now Directors
Guild of America).Born in the then-bustling railway centre of Terowie
in South Australia, McGowan grew up in Adelaide (Islington) and Sydney
(Eveleigh, Newtown). He was a capable horseman and served in the
Second Boer War with Montmorency's Scouts as a special dispatch
rider.From South Africa McGowan was recruited to take part in a Boer
War exhibit in the US at the 1904 World's Fair. He then began working
in live theatre, and in 1910 joined Kalem Studios in New York City.
That year McGowan made his first film appearance in A Lad from Old
Ireland as part of the crew that traveled to Ireland to do the first
American film shot on location outside of the United States. His
horseback riding ability enabled him to do many of Kalem's riding
stunts.McGowan directed and often acted in the first 33 episodes of
Kalem's 1914 adventure film series, The Hazards of Helen, which
eventually ran to 54 episodes, some still with McGowan's
participation. With other contributors, the series ran on to 119
episodes in all. While filming he began a relationship with Helen
Holmes, the film's star, and the two married. They left Kalem to set
up their own production company, Signal Films, which successfully made
mainly railroad melodrama serials and features but lost out when their
distributor (Mutual) failed. The collaboration ended when they
divorced in 1925. There was an adopted daughter, Kaye.
pioneering Hollywood actor and director and occasionally a
screenwriter and producer. McGowan remains the only Australian to have
been made a life member of the Screen Directors Guild (now Directors
Guild of America).Born in the then-bustling railway centre of Terowie
in South Australia, McGowan grew up in Adelaide (Islington) and Sydney
(Eveleigh, Newtown). He was a capable horseman and served in the
Second Boer War with Montmorency's Scouts as a special dispatch
rider.From South Africa McGowan was recruited to take part in a Boer
War exhibit in the US at the 1904 World's Fair. He then began working
in live theatre, and in 1910 joined Kalem Studios in New York City.
That year McGowan made his first film appearance in A Lad from Old
Ireland as part of the crew that traveled to Ireland to do the first
American film shot on location outside of the United States. His
horseback riding ability enabled him to do many of Kalem's riding
stunts.McGowan directed and often acted in the first 33 episodes of
Kalem's 1914 adventure film series, The Hazards of Helen, which
eventually ran to 54 episodes, some still with McGowan's
participation. With other contributors, the series ran on to 119
episodes in all. While filming he began a relationship with Helen
Holmes, the film's star, and the two married. They left Kalem to set
up their own production company, Signal Films, which successfully made
mainly railroad melodrama serials and features but lost out when their
distributor (Mutual) failed. The collaboration ended when they
divorced in 1925. There was an adopted daughter, Kaye.
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