Don Porter

Don Porter was a familiar face on the stage, in films and television in a career that extended from the early 1930s to 1988. Porter appeared in various films in the 1940s, including many B's like She-Wolf of London and Night Monster. In the 1970s his credits included The Candidate (1972) with Robert Redford and Mame (1974) with Lucille Ball. He appeared in more than 200 plays during his career. His Broadway credits include The Front Page(1968), Plaza Suite(1967), and Any Wednesday (1963). TV viewers in the 1950s knew him as Peter Sands, the boss of Ann Sothern's character on Private Secretary, and in the 1960s as Russell Lawrence, the widowed father of 15-year-old Frances "Gidget" Lawrence (Sally Field) in the 1965 ABC sitcom Gidget. He later guest-starred on episodes of Barnaby Jones; Green Acres; Hawaii Five-O; Love, American Style; The Mod Squad; The Six Million Dollar Man; Switch and Three's Company (on which he played Jack Tripper's uncle). He served as a combat photographer during World War II and also appeared in training films. He died February 11, 1997. He was 84.