Donald Porter was an American actor who appeared in a number of films in the 1940s, including Top Sergeant and Eagle Squadron. On television, he played Peter Sands, the boss of Ann Sothern's character on Private Secretary, and Russell Lawrence, the widowed father of 15-year-old Frances "Gidget" Lawrence in the 1965 ABCsitcomGidget.
Life and career
He was born in Miami, Oklahoma. Porter's obituary in the Deseret News reported that his career in show business began in Portland, Oregon after he served in World War II, but lists of his film credits indicate he began in Hollywood in 1939 and acted throughout the war years. He appeared as a B26 pilot in a 1944 Army Air Forces training film, as a savvy captain who teaches another pilot the tips and tricks of flying the Martin B26 Maurauder. Besides his work in film and television, Porter was active on stage, as he acted in more than 200 plays. His Broadway credits include 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, 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 ; and Switch. Porter also had a lucrative stage career that included the long-running hit Any Wednesday opposite Sandy Dennis and Gene Hackman. Porter also appeared in numerous films including The Turning Point, Our Miss Brooks, Gidget Goes to Rome, The Candidate, and as Mr. Upson in the 1974 film adaptation of Mame with Lucille Ball and Bea Arthur. Porter made his last onscreen appearance in a 1988 episode of CBS Summer Playhouse.
Porter was married to actress Peggy Converse with whom he had two children. He died at the age of 84 at his home in Beverly Hills, California on February 11, 1997. He was survived by his wife, his daughter actress Melissa Converse, a son, two sisters, a brother, and two grandchildren.
