Gibson Gowland (4 January 1877 – 9 September 1951) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

film actor.

Biography

Gowland was born in

Spennymoor Spennymoor is a town and civil parish in County Durham (district), County Durham, England. It is south of the River Wear and is south of Durham, England, Durham. The civil parish includes the villages of Kirk Merrington, Middlestone Moor, Byers ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. He started work as a sailor and later became the mate on a ship. For several years from the age of 25 he went to South Africa, where he hunted for big game, prospected for diamonds and also organised a theatrical company in Johannesburg, and acted in it. He prospected in Canada, where he made his debut on the legitimate stage. Gowland went to the United States from Britain by way of Canada in 1913 where he met Beatrice Bird, also from Great Britain, whom he married. They moved to Hollywood, working as bit players. In 1914 he acted in

D.W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...

's ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Cla ...

'', followed by ''

Intolerance Intolerance may refer to: * Hypersensitivity Hypersensitivity (also called hypersensitivity reaction or intolerance) refers to undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system, including allergies and autoimmunity. They are usual ...

''. In 1916, his son, actor and photographer

Peter Gowland Peter Andrew Gowland (April 3, 1916 – March 17, 2010) was a famous American glamour photographer and actor. He was known for designing and building his own studio equipment and was active professionally for six decades with his business par ...

, was born. Often cast as a villain, his only starring role (out of 63 films) was in ''

Greed Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as und ...

'' (1924), directed by

Erich von Stroheim Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, actor and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of the silent era. H ...

, based on the

Frank Norris Benjamin Franklin Norris Jr. (March 5, 1870 – October 25, 1902) was an American journalist and novelist during the Progressive Era, whose fiction was predominantly in the naturalist genre. His notable works include '' McTeague: A Story of San ...

novel ''

McTeague ''McTeague: A Story of San Francisco'', otherwise known as simply ''McTeague'', is a novel by Frank Norris, first published in 1899. It tells the story of a couple's courtship and marriage, and their subsequent descent into poverty and violence ...

'', and costarring

ZaSu Pitts Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic 1924 silent film ''Greed'', and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the ...

. The film has become a classic despite its having been cut to one-fifth its original length for commercial release by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

. Gowland portrayed the protagonist, dentist John McTeague. Von Stroheim also directed Gowland in his 1919 film ''

Blind Husbands ''Blind Husbands'' is a 1919 American drama film written and directed by Erich von Stroheim. The film is an adaptation of the story ''The Pinnacle'' by Stroheim. Plot A group of holiday-makers arrive at Cortina d'Ampezzo, an Alpine village in th ...

''. Gowland was cast as Simon Buquet in the 1925 film version of ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...

''. He had bit parts in dozens of films from 1938 to 1945, but was rarely credited on-screen. After two divorces, Gowland returned to England in 1944. He died in London at the age of 74 and is buried in

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1915) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Jewel'' (1915) - Dr. Ballard * ''

Pennington's Choice ''Pennington's Choice'' is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by William Bowman and starring Francis X. Bushman and Beverly Bayne a popular film acting team of the era. It was distributed by Metro Pictures. In audio recordings made in ...

'' (1915) - Mountain Man (uncredited) * ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' (1916) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' The Promise'' (1917) - Stromberg * ''Under Handicap'' (1917) - Batt Truxton * '' The Secret of Black Mountain'' (1917, Short) - Jack Rance * '' The Climber'' (1917, Short) - Buck Stringer * ''

Molly Entangled ''Molly Entangled'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Robert Thornby and written by Edith M. Kennedy. The film stars Vivian Martin, Harrison Ford, Noah Beery, Sr., G.S. Spaulding, Helen Dunbar, and Gibson Gowland. The film was ...

'' (1917) * ''

Breakers Ahead ''Breakers Ahead'' is a 1918 American silent drama film, directed by Charles Brabin. It stars Viola Dana, Clifford Bruce, and Mabel Van Buren, and was released on March 25, 1918. Plot Agnes Bowman is the sweetheart of Captain Scudder, a local s ...

'' (1918) - Mike Burley * ''

The White Heather ''The White Heather'' is a lost 1919 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Holmes Herbert, Ben Alexander and Ralph Graves. It was based on an 1897 play of the same title by Cecil Raleigh and Henry Hamilton. ...

'' (1919) * ''

'' (1919) * '' Behind the Door'' (1919) * ''

The Fighting Shepherdess ''The Fighting Shepherdess'' is a 1920 American western-romance film directed by Edward José and Millard Webb and written by Frank Mitchell Dazey. It is based on the 1919 novel ''The Fighting Shepherdess'' by Caroline Lockhart. The film stars ...

'' (1920) * '' The Right of Way'' (1920) * '' Ladies Must Live'' (1921) * ''

Shifting Sands Shifting Sands can refer to: *''The Shifting Sands'', a book in the ''Deltora Quest'' series * ''Shifting Sands'' (1918 film), a 1918 film * ''Shifting Sands'' (1922 film), a 1922 film *''Shifting Sands'', a 1957 episode of The Goon Show *Forms of ...

'' (1922) * ''

Hutch Stirs 'em Up ''Hutch Stirs 'em Up'' is a 1923 British silent comedy action film directed by Frank Hall Crane and starring Charles Hutchison, Joan Barry and Malcolm Tod. It was based on the novel '' The Hawk of Rede'' by Harry Harding. Cast * Charles Hutc ...

'' (1923) * '' The Harbour Lights'' (1923) * '' The Border Legion'' (1924) * ''

The Red Lily ''The Red Lily'' is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Fred Niblo and starring Ramon Novarro, Enid Bennett, and Wallace Beery. A print of the film exists. Plot Marise La Noue (Enid Bennett) and Jean Leonnec (Ramon Novarro) are youn ...

'' (1924) * ''

Love and Glory ''Love and Glory'' () is a 1983 novel by Robert B. Parker. The story is told in the first person by Boone Adams. It is a coming-of-age and love story. There is explicit and implicit reference to and imitation of ''The Great Gatsby''. Parker ori ...

'' (1924) * ''

The Prairie Wife ''The Prairie Wife'' is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by Hugo Ballin and featuring Boris Karloff, and based on a story by Arthur Stringer. The film is considered to be lost. Plot As described in a film magazine review, a teleg ...

'' (1925) * ''

'' (1925) * '' The Outsider'' (1926) * '' College Days'' (1926) * ''

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni (Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, '' El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

'' (1926) * ''

The Night of Love ''The Night of Love'' is a 1927 drama film, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, released by United Artists, and stars Ronald Colman, Vilma Bánky, and Montagu Love. The screenplay by Lenore J. Coffee is based on the play by Pedro Calderón de la Barc ...

'' (1927) * '' The Broken Gate'' (1927) * ''

The First Auto ''The First Auto'' is a 1927 film about the transition from horses to cars and the rift it causes in one family. It stars Charles Emmett Mack and Patsy Ruth Miller, with Barney Oldfield having a guest role in the movie. While mainly a silent f ...

'' (1927) * ''

The Tired Business Man ''The Tired Business Man'' is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Allen Dale and starring Raymond Hitchcock, Dot Farley and Margaret Quimby.Munden p.816 It was produced and released by the independent studio Tiffany Pictures. The fi ...

'' (1927) * '' The Land Beyond the Law'' (1927) * '' Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans'' (1927) (uncredited) * ''

The Isle of Forgotten Women ''The Isle of Forgotten Women'' is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by George B. Seitz. It was released as ''Forgotten Women'' in the UK. Cast * Conway Tearle as Bruce Paine * Dorothy Sebastian as Marua * Gibson Gowland as John Stort ...

'' (1927) * ''

Rose-Marie ''Rose-Marie'' is an operetta-style musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The story is set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and concerns Rose-Marie La Flemme, a ...

'' (1928) * ''

The Mysterious Island ''The Mysterious Island'' (french: L'Île mystérieuse) is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1875. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Jules Férat. The novel is a crossover sequel to Verne's f ...

'' (1929) * ''

Land of Wanted Men ''Land of Wanted Men'' is a 1931 American Western film directed by Harry L. Fraser and starring Bill Cody, Sheila Bromley and Gibson Gowland.Pitts p.177 Cast * Bill Cody as Silent Saunders * Andy Shuford as Mickey * Sheila Bromley as Cynt ...

'' (1931) * '' A House Divided'' (1931) * '' Without Honor'' (1932) * '' S.O.S. Eisberg'' (1933) * ''

North Pole, Ahoy ''North Pole, Ahoy'' (german: Nordpol – Ahoi!) is a 1934 German comedy film directed by Andrew Marton and starring Walter Riml, Guzzi Lantschner and Gibson Gowland. A film company goes to shoot its latest production in the Arctic. It was made ...

'' (1934) * ''

The Private Life of Don Juan ''The Private Life of Don Juan'' is a 1934 British comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Douglas Fairbanks, Merle Oberon and Benita Hume. At the age of 51, it was the final role of Fairbanks, who died five years later. The f ...

'' (1934) * ''

King of the Damned ''King of the Damned'' is a 1935 British prison film directed by Walter Forde and starring Conrad Veidt, Helen Vinson, Noah Beery and Cecil Ramage. Plot summary Convict 83 is a prisoner on an island, where the harsh regime of the Governor push ...

'' (1935) * ''

The Stoker "The Stoker" (original German language, German: "Der Heizer") is a short story by Franz Kafka. Kafka wrote it as the first chapter of a novel he called ''Amerika (novel), Amerika'', but he abandoned the novel in 1913 and published the one complet ...

'' (1935) * ''

The House of the Spaniard ''The House of the Spaniard'' is a 1936 British comedy thriller film directed by Reginald Denham and starring Peter Haddon, Brigitte Horney and Allan Jeayes. It is set in Lancashire and Spain, during the ongoing Spanish Civil War. It was shot a ...

'' (1936) * ''

Highland Fling The Highland Fling is a Solo dance, solo Scottish highland dance, Highland dance that gained popularity in the early 19th century. The word 'Fling' means literally a movement in dancing. In John Jamieson's 1808 ''Etymological Dictionary of the Sc ...

'' (1936) * ''

The Wife of General Ling ''The Wife of General Ling'' is a 1937 British drama film directed by Ladislao Vajda and starring Griffith Jones, Valéry Inkijinoff and Adrianne Renn. It was adapted from a novel by Dorothy Hope and Peter Cheyney. The film was made at Shepperto ...

'' (1937) * ''

Cotton Queen ''Cotton Queen'', also known as ''Crying Out Loud'', is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Bernard Vorhaus, and starring Stanley Holloway, Will Fyffe, and Mary Lawson. Production The film was directed by Vorhaus at Elstree Studios for th ...

'' (1937) * ''

Ship's Concert ''Ship's Concert'' is a 1937 British musical film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Claude Hulbert, Joyce Kirby and Henry Kendall. It was made as a quota quickie at Teddington Studios by the British subsidiary of Warner Brothers.Wood p ...

'' (1937) * ''

Tea Leaves in the Wind ''Tea Leaves in the Wind'' is a 1938 British drama film directed by Ward Wing and starring Nils Asther, Eve Shelley and Gibson Gowland. It was shot on location in Ceylon.Wood p.97 Cast * Nils Asther as Tony Drake * Eve Shelley as Margot Hasti ...

'' (1938) * '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) * '' Mutiny in the Arctic'' (1941) * ''

Going My Way ''Going My Way'' is a 1944 American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a new young priest ta ...

'' (1944) as Churchgoer (uncredited)

References

External links

* *
Peter Gowland's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gowland, Gibson 1877 births 1951 deaths English male film actors English male silent film actors People from Spennymoor Actors from County Durham 20th-century English male actors British expatriate male actors in the United States