GJ
Gordon Jones
Actor
Born April 5, 1911Died June 20, 1963 (52 years)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gordon Wynnivo Jones (April 5, 1911 – June 20, 1963) was an American character actor, a member of John Wayne's informal acting company best known for playing Lou Costello's TV nemesis "Mike the Cop" and appearing as The Green Hornet in the first of two movie serials based on that old-time radio program.
Iowa-born Jones had been a student athlete and star football guard ("Bull" Jones) at University of California, Los Angeles, and had also played a few seasons of professional football. He started out playing small roles in Wesley Ruggles' and Ernest B. Schoedsack's The Monkey's Paw (1933), his first credited role in Sam Wood's Let 'Em Have It (1935), and Sidney Lanfield's Red Salute (1935). By 1937, he had moved on to a contract at RKO Radio Pictures. In 1940, Jones had the title role in The Green Hornet but did not reprise the role in the sequel.
Jones held a reserve commission in the army and was called into the service after filming his roles as "The Wreck" in My Sister Eileen (1942) and "Alabama Smith" in Flying Tigers (1942), a John Wayne vehicle that was one of the most popular action films of the war. This picture began Jones' 20-year onscreen association with Wayne, who was also a former football player at the University of Southern California.
Jones remained associated with the service after the war, encouraging college students to consider the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. After resuming his acting career in the late 1940s, Jones appeared in prominent roles in the John Wayne features Big Jim McLain (1952) and Island in the Sky (1953).
By the end of the 1940s, Jones had aged into a beefier screen presence and into very physical character roles. He was no longer a leading man but he had developed a comic villain persona which meshed with the work of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Jones' association with the duo began in The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947) with the role of the film's heavy, Jake Frame, and continued through their television series The Abbott and Costello Show. Jones played "Mike the Cop", Costello's hulking, loud-voiced antagonist. The program was produced for only two seasons, but ensured continued recognition for Jones via frequent reruns and a 21st Century DVD release.
Jones also remained busy in films and on television throughout the 1950s, in pictures that ranged from the sci-fi chiller The Monster That Challenged the World to the Tony Curtis/Janet Leigh sex comedy The Perfect Furlough, and on TV series ranging from The Real McCoys to The Rifleman. Jones also appeared in two very successful Disney movies during the early '60s, The Absent-Minded Professor and Son of Flubber. He played harried school coaches in both pictures. He also starred with Mitzi Green and Virginia Gibson in the short-lived TV sitcom So This Is Hollywood (1955), and had a recurring role as neighbor Butch Barton during the early years of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
Jones returned to the John Wayne stock company portraying Douglas, the bureaucrat antagonist to Wayne's G.W. McLintock in the Western comedy McLintock! (1963). Jones unexpectedly succumbed to a heart attack on June 12, 1963, five months before the release of that movie.
Jones has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on the West side of the 1600 block of Vine Street.
Gordon Wynnivo Jones (April 5, 1911 – June 20, 1963) was an American character actor, a member of John Wayne's informal acting company best known for playing Lou Costello's TV nemesis "Mike the Cop" and appearing as The Green Hornet in the first of two movie serials based on that old-time radio program.
Iowa-born Jones had been a student athlete and star football guard ("Bull" Jones) at University of California, Los Angeles, and had also played a few seasons of professional football. He started out playing small roles in Wesley Ruggles' and Ernest B. Schoedsack's The Monkey's Paw (1933), his first credited role in Sam Wood's Let 'Em Have It (1935), and Sidney Lanfield's Red Salute (1935). By 1937, he had moved on to a contract at RKO Radio Pictures. In 1940, Jones had the title role in The Green Hornet but did not reprise the role in the sequel.
Jones held a reserve commission in the army and was called into the service after filming his roles as "The Wreck" in My Sister Eileen (1942) and "Alabama Smith" in Flying Tigers (1942), a John Wayne vehicle that was one of the most popular action films of the war. This picture began Jones' 20-year onscreen association with Wayne, who was also a former football player at the University of Southern California.
Jones remained associated with the service after the war, encouraging college students to consider the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. After resuming his acting career in the late 1940s, Jones appeared in prominent roles in the John Wayne features Big Jim McLain (1952) and Island in the Sky (1953).
By the end of the 1940s, Jones had aged into a beefier screen presence and into very physical character roles. He was no longer a leading man but he had developed a comic villain persona which meshed with the work of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Jones' association with the duo began in The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947) with the role of the film's heavy, Jake Frame, and continued through their television series The Abbott and Costello Show. Jones played "Mike the Cop", Costello's hulking, loud-voiced antagonist. The program was produced for only two seasons, but ensured continued recognition for Jones via frequent reruns and a 21st Century DVD release.
Jones also remained busy in films and on television throughout the 1950s, in pictures that ranged from the sci-fi chiller The Monster That Challenged the World to the Tony Curtis/Janet Leigh sex comedy The Perfect Furlough, and on TV series ranging from The Real McCoys to The Rifleman. Jones also appeared in two very successful Disney movies during the early '60s, The Absent-Minded Professor and Son of Flubber. He played harried school coaches in both pictures. He also starred with Mitzi Green and Virginia Gibson in the short-lived TV sitcom So This Is Hollywood (1955), and had a recurring role as neighbor Butch Barton during the early years of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
Jones returned to the John Wayne stock company portraying Douglas, the bureaucrat antagonist to Wayne's G.W. McLintock in the Western comedy McLintock! (1963). Jones unexpectedly succumbed to a heart attack on June 12, 1963, five months before the release of that movie.
Jones has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on the West side of the 1600 block of Vine Street.
Movies & Shows on Plex
Known For
Filmography
| 2011 | The Green Hornet Movie Edition · as Britt Reid |
| 1963 | McLintock! · as Matt Douglas |
| 1962 | Son of Flubber · as Rutland Coach |
| 1962 | The Lucy Show (TV Series) · as Charlie Vantassel |
| 1961 | Everything's Ducky · as Conroy |
| 1961 | Margie (TV Series) · as Sgt. Mcclure |
| 1961 | Frontier Circus (TV Series) · as Jase |
| 1961 | Ripcord (TV Series) · as Captain Blacker |
| 1961 | The Joey Bishop Show (TV Series) · as 1st Delivery Man |
| 1961 | Kraft Mystery Theatre (TV Series) · as Tucker |
| 1961 | Master of the World · as Talkative Townsman |
| 1961 | The Absent Minded Professor · as Rutland Basketball Coach |
| 1960 | The Case of the Dangerous Robin (TV Series) · as Nels Bergstrom |
| 1960 | Angel (1960) (TV Series) · as Hank Thorpe |
| 1960 | Stagecoach West (TV Series) · as Jake Slocum |
| 1960 | SurfSide 6 (TV Series) |
| 1960 | The Islanders (TV Series) · as Shipwreck |
| 1960 | The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond · as Police Sgt. Joe Cassidy |
| 1959 | Battle of the Coral Sea · as Torpedoman Bates |
| 1959 | Hawaiian Eye (TV Series) |
| 1959 | Dennis the Menace (TV Series) |
| 1959 | Hotel de Paree (TV Series) · as Pemmican Joe |
| 1959 | The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (TV Series) |
| 1959 | Laramie (TV Series) |
| 1959 | The Big Fisherman · as Minor Role |
| 1959 | Battle Flame · as Sgt. Mckelvey |
| 1959 | The Shaggy Dog · as Captain Scanlon, Police Chief |
| 1958 | The Perfect Furlough · as Mp "sylvia" |
| 1958 | 77 Sunset Strip (TV Series) |
| 1958 | The Ann Sothern Show (TV Series) · as Buck |
| 1958 | Lawman (TV Series) · as Chalk Hennesey |
| 1958 | The Rifleman (TV Series) |
| 1958 | Live Fast, Die Young · as Pop Winters |
| 1957 | The Monster That Challenged the World · as Sheriff Josh Peters |
| 1957 | Colt .45 (TV Series) · as Sgt. O'hickey |
| 1957 | The Real McCoys (TV Series) · as Walt Newberry |
| 1957 | Maverick (TV Series) |
| 1957 | Perry Mason (TV Series) · as Deputy Gillis |
| 1957 | Sugarfoot (TV Series) · as Wasco Wolters |
| 1957 | Bachelor Father (TV Series) · as Harry Mckey |
| 1957 | Have Gun, Will Travel (TV Series) |
| 1957 | Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend · as Will Clegg |
| 1956 | Frontier Doctor (TV Series) · as Deputy Matt Collins |
| 1956 | Richard Diamond, Private Detective (TV Series) · as Joel Finlay |
| 1956 | Spring Reunion · as Jack Frazer |
| 1956 | Broken Arrow (TV Series) · as Sgt. Jud Temby |
| 1956 | The Adventures of Jim Bowie (TV Series) |
| 1955 | |
| 1955 | |
| 1955 | The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (TV Series) |
| 1955 | The Jane Wyman Show (TV Series) · as Elmer |
| 1955 | Damon Runyon Theater (TV Series) · as Grommet |
| 1955 | Smoke Signal · as Corporal Rogers |
| 1955 | Treasure of Ruby Hills · as Jack Voyle |
| 1954 | Lassie (TV Series) |
| 1954 | The Outlaw Stallion · as Wagner |
| 1954 | The Joe Palooka Story (TV Series) · as Dudley Mcgurn |
| 1954 | Public Defender (TV Series) · as Tom Mcnary |
| 1953 | Take the High Ground! · as Moose (uncredited) |
| 1953 | The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse (TV Series) |
| 1953 | Meet Mr. McNutley (TV Series) · as Pete Thompson |
| 1953 | Island in the Sky · as Walrus |
| 1953 | Woman They Almost Lynched · as Yankee Sergeant |
| 1953 | I'm the Law (TV Series) |
| 1953 | Private Secretary (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1953 | The Life of Riley (1953) (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1952 | The Winning Team · as George Glasheen |
| 1952 | The Abbott and Costello Show (TV Series) · as Mike Kelly |
| 1952 | The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet (TV Series) · as Butch Barton |
| 1952 | Cavalcade of America (TV Series) · as Lt. Treusch |
| 1952 | Wagon Team · as Marshal Sam Taplin |
| 1952 | Big Jim McLain · as Olaf |
| 1952 | My Little Margie (TV Series) · as Tex Mulloy |
| 1952 | Sound Off · as Crockett |
| 1952 | Death Valley Days (TV Series) · as Callahan |
| 1952 | The Marrying Kind · as Steve |
| 1951 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1951 | Corky of Gasoline Alley · as Elwood Martin |
| 1951 | Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (TV Series) · as Curly Wolf |
| 1951 | Heart of the Rockies · as Splinters Mcgonigle |
| 1951 | Spoilers of the Plains · as Splinters |
| 1950 | Racket Squad (TV Series) |
| 1950 | Trail of Robin Hood · as Splinters Mcgonigle |
| 1950 | North of the Great Divide · as Splinters Mcgonagle |
| 1950 | Ashley Banjo’s Big Town Dance (TV Series) · as Hobbie Miller |
| 1950 | Sunset in the West · as Splinters |
| 1950 | Big Timber · as Jocko |
| 1950 | The Colgate Comedy Hour (TV Series) |
| 1950 | The Gene Autry Show (TV Series) |
| 1950 | Trigger, Jr. · as Splinters |
| 1950 | The Arizona Cowboy · as I.q. Barton |
| 1950 | The Palomino · as Bill Hennessey |
| 1950 | Dangerous Assignment (TV Series) |
| 1949 | Easy Living · as Bill 'holly' Holloran |
| 1949 | Dear Wife · as Taxi Cab Driver |
| 1949 | Tokyo Joe · as Idaho |
| 1949 | Black Midnight · as Roy |
| 1949 | Mr. Soft Touch · as Muggles (uncredited) |
| 1949 | Take Me Out to the Ball Game · as Senator Catcher |
| 1948 | The Untamed Breed · as Happy Keegan |
| 1948 | A Foreign Affair · as Military Police |
| 1947 | Whispering City · as Reporter |
| 1947 | The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap · as Jake Frame |
| 1947 | The Secret Life of Walter Mitty · as Tubby Wadsworth |
| 1945 | Wanderer of the Wasteland · as Sheriff |
| 1944 | Youth Runs Wild · as Truck Driver (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Buffalo Bill · as Trooper |
| 1942 | Flying Tigers · as Alabama Smith |
| 1942 | Highways by Night · as 'footsy' Fogarty |
| 1942 | My Sister Eileen · as 'the Wreck' Loomis |
| 1942 | To the Shores of Tripoli · as Military Policeman At Main Gate |
| 1942 | They All Kissed the Bride · as Taxi Driver |
| 1941 | Among the Living · as Bill Oakley |
| 1941 | You Belong to Me · as Robert Andrews |
| 1941 | The Feminine Touch · as Rubber-Legs Ryan |
| 1941 | Reaching for the Sun · as Sailor |
| 1940 | Texas Rangers Ride Again · as Ranger Radio Man (uncredited) |
| 1940 | Up in the Air · as Tex Barton |
| 1940 | The Doctor Takes a Wife · as O'brien |
| 1940 | I Take This Oath · as Steve Hanagan |
| 1940 | The Green Hornet · as Britt Reid / The Green Hornet |
| 1939 | Henry Goes Arizona · as Tug Evans (uncredited) |
| 1939 | Disputed Passage · as Bill Anderson |
| 1939 | When Tomorrow Comes · as Radio Technician |
| 1939 | Invitation to Happiness · as Dutch Arnold (uncredited) |
| 1939 | Long Shot · as Jeff Clayton |
| 1938 | Out West with the Hardys · as Ray Holt |
| 1938 | Rich Man, Poor Girl · as Tom Grogan |
| 1938 | Night Spot · as Riley |
| 1937 | Quick Money · as Bill Adams |
| 1937 | Fight for Your Lady · as Mike Scanlon |
| 1937 | The Big Shot · as Chester Scott |
| 1937 | Forlorn River · as Lem Watkins |
| 1937 | There Goes My Girl · as Dunn |
| 1937 | China Passage · as Joe Dugan |
| 1937 | Sea Devils · as Puggy |
| 1937 | They Wanted to Marry · as Jim Tyler |
| 1936 | Night Waitress · as Martin Rhodes |
| 1936 | We Who Are About to Die · as Slim Tolliver |
| 1936 | Captain Calamity · as Henchman |
| 1936 | Don't Turn 'em Loose · as Joe Graves |
| 1936 | Walking on Air · as Joe |
| 1936 | Devil's Squadron · as Tex |
| 1936 | Strike Me Pink · as Butch Carson |
| 1935 | Red Salute · as Michael (lefty) Jones |
| 1935 | Let 'em Have It · as Tex |
| 1935 | Car 99 · as Mechanic |
| 1933 | The Monkey's Paw · as Soldier |
| 1932 | Wild Girl · as Vigilante (uncredited) |