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Don Porter (September 24, 1912 - February 11, 1997) was an American actor who appeared in a number of films in the 1940s, including Top Sergeant and Eagle Squadron, but is perhaps best known for his role as Russell Lawrence, the widowed father of 15-year old Frances "Gidget" Lawrence (Sally Field) in the 1965 ABC television series Gidget. He played Peter Sands, the operator of "International Artists," a New York talent agency, as the boss of Susan Camille MacNamara (Ann Sothern), his private secretary on the 1950s situation comedy television series Private Secretary. Other stars included Ann Tyrrell and Jesse White. A retooled version of the series appeared later, titled The Ann Sothern Show. It featured many of the same actors, including Porter, Tyrrell, and White in the venue of a fashionable New York City hotel. Porter also made numerous television appearances including Green Acres in a Hawaiian vacation episode in which he played a hotel manager. Also performing in TV films such as Gidget Goes to Rome (playing Russell Lawrence 2 years prior to repeating the role in the series), The Legend of Lizzie Borden, The President`s Mistress, and The Last Song. He also appeared in the 1974 film adaptation of Mame with Lucille Ball and Bea Arthur. He was married to the actress Peggy Converse. Porter died at the age of eighty-four in Beverly Hills, California.