J. Farrell MacDonald
Acting
🎂 1875-06-05
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia John Farrell MacDonald (June 6, 1875 – August 2, 1952) was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a 41-year career from 1911 to 1951, and directed forty-four silent films from 1912 to 1917. MacDonald was the principal director of L. Frank Baum's Oz Film Manufacturing Company, and he can frequently be seen in the films of Frank Capra, Preston Sturges and, especially, John Ford. Early in his career, MacDonald was a singer in minstrel shows, and he toured the United States extensively for two years with stage productions. He made his first silent film in 1911, a dramatic short entitled The Scarlett Letter made by Carl Laemmle's Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP), the forerunner of Universal Pictures,. He continued to act in numerous films each year from that time on, and by 1912 he was directing them as well. The first film he directed was The Worth of a Man, another dramatic short, again for IMP, and he was to direct 43 more films until his last in 1917, Over the Fence, which he co-directed with Harold Lloyd. MacDonald had crossed paths with Lloyd several years earlier, when Lloyd was an extra and MacDonald had given him much-needed work – and he did the same with Hal Roach, both of whom appearing in small roles in The Patchwork Girl of Oz, which MacDonald directed in 1914. When Roach set up his own studio, with Lloyd as his principal attraction, he hired MacDonald to direct. By 1918, MacDonald, who was to become one of the most beloved character men in Hollywood, had given up directing and was acting full-time, predominantly in Westerns and Irish comedies. He first worked under director John Ford in 1919's A Fight for Love. In all, Ford would use MacDonald on twenty-five films between 1919 and 1950. With a voice that matched his personality, MacDonald made the transition to sound films easily, with no noticeable drop in his acting output – if anything, it went up. In 1931, for instance, MacDonald appeared in 14 films – among them the first version of The Maltese Falcon, in which he played "Detective Tom Polhaus" – and in 22 of them in 1932. Although he played laborers, policemen, military men and priests, among many other characters, his roles were usually a cut above a "bit part". His characters usually had names, and he was most often credited for his performances. A highlight of this period was his performance as the hobo "Mr. Tramp" in Our Little Girl with Shirley Temple (1935). In the 1940s, MacDonald was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in seven films written and directed by Sturges. MacDonald appeared in Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, The Great Moment, The Sin of Harold Diddlebock, Unfaithfully Yours and The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, Sturges' last American film. Earlier, MacDonald had also appeared in The Power and the Glory, which Sturges wrote. His work on Sturges' films was generally uncredited. He was notable in 1946 in John Ford's My Darling Clementine in which he played "Mac," the bartender in the town saloon. MacDonald also had uncredited roles in It's a Wonderful Life and Here Comes The Groom.
Cast credits(268)
Man Whose Grandfather Planted Tree (uncredited)
1946
The Photographer
1927
'Sourpuss'
1941
Mac the barman
1946
Doc Cooper
1948
Cap, the Retired Ferryboat Captain
1950
Policeman
1937
Stage Passenger (uncredited)
1928
Port Captain
1942
Mac, Bailiff (uncredited)
1947
Jeff Cameron
1931
Officer O'Donnell (uncredited)
1942
Policeman (uncredited)
1947
Bank Guard (uncredited)
1945
Captain O'Brien
1943
Corporal Casey
1925
Sheriff (uncredited)
1944
Police Lt. 'Pete' Peterson
1942
Pop Shannon
1951
Officer
1938
Bailiff (uncredited)
1948
Capt. Mitchell
1942
Mr. Carney The Junkman (uncredited)
1945
(uncredited)
1922
Chief Reardon
1938
Gilby - Pharmacist (uncredited)
1950
Dr. Ferguson
1941
Henry 'Hank' Davis
1933
Dave
1940
Bill Baggs
1948
Hallohan
1935
Dr. Neville (from Churchtown)
1942
Street Vendor (uncredited)
1945
Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
1947
Cop (uncredited)
1948
Costello
1930
Trinidad Dorn
1935
'Brains'
1936
Pops Murphy (uncredited)
1948
Police Chief (uncredited)
1939
Pop Lockhart
1949
Harrigan
1936
Ellis
1950
Husband on Airplane (uncredited)
1951
Judge
1939
Henry Hathaway
1942
Captain of Ship
1937
Father Patrick Ryan
1938
Inspector Doremus
1935
Scotty MacKronish - Bus Driver
1947
Sloan
1926
Policeman
1931
Peter Roberts
1927
Andy
1925
Det. Sgt. Tom Polhaus
1931
Windy MacLaine
1936
Jim Baker
1932
Cop
1942
Jury Foreman
1945
Rev. Stump
1931
Man (uncredited)
1943
Mr. Lane (uncredited)
1950
Murphy
1935
Hobo
1935
Inspector
1935
"Dickie" Collins
1932
Pop
1937
Sheriff Cap Weatherby
1948
Mike Costigan
1926
Pop Riley
1932
Marshal Andy Jordan
1935
Patrick Shamus 'Pat' O'Connell
1933
Prison Warden (uncredited)
1935
Police Captain
1942
Capt. Angel
1945
O'Shea, policeman
1944
Craig Dolan
1939
Treadway
1932
Bill 'One-Punch' Fagin
1937
Prison Warden
1933
Coach Parker
1935
MacGuire
1931
Jeff Chapman
1940
McPherson - Innkeeper
1947
Captain Ryan
1932
'Doc' Howe
1937
Michael
1934
Pop Evans
1932
Mr. Barstow
1926
The Priest
1944
Mr. Martin
1932
Doorman (uncredited)
1939
Adam Naab
1932
Mulligan
1933
Prison Warden Randolph
1932
Jim Frazer (as J. Farrel MacDonald)
1922
Secondary Role (uncredited)
1911
Irish Laborer (uncredited)
1937
Irish Laborer
1937
The Clown
1928
Chief Scott
1932
Judge Price
1949
Charlie Wheeler
1938
Pat O'Hannegan
1939
Tim Casey
1941
Peg-Leg
1931
Harry Cromwell
1935
Apartment House Manager (uncredited)
1948
Shuster
1933
Insp. Tim Ryan
1940
Mr. Kroeger
1951
Jim, the Cook
1946
Will Whitten
1929
Captain
1939
Pop Stewart
1931
Police Sgt. J.B. Antrim (uncredited)
1932
Capt. Hansen (uncredited)
1939
Doc Benson
1948
Bill Stillwell
1940
CWO 'Sails' Quincannon
1938
Tom O'Hara
1932
1945
Michael Morahan
1922
Dr. Thompson
1938
Self (archive footage)
1997
Capt. O'Brien
1935
Judge Hale
1935
Buzzard
1931
Mr. Keefer
1935
Colonel Graham
1930
Mulcahey
1941
Paul Ferguson (as Joseph Farrell MacDonald)
1915
Captain Gaskell
1922
The Coach
1931
John Adams
1932
Umpire
1935
George Martin
1927
Con O'Shea
1926
O'Toole
1930
George Holman
1932
Dr. Billar
1940
Dan Reagan
1923
Murphy
1923
Timson, the butler
1931
The Cop
1935
Wild Bill Coburn
1939
Police Capt. Ed Kyne
1933
Jiggs
1928
Sgt. O'Hara
1937
Gen. Rosewater
1942
Captain--Harbor Patrol
1935
Big Bill
1931
State Coach
1932
Captain of the Falcon
1939
Michael Devlin
1936
James 'Aloysius' Riley
1928
Waco
1933
Applejack
1935
Mayor Jim Hopkins
1938
Scout
1931
Alvin
1950
Father
1920
Proprietor
1937
Joe Holland
1937
Nevada Jim
1940
Hogan
1932
Train Conductor
1929
Sheriff Jim Austin
1940
Mormon Peters
1921
Mack
1925
Warden
1938
Joseph Piotto
1921
Doorman (uncredited)
1949
Mr. Davis
1932
Joe, Police Sergeant (uncredited)
1939
John Martindale
1944
Long-Count Bowman
1946
Sheiff Potts
1940
McGuire
1927
Flannigan
1934
Colonel Forbes
1938
Postmaster
1947
Farmer Howard
1911
Major Rogers
1937
Joe Pelton
1922
Louis Nordell
1912
Sheriff
1935
Jerry O'Day
1932
Jim Kerrigan
1941
Inspector Sullivan
1935
Duc de Moing (Prologue)
1924
Luther Ripley aka Kennedy
1919
Capt. Ryan
1938
Jim Hadley
1940
Ben Murdock
1931
Hickey
1924
John Craig
1928
Geoffrey MacCardle
1943
Dan Lewis
1931
Sommers
1932
Pug Malone
1927
1919
Donavan
1925
Commodore John Gordon
1925
Andrew MacKinley
1937
D.J. 'Smokey' Nolan
1932
Lemuel Townsend
1925
J.C. Stillman
1933
Sam Marcum
1922
'Pop' Corrigan
1938
Jim Boone
1920
Butler
1919
Sheriff J.J. Willoughby
1939
Police Sergeant (uncredited)
1948
Police Sergeant Haggerty
1942
Kemp
1934
Capt. Jackson
1935
Angus McGregor
1929
Calvin Williams
1937
Benjamin Strong
1926
Frank (uncredited)
1943
Sonora Slim
1930
Detective Martin
1932
Col. Patterson
1923
Gardener
1946
Patrick Murphy
1928
Joe Hickey
1929
Pete
1924
The Lighthouse Keeper
1911
Silas Martin
1923
Norcross
1918
Amhad Beg - Prime Minister
1922
1913
Police Chief Bullock
1936
Tom Placer McGraw
1919
Sheriff Pat Garrity
1921
Jerry
1925
William Barton (Detective Agency Head)
1938
Coach Pearson
1938
Patrick Kelly
1928
1924
Grady
1933
Sgt. Cassidy
1926
Jean Paul Fippany
1926
Buck Saunders
1937
1931
Hackett
1929
The Priest
1919
Buell
1919
Joe Heller
1926
'Chuck' Campbell
1924
Adams
1941
Softnose Smith
1919
Pa Hudler
1929
Neuces River
1921
Bobtail McGuire
1921
The Doorman--Mike Costello
1934
Rafferty
1930
Cappy
1940
Peter Galbraith
1922
John Burke
1933
1923
Joe Alabam (as J. Farrell McDonald)
1920
1921
Pop Malloy
1934
Himself
1933
Office Worker
1910
1911
