Peter Gowland

Biography

Born into show business, Peter Gowland was the son of actor Gibson Gowland 15881] and actress/writer Sylvia Andrew. His parents divorced when he was just two-years-old and his father gained custody. During his childhood and teenage years he bounced between families, and even spent some time in the British Military Academy in Hollywood. While he never had any major roles in films during his career in the 1930s and 1940s, having only bit parts and dancer roles, he did appear in several major films, including: The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Cain and Mabel (1936), Wuthering Heights (1939), Citizen Kane (1941), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), and Joan of Arc (1948). Peter's true passion was photography, and he had begun photographing actors for their portfolios. In 1941 he married Alice Adams after a two-week romance and, with her help as a writer, he became very established in his art, concentrating on the celebrity, glamour, magazine, and calendar scene. During his 60-plus year career, he photographed many of the Hollywood elite actors and actresses.