Russell Simpson
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Russell McCaskill Simpson (June 17, 1880, Danville, California – December 12, 1959, Woodland Hills, California) was an American character actor who appeared in over 500 movies. He is best known for his "grizzled old man" appearances. Gaunt, lanky, and rustic-sounding, Simpson was a familiar character actor for almost forty-five years, particularly as a member of the John Ford Stock Company. At age 18 Simpson prospected for gold in Alaska. He began taking acting classes in Seattle, Washington. In 1910 he married Gertrude Alter from New York City. By 1909, he had gone into the theatre. He appeared in at least two plays on Broadway between 1909 and 1912, and made his motion picture debut in Cecil B. DeMille's 1914 original film version of The Virginian in a bit part. By 1923, when the film was remade, Simpson had progressed to playing the lead villain. Throughout his career, Simpson worked for 12 years in road shows, stock companies, and on Broadway. He didn't usually perform lead roles, but he did star in many movies throughout the silent movie era. He performed a lead role as the grandfather in Out of the Dust (1920). Simpson is best known for his work in the films of John Ford and, in particular, for his portrayal of Pa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath (1940). His final film was The Horse Soldiers, his tenth film for Ford. Simpson worked up to 1959, the year of his death. He was the president of the Overseas Phonograph Accessories Corporation.
Known for
Credits
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
as Pa Joad
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
as Fred Bixby
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
as Kenneth Allen (uncredited)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
as John Simpson
Friendly Persuasion (1956)
as Brother Griffith - Elder (uncredited)
Susan Lenox (1931)
as Doctor
A Boy and His Dog (1946)
as Mr. Thornycroft
The Horse Soldiers (1959)
as Henry Goodbody
The Tin Star (1957)
as Clem Hall
The Tall Men (1955)
as Emigrant (uncredited)
Oklahoma! (1955)
as The Minister (uncredited)
Broken Lance (1954)
as Judge (uncredited)
Santa Fe Trail (1940)
as Shubel Morgan
Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
as Dr. Petry
Meet John Doe (1941)
as (uncredited)
Joan of Arc (1948)
as Old Man with Pipe (uncredited)
The Last Command (1955)
as The Parson
Tall in the Saddle (1944)
as Pat Foster (uncredited)
Rustlin' for Cupid (1926)
as Hank Blatchford
Tap Roots (1948)
as Big Sam Dabney
Dodge City (1939)
as Orth
The Sun Shines Bright (1953)
as Lewt Lake
They Were Expendable (1945)
as 'Dad' Knowland
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)
as Woolridge (uncredited)
Comin' Round the Mountain (1951)
as Judge
The Gal Who Took the West (1949)
as Bartender (as old Timer)
Wagon Master (1950)
as Adam Perkins
The Spoilers (1942)
as Flapjack
Citadel of Crime (1941)
as Jess Meekins
The Famous Ferguson Case (1932)
as Banker Craig
Along Came Jones (1945)
as Pop de Longpre
Brigham Young (1940)
as U.S. Army Major
San Francisco (1936)
as 'Red' Kelly
Bad Men of Missouri (1941)
as Hank Younger
Desire (1923)
as Patrick Ryan
Lone Star (1952)
as Maynard Cole
The Ghost of Crossbone Canyon (1952)
as Sam Stanton
Shut My Big Mouth (1942)
as Mayor Potter
Gold Is Where You Find It (1938)
as MacKenzie
Parnell (1937)
as Dead Child's Father
Abraham Lincoln (1930)
as Lincoln's Employer
The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947)
as Dan Yeary
Valley of the Giants (1938)
as McKenzie
Defying Destiny (1923)
as Mr. Wilkens
The Cabin in the Cotton (1932)
as Uncle Joe
The Lonely Man (1957)
Actor
Hello Trouble (1932)
as Jonathan Kenyon
Last of the Duanes (1941)
as Tom Duane
Heart of the North (1938)
as Dave MacMillan
Death Valley (1946)
as Old Silas Bagley
The Girl of the Golden West (1938)
as Fred - Outrider in Prologue
The Outriders (1950)
as Farmer (uncredited)
Carolina (1934)
as Richards
The World Moves On (1934)
as Notary (1825)
The Eagle (1925)
as The Eagle's Lieutenant / Coach Driver (uncredited)
Old Shoes (1925)
Actor
Virginia City (1940)
as Gaylord
Tobacco Road (1941)
as Chief of Police
Snowblind (1921)
as Hugh Garth
Wild Bill Hickok Rides (1942)
as Ned Nolan
West of the Pecos (1934)
as Roy Neal
Fighting Cressy (1919)
as Hiram McKinstry
Swamp Water (1941)
as Marty McCord
Tennessee Johnson (1942)
as Kirby
The Heart of the Yukon (1927)
as 'Cash' Cynon
The Lone Star Ranger (1930)
as Colonel John Aldridge
Lovely Mary (1916)
as Peter Nelson
Meet Me at the Fair (1953)
as Sheriff Evans
Noisy Neighbors (1929)
as Ebenezer
Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair (1952)
as Clem Johnson
Paddy O'Day (1936)
as Benton
The Bill of Rights (1939)
as Frontiersman
Lahoma (1920)
as 'Brick' Willock
Now We're in the Air (1927)
as Lord Abercrombie McTavish
Painted People (1924)
as Fred Lane
Call Her Savage (1932)
as Old Man in Wagon Train
My Dog Shep (1946)
as Mathew Hodgkins
The Woman of the Town (1943)
as Sime
Free For All (1949)
as Farmer
Beauty and the Bad Man (1925)
as Chuckwalla Bill
Call of the Klondike (1950)
as Andy McKay
The Power and the Glory (1933)
as Professor (uncredited)
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent (1925)
as Jap Taylor
Man Hunt (1936)
as Jeff Parkington
Girl of the Ozarks (1936)
as Bascomb Rogers
Saddle Tramp (1950)
as Pop
Three on a Honeymoon (1934)
as Ezra MacDuff
Peg o' My Heart (1922)
as Jim O'Connell
The Barrier (1917)
as John Gaylord / John Tale
Three Faces West (1940)
as Minister
The Honor of the Press (1932)
as Dan Perkins
Nazi Agent (1942)
as 2nd Captain (uncredited)
Way Down East (1935)
as Squire Amasa Bartlett
Law and Order (1932)
as Judge R.W. Williams
Albuquerque (1948)
as Abner Huggins
Stolen by Gypsies or Beer and Bicycles (1933)
as Speaker
Riders of the Night (1918)
as Sally's Grandfather
My Lady's Past (1929)
Actor
Mountain Justice (1937)
as Matthew Turnbull
Secrets (1933)
as Doctor (uncredited)
Colt Comrades (1943)
as Sheriff
Coroner Creek (1948)
as Walt Hardison
Lone Star Ranger (1942)
as Tom Duane
Face in the Sky (1933)
as Pa Nathan Brown
Across the Dead-Line (1922)
as Enoch Kidder
Wild Geese Calling (1941)
as Marshal Len Baker
That I May Live (1937)
as Bish Plivens
Man to Man (1930)
as Uncle Cal
Sixteen Fathoms Deep (1934)
as A.B. Crockett
Breakers Ahead (1918)
as Captain Scudder
Yodelin' Kid from Pine Ridge (1937)
as Bayliss Baynum
Feudin' Fools (1952)
as Grandpa Smith
Maid of Salem (1937)
as Village Marshal (Uncredited)
Blue Jeans (1917)
as Jacob Tutwiler
Tropical Nights (1928)
as Singapore Joe
The Untamed Breed (1948)
as Minister
The Girl of the Golden West (1923)
as Jack Rance
The Social Highwayman (1926)
as The Mayor's Partner
Sundown in Santa Fe (1948)
as Sheriff Jim Wyatt
A Weaver of Dreams (1918)
as Martin Chandler
Green Light (1937)
as Sheep Man
The Brand (1919)
as Dan McGill
Rags to Riches (1922)
as The Sheriff
Back to Nature (1936)
as Sheriff
Oh, Johnny! (1918)
as Adele's Father
The Food Gamblers (1917)
as Samuel Sloane
The Brass Legend (1956)
as Deputy 'Pop' Jackson
Wyoming (1940)
as Mr. Bronson
Border Patrol (1943)
as Orestes Krebs
The Big Bonanza (1944)
as Adam Parker
Godless Men (1920)
as 'Black' Pawl
Billy the Kid (1930)
as Angus McSween
Roughly Speaking (1945)
as The Colonel - Drill Instructor (uncredited)
Texas Masquerade (1944)
as J.K. Trimble
Bunty Pulls the Strings (1921)
as Tammas Biggar
Silver Dollar (1932)
as Hamlin
The First Auto (1927)
as Hank Armstrong
Under the Lash (1921)
as Simeon Krillet
Annie Laurie (1927)
as Sandy
Motive for Revenge (1935)
as McAllister
Frontier Marshal (1934)
as Editor Pickett
The Narrow Street (1925)
as Garvey
Geronimo (1939)
as Scout
Bill Apperson's Boy (1919)
as Bill Apperson
Ramona (1936)
as Scroggs
The Huntress (1923)
as Big Jack Skinner
Tuna Clipper (1949)
as Capt. Fergus MacLennan
Why Women Love (1925)
as Silas Martin
The Virginian (1914)
as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
Flames (1932)
as Jake
Paradise Isle (1937)
as Baxter
The Hoosier Schoolmaster (1935)
as Doc Small
California Gold Rush (1946)
as Colonel Parker
Human Hearts (1922)
as Paul Logan
Bowery Buckaroos (1947)
as Luke Barlow
Desperate Trails (1939)
as Sheriff Big Bill Tanner
The Earth Woman (1926)
as Ezra Tilden
The Riding Tornado (1932)
as Sheriff
The Deadlier Sex (1920)
as Jim Willis
Wild West Days (1937)
as Matt Keeler
Roaring Guns (1944)
as Farmer MacKenzie
All Faces West (1929)
as Gunner Bill
Life's Mockery (1928)
as Wolf Miller
Moonlight in Vermont (1943)
as Uncle Rufus
The Fabulous Texan (1947)
as Wade Clayton
Circus Days (1923)
as Eben Holt
Ridin' for Justice (1932)
as Marshal Joseph Slyde
Wild Geese (1927)
as Caleb Gare
Riding High (1943)
as Frenchy McGuire
The Branding Iron (1920)
as John Carver
Ever Since Eve (1934)
as Jim Wood
Desert Gold (1919)
as Ladd
Hearts Aflame (1923)
as Black Joe
Innocents of Paris (1929)
as Emile Leval
The Frontiersman (1927)
as Andrew Jackson
The Sap (1929)
as The Banker
Faint Perfume (1925)
as Grandpa Crumb
After the Fog (1929)
as Joshua Barker
Bad Bascomb (1946)
as Elijah Walker
The Great Meadow (1931)
as Thomas Hall
The Blue Bandanna (1919)
as Jim Yancy
The Challenge Accepted (1918)
as Uncle Zeke Sawyer
Western Caravans (1939)
as Winchester Thompson
Radio Scout (1934)
as Pappy Tolliver
Lena Rivers (1932)
as Grandfather Nichols
Alexander Hamilton (1931)
as Harvey Taylor - First Ex-Soldier
Paint and Powder (1925)
as Riley
The Splendid Road (1925)
as Capt. Lightfoot
The Virginian (1923)
as Trampas
Lovey Mary (1926)
as Stubbins
Thunder Mountain (1925)
as Si Pace
The Old Homestead (1915)
as Sheriff
The Border Legion (1918)
as Overland Bradley
The Kingdom Within (1922)
as Caleb Deming
The Harvester (1936)
as Abner Prewett
The Uphill Path (1918)
as James Lawton
Ship of Souls (1925)
as Angus Garth
The Bushranger (1928)
as Sir Eric