Russell Simpson
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1880-06-16
Day of Death
1959-12-12 (79 years old)
Place of Birth
Danville, California, USA
Russell Simpson
Biography
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
Acting
(1959)
The Horse Soldiers
as Henry Goodbody
(1957)
The Tin Star
as Clem Hall
(1957)
(1956)
Friendly Persuasion
as Brother Griffith - Elder (uncredited)
(1956)
The Brass Legend
as Deputy 'Pop' Jackson
(1955)
The Tall Men
as Emigrant (uncredited)
(1955)
Oklahoma!
as The Minister (uncredited)
(1955)
The Last Command
as The Parson
(1954)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
as Fred Bixby
(1954)
Broken Lance
as Judge (uncredited)
(1953)
The Sun Shines Bright
as Lewt Lake
(1953)
Meet Me at the Fair
as Sheriff Evans
(1952)
Lone Star
as Maynard Cole
(1952)
Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair
as Clem Johnson
(1952)
Feudin' Fools
as Grandpa Smith
(1952)
The Ghost of Crossbone Canyon
as Sam Stanton
(1951)
Comin' Round the Mountain
as Judge
(1950)
Wagon Master
as Adam Perkins
(1950)
Saddle Tramp
as Pop
(1950)
The Outriders
as Farmer (uncredited)
(1950)
Call of the Klondike
as Andy McKay
(1949)
The Gal Who Took the West
as Bartender (as old Timer)
(1949)
Free For All
as Farmer
(1949)
Tuna Clipper
as Capt. Fergus MacLennan
(1948)
Joan of Arc
as Old Man with Pipe (uncredited)
(1948)
Albuquerque
as Abner Huggins
(1948)
Tap Roots
as Big Sam Dabney
(1948)
Coroner Creek
as Walt Hardison
(1948)
Sundown in Santa Fe
as Sheriff Jim Wyatt
(1948)
The Untamed Breed
as Minister
(1947)
Bowery Buckaroos
as Luke Barlow
(1947)
The Fabulous Texan
as Wade Clayton
(1947)
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
as Dan Yeary
(1946)
My Darling Clementine
as John Simpson
(1946)
A Boy and His Dog
as Mr. Thornycroft
(1946)
Death Valley
as Old Silas Bagley
(1946)
My Dog Shep
as Mathew Hodgkins
(1946)
Bad Bascomb
as Elijah Walker
(1946)
California Gold Rush
as Colonel Parker
(1945)
They Were Expendable
as 'Dad' Knowland
(1945)
Along Came Jones
as Pop de Longpre
(1945)
Roughly Speaking
as The Colonel - Drill Instructor (uncredited)
(1944)
Roaring Guns
as Farmer MacKenzie
(1944)
The Big Bonanza
as Adam Parker
(1944)
Texas Masquerade
as J.K. Trimble
(1943)
Riding High
as Frenchy McGuire
(1943)
Border Patrol
as Orestes Krebs
(1943)
Colt Comrades
as Sheriff
(1943)
The Woman of the Town
as Sime
(1943)
Moonlight in Vermont
as Uncle Rufus
(1942)
Nazi Agent
as 2nd Captain (uncredited)
(1942)
The Spoilers
as Flapjack
(1942)
Tennessee Johnson
as Kirby
(1942)
Wild Bill Hickok Rides
as Ned Nolan
(1942)
Shut My Big Mouth
as Mayor Potter
(1942)
Lone Star Ranger
as Tom Duane
(1941)
Meet John Doe
as (uncredited)
(1941)
Swamp Water
as Marty McCord
(1941)
Tobacco Road
as Chief of Police
(1941)
Wild Geese Calling
as Marshal Len Baker
(1941)
Bad Men of Missouri
as Hank Younger
(1941)
Last of the Duanes
as Tom Duane
(1941)
Citadel of Crime
as Jess Meekins
(1940)
The Grapes of Wrath
as Pa Joad
(1940)
Santa Fe Trail
as Shubel Morgan
(1940)
Three Faces West
as Minister
(1940)
Brigham Young
as U.S. Army Major
(1940)
Virginia City
as Gaylord
(1940)
Wyoming
as Mr. Bronson
(1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Kenneth Allen (uncredited)
(1939)
Dodge City
as Orth
(1939)
Drums Along the Mohawk
as Dr. Petry
(1939)
Young Mr. Lincoln
as Woolridge (uncredited)
(1939)
Geronimo
as Scout
(1939)
The Bill of Rights
as Frontiersman
(1939)
Western Caravans
as Winchester Thompson
(1939)
Desperate Trails
as Sheriff Big Bill Tanner
(1938)
Gold Is Where You Find It
as MacKenzie
(1938)
Valley of the Giants
as McKenzie
(1938)
The Girl of the Golden West
as Fred - Outrider in Prologue
(1938)
Heart of the North
as Dave MacMillan
(1937)
Maid of Salem
as Village Marshal (Uncredited)
(1937)
Wild West Days
as Matt Keeler
(1937)
Parnell
as Dead Child's Father
(1937)
Yodelin' Kid from Pine Ridge
as Bayliss Baynum
(1937)
Mountain Justice
as Matthew Turnbull
(1937)
That I May Live
as Bish Plivens
(1937)
Paradise Isle
as Baxter
(1937)
Green Light
as Sheep Man
(1936)
San Francisco
as 'Red' Kelly
(1936)
The Harvester
as Abner Prewett
(1936)
Paddy O'Day
as Benton
(1936)
Ramona
as Scroggs
(1936)
Girl of the Ozarks
as Bascomb Rogers
(1936)
Man Hunt
as Jeff Parkington
(1936)
Back to Nature
as Sheriff
(1935)
The Hoosier Schoolmaster
as Doc Small
(1935)
Way Down East
as Squire Amasa Bartlett
(1935)
Motive for Revenge
as McAllister
(1934)
Frontier Marshal
as Editor Pickett
(1934)
West of the Pecos
as Roy Neal
(1934)
The World Moves On
as Notary (1825)
(1934)
Three on a Honeymoon
as Ezra MacDuff
(1934)
Ever Since Eve
as Jim Wood
(1934)
Carolina
as Richards
(1934)
Sixteen Fathoms Deep
as A.B. Crockett
(1934)
Radio Scout
as Pappy Tolliver
(1933)
The Power and the Glory
as Professor (uncredited)
(1933)
Face in the Sky
as Pa Nathan Brown
(1933)
Stolen by Gypsies or Beer and Bicycles
as Speaker
(1932)
The Famous Ferguson Case
as Banker Craig
(1932)
The Honor of the Press
as Dan Perkins
(1932)
Call Her Savage
as Old Man in Wagon Train
(1932)
Lena Rivers
as Grandfather Nichols
(1932)
The Riding Tornado
as Sheriff
(1932)
Law and Order
as Judge R.W. Williams
(1932)
Hello Trouble
as Jonathan Kenyon
(1932)
Ridin' for Justice
as Marshal Joseph Slyde
(1932)
The Cabin in the Cotton
as Uncle Joe
(1932)
Silver Dollar
as Hamlin
(1932)
Flames
as Jake
(1931)
Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)
as Doctor
(1931)
Alexander Hamilton
as Harvey Taylor - First Ex-Soldier
(1931)
The Great Meadow
as Thomas Hall
(1930)
Abraham Lincoln
as Lincoln's Employer
(1930)
Billy the Kid
as Angus McSween
(1930)
The Lone Star Ranger
as Colonel John Aldridge
(1930)
Man to Man
as Uncle Cal
(1929)
Innocents of Paris
as Emile Leval
(1929)
After the Fog
as Joshua Barker
(1929)
The Sap
as The Banker
(1929)
All Faces West
as Gunner Bill
(1929)
(1928)
Tropical Nights
as Singapore Joe
(1927)
Now We're in the Air
as Lord Abercrombie McTavish
(1927)
The Frontiersman
as Andrew Jackson
(1927)
Annie Laurie
as Sandy
(1927)
The First Auto
as Hank Armstrong
(1927)
Wild Geese
as Caleb Gare
(1926)
Lovey Mary
as Stubbins
(1926)
The Earth Woman
as Ezra Tilden
(1926)
Rustlin' for Cupid
as Hank Blatchford
(1925)
The Eagle
as The Eagle's Lieutenant / Coach Driver (uncredited)
(1925)
Ship of Souls
as Angus Garth
(1925)
Paint and Powder
as Riley
(1925)
Why Women Love
as Silas Martin
(1925)
The Narrow Street
as Garvey
(1925)
The Splendid Road
as Capt. Lightfoot
(1925)
Faint Perfume
as Grandpa Crumb
(1925)
(1925)
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent
as Jap Taylor
(1925)
Thunder Mountain
as Si Pace
(1924)
Painted People
as Fred Lane
(1923)
Defying Destiny
as Mr. Wilkens
(1923)
Circus Days
as Eben Holt
(1923)
The Huntress
as Big Jack Skinner
(1923)
The Girl of the Golden West
as Jack Rance
(1923)
The Virginian
as Trampas
(1923)
Hearts Aflame
as Black Joe
(1922)
Across the Dead-Line
as Enoch Kidder
(1922)
Human Hearts
as Paul Logan
(1922)
Peg o' My Heart
as Jim O'Connell
(1922)
Rags to Riches
as The Sheriff
(1922)
The Kingdom Within
as Caleb Deming
(1921)
Bunty Pulls the Strings
as Tammas Biggar
(1921)
Under the Lash
as Simeon Krillet
(1921)
Snowblind
as Hugh Garth
(1920)
The Deadlier Sex
as Jim Willis
(1920)
The Branding Iron
as John Carver
(1920)
Godless Men
as 'Black' Pawl
(1920)
Lahoma
as 'Brick' Willock
(1919)
Desert Gold
as Ladd
(1919)
Bill Apperson's Boy
as Bill Apperson
(1919)
The Brand
as Dan McGill
(1918)
A Weaver of Dreams
as Martin Chandler
(1918)
Breakers Ahead
as Captain Scudder
(1918)
Riders of the Night
as Sally's Grandfather
(1918)
The Border Legion
as Overland Bradley
(1918)
The Uphill Path
as James Lawton
(1918)
The Challenge Accepted
as Uncle Zeke Sawyer
(1917)
Blue Jeans
as Jacob Tutwiler
(1915)
The Old Homestead
as Sheriff
(1914)
The Virginian
as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)