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