Russell Simpson
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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
The Lone Ranger
Jack Brewster
Wagon Train
Mr. Carr
The Texan
Zeb Waters
Public Defender
Lundquist
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
Sam
The 20th Century Fox Hour
Old Man
Cavalcade of America
Quatermaster
Cavalcade of America
Cavalcade of America
Judge Grant
General Electric Theater
The Tin Star
Clem Hall
The Grapes of Wrath
Pa Joad
The Horse Soldiers
Henry Goodbody
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Fred Bixby
My Darling Clementine
John Simpson
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Kenneth Allen (uncredited)
Oklahoma!
The Minister (uncredited)
Friendly Persuasion
Brother Griffith - Elder (uncredited)
Broken Lance
Judge (uncredited)
The Tall Men
Emigrant (uncredited)
They Were Expendable
'Dad' Knowland
Joan of Arc
Old Man with Pipe (uncredited)
Drums Along the Mohawk
Dr. Petry
Dodge City
Orth
Santa Fe Trail
Shubel Morgan
Meet John Doe
(uncredited)
San Francisco
'Red' Kelly
Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln's Employer
Wagon Master
Adam Perkins
Young Mr. Lincoln
Woolridge (uncredited)
Lone Star
Maynard Cole
The Spoilers
Flapjack
Virginia City
Gaylord
Geronimo
Scout
The Last Command
The Parson
Brigham Young
U.S. Army Major
The Outriders
Farmer (uncredited)
Coroner Creek
Walt Hardison
Tap Roots
Big Sam Dabney
The Virginian
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
The Sun Shines Bright
Lewt Lake
Nazi Agent
2nd Captain (uncredited)
Three Faces West
Minister
Albuquerque
Abner Huggins
Tobacco Road
Chief of Police
Comin' Round the Mountain
Judge
Along Came Jones
Pop de Longpre
The Eagle
The Eagle's Lieutenant / Coach Driver (uncredited)
The Lonely Man
Saddle Tramp
Pop
Maid of Salem
Village Marshal (Uncredited)
The Cabin in the Cotton
Uncle Joe
Swamp Water
Marty McCord
Billy the Kid
Angus McSween
Gold Is Where You Find It
MacKenzie
Bad Bascomb
Elijah Walker
Call Her Savage
Old Man in Wagon Train
Ramona
Scroggs
Shut My Big Mouth
Mayor Potter
The Big Bonanza
Adam Parker
Riding High
Frenchy McGuire
The Narrow Street
Garvey
The Girl of the Golden West
Fred - Outrider in Prologue
The Woman of the Town
Sime
Wild Bill Hickok Rides
Ned Nolan
Wild Geese Calling
Marshal Len Baker
The Lone Star Ranger
Colonel John Aldridge
Law and Order
Judge R.W. Williams
Yodelin' Kid from Pine Ridge
Bayliss Baynum
The Untamed Breed
Minister
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
Dan Yeary
Annie Laurie
Sandy
The Brass Legend
Deputy 'Pop' Jackson
Bad Men of Missouri
Hank Younger
Alexander Hamilton
Harvey Taylor - First Ex-Soldier
Face in the Sky
Pa Nathan Brown
Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair
Clem Johnson
Wyoming
Mr. Bronson
Colt Comrades
Sheriff
My Dog Shep
Mathew Hodgkins
Bowery Buckaroos
Luke Barlow
Free For All
Farmer
The World Moves On
Notary (1825)
The Hoosier Schoolmaster
Doc Small
Meet Me at the Fair
Sheriff Evans
Death Valley
Old Silas Bagley
Heart of the North
Dave MacMillan
The Gal Who Took the West
Bartender (as old Timer)
The Harvester
Abner Prewett
Motive for Revenge
McAllister
Roughly Speaking
The Colonel - Drill Instructor (uncredited)
Tennessee Johnson
Kirby
The Bill of Rights
Frontiersman
Last of the Duanes
Tom Duane
Under the Lash
Simeon Krillet
Sixteen Fathoms Deep
A.B. Crockett
Peg o' My Heart
Jim O'Connell
Now We're in the Air
Lord Abercrombie McTavish
Ship of Souls
Angus Garth
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent
Jap Taylor
Silver Dollar
Hamlin
Tropical Nights
Singapore Joe
Man Hunt
Jeff Parkington
Carolina
Richards
The Fabulous Texan
Wade Clayton
Defying Destiny
Mr. Wilkens
Way Down East
Squire Amasa Bartlett
The Splendid Road
Capt. Lightfoot
Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)
Doctor
Western Caravans
Winchester Thompson
Wild West Days
Matt Keeler
Border Patrol
Orestes Krebs
After the Fog
Joshua Barker
Mountain Justice
Matthew Turnbull
California Gold Rush
Colonel Parker
Desert Gold
Ladd
The First Auto
Hank Armstrong
Rags to Riches
The Sheriff
Wild Geese
Caleb Gare
Lovey Mary
Stubbins
Paddy O'Day
Benton
Frontier Marshal
Editor Pickett
Man to Man
Uncle Cal
Desperate Trails
Sheriff Big Bill Tanner
Back to Nature
Sheriff
Parnell
Dead Child's Father
A Boy and His Dog
Mr. Thornycroft
The Famous Ferguson Case
Banker Craig
Moonlight in Vermont
Uncle Rufus
Flames
Jake
The Earth Woman
Ezra Tilden
Why Women Love
Silas Martin
The Brand
Dan McGill
Lena Rivers
Grandfather Nichols
Old Shoes
Paint and Powder
Riley
Lone Star Ranger
Tom Duane
West of the Pecos
Roy Neal
The Border Legion
Overland Bradley
The Deadlier Sex
Jim Willis
Painted People
Fred Lane
Valley of the Giants
McKenzie
Feudin' Fools
Grandpa Smith
Bunty Pulls the Strings
Tammas Biggar
Blue Jeans
Jacob Tutwiler
The Riding Tornado
Sheriff
The Sap
The Banker
The Honor of the Press
Dan Perkins
Texas Masquerade
J.K. Trimble
The Power and the Glory
Professor (uncredited)
Green Light
Sheep Man
The Girl of the Golden West
Jack Rance
Sundown in Santa Fe
Sheriff Jim Wyatt
Citadel of Crime
Jess Meekins
Radio Scout
Pappy Tolliver
The Virginian
Trampas
The Huntress
Big Jack Skinner
Paradise Isle
Baxter
Three on a Honeymoon
Ezra MacDuff
The Great Meadow
Thomas Hall
Faint Perfume
Grandpa Crumb
Tuna Clipper
Capt. Fergus MacLennan
Rustlin' for Cupid
Hank Blatchford
Across the Dead-Line
Enoch Kidder
Riders of the Night
Sally's Grandfather
Thunder Mountain
Si Pace
Human Hearts
Paul Logan
Breakers Ahead
Captain Scudder
Innocents of Paris
Emile Leval
Call of the Klondike
Andy McKay
Stolen by Gypsies or Beer and Bicycles
Speaker
The Ghost of Crossbone Canyon
Sam Stanton
That I May Live
Bish Plivens
Snowblind
Hugh Garth
A Weaver of Dreams
Martin Chandler
Godless Men
'Black' Pawl
The Challenge Accepted
Uncle Zeke Sawyer
Lahoma
'Brick' Willock
The Branding Iron
John Carver
Hello Trouble
Jonathan Kenyon
Roaring Guns
Farmer MacKenzie
Girl of the Ozarks
Bascomb Rogers
Ever Since Eve
Jim Wood
Ridin' for Justice
Marshal Joseph Slyde
My Lady's Past
The Kingdom Within
Caleb Deming
Circus Days
Eben Holt
All Faces West
Gunner Bill
The Uphill Path
James Lawton
The Frontiersman
Andrew Jackson
Bill Apperson's Boy
Bill Apperson
The Old Homestead
Sheriff