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.
Acted in
The Horse Soldiers
1959
as Henry Goodbody
The Texan
1958
as Zeb Waters
The Tin Star
1957
as Clem Hall
Wagon Train
1957
as Mr. Carr
The Lonely Man
1957
The Brass Legend
1956
as Deputy 'Pop' Jackson
Friendly Persuasion
1956
as Brother Griffith - Elder (uncredited)
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
as Old Man
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
1955
The Tall Men
1955
as Emigrant (uncredited)
The Last Command
1955
as The Parson
Broken Lance
1954
as Judge (uncredited)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
1954
as Fred Bixby
Public Defender
1954
as Lundquist
The Sun Shines Bright
1953
as Lewt Lake
Meet Me at the Fair
1953
as Sheriff Evans
The Ghost of Crossbone Canyon
1952
as Sam Stanton
Lone Star
1952
as Maynard Cole
Cavalcade of America
1952
as Quatermaster
Cavalcade of America
1952
Cavalcade of America
1952
as Judge Grant
Feudin' Fools
1952
as Grandpa Smith
Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair
1952
as Clem Johnson
Comin' Round the Mountain
1951
as Judge
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
1951
as Sam
Call of the Klondike
1950
as Andy McKay
Saddle Tramp
1950
as Pop
Wagon Master
1950
as Adam Perkins
The Outriders
1950
as Farmer (uncredited)
Free For All
1949
as Farmer
The Lone Ranger
1949
as Jack Brewster
The Gal Who Took the West
1949
as Bartender (as old Timer)
Tuna Clipper
1949
as Capt. Fergus MacLennan
Joan of Arc
1948
as Old Man with Pipe (uncredited)
Sundown in Santa Fe
1948
as Sheriff Jim Wyatt
The Untamed Breed
1948
as Minister
Tap Roots
1948
as Big Sam Dabney
Coroner Creek
1948
as Walt Hardison
Albuquerque
1948
as Abner Huggins
Bowery Buckaroos
1947
as Luke Barlow
The Fabulous Texan
1947
as Wade Clayton
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
1947
as Dan Yeary
A Boy and His Dog
1946
as Mr. Thornycroft
My Dog Shep
1946
as Mathew Hodgkins
My Darling Clementine
1946
as John Simpson
Death Valley
1946
as Old Silas Bagley
Bad Bascomb
1946
as Elijah Walker
California Gold Rush
1946
as Colonel Parker
They Were Expendable
1945
as 'Dad' Knowland
Along Came Jones
1945
as Pop de Longpre
Roughly Speaking
1945
as The Colonel - Drill Instructor (uncredited)
The Big Bonanza
1944
as Adam Parker
Roaring Guns
1944
as Farmer MacKenzie
Texas Masquerade
1944
as J.K. Trimble
The Woman of the Town
1943
as Sime
Moonlight in Vermont
1943
as Uncle Rufus
Riding High
1943
as Frenchy McGuire
Colt Comrades
1943
as Sheriff
Border Patrol
1943
as Orestes Krebs
Tennessee Johnson
1942
as Kirby
The Spoilers
1942
as Flapjack
Lone Star Ranger
1942
as Tom Duane
Nazi Agent
1942
as 2nd Captain (uncredited)
Shut My Big Mouth
1942
as Mayor Potter
Wild Bill Hickok Rides
1942
as Ned Nolan
Swamp Water
1941
as Marty McCord
Last of the Duanes
1941
as Tom Duane
Wild Geese Calling
1941
as Marshal Len Baker
Bad Men of Missouri
1941
as Hank Younger
Citadel of Crime
1941
as Jess Meekins
Meet John Doe
1941
as (uncredited)
Tobacco Road
1941
as Chief of Police
Santa Fe Trail
1940
as Shubel Morgan
Brigham Young
1940
as U.S. Army Major
Wyoming
1940
as Mr. Bronson
Three Faces West
1940
as Minister
Virginia City
1940
as Gaylord
The Grapes of Wrath
1940
as Pa Joad
Geronimo
1939
as Scout
Drums Along the Mohawk
1939
as Dr. Petry
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939
as Kenneth Allen (uncredited)
Desperate Trails
1939
as Sheriff Big Bill Tanner
The Bill of Rights
1939
as Frontiersman
Western Caravans
1939
as Winchester Thompson
Young Mr. Lincoln
1939
as Woolridge (uncredited)
Dodge City
1939
as Orth
Heart of the North
1938
as Dave MacMillan
Valley of the Giants
1938
as McKenzie
The Girl of the Golden West
1938
as Fred - Outrider in Prologue
Gold Is Where You Find It
1938
as MacKenzie
That I May Live
1937
as Bish Plivens
Paradise Isle
1937
as Baxter
Wild West Days
1937
as Matt Keeler
Yodelin' Kid from Pine Ridge
1937
as Bayliss Baynum
Mountain Justice
1937
as Matthew Turnbull
Green Light
1937
as Sheep Man
Maid of Salem
1937
as Village Marshal (Uncredited)
Ramona
1936
as Scroggs
Back to Nature
1936
as Sheriff
San Francisco
1936
as 'Red' Kelly
Girl of the Ozarks
1936
The Harvester
1936
as Abner Prewett
Man Hunt
1936
as Jeff Parkington
Paddy O'Day
1936
as Benton
Way Down East
1935
as Squire Amasa Bartlett
Motive for Revenge
1935
as McAllister
The Hoosier Schoolmaster
1935
as Doc Small
West of the Pecos
1934
as Roy Neal
The World Moves On
1934
as Notary (1825)
Ever Since Eve
1934
as Jim Wood
Three on a Honeymoon
1934
as Ezra MacDuff
Carolina
1934
as Richards
Frontier Marshal
1934
as Editor Pickett
Sixteen Fathoms Deep
1934
as A.B. Crockett
The Power and the Glory
1933
as Professor (uncredited)
Stolen by Gypsies or Beer and Bicycles
1933
as Speaker
Face in the Sky
1933
as Pa Nathan Brown
Silver Dollar
1932
as Hamlin
Call Her Savage
1932
as Old Man in Wagon Train
The Cabin in the Cotton
1932
as Uncle Joe
Hello Trouble
1932
as Jonathan Kenyon
The Honor of the Press
1932
as Dan Perkins
Flames
1932
as Jake
The Riding Tornado
1932
as Sheriff
The Famous Ferguson Case
1932
as Banker Craig
Lena Rivers
1932
as Grandfather Nichols
Law and Order
1932
as Judge R.W. Williams
Ridin' for Justice
1932
as Marshal Joseph Slyde
Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)
1931
as Doctor
Alexander Hamilton
1931
as Harvey Taylor - First Ex-Soldier
The Great Meadow
1931
as Thomas Hall
Man to Man
1930
as Uncle Cal
Abraham Lincoln
1930
as Lincoln's Employer
Billy the Kid
1930
as Angus McSween
The Lone Star Ranger
1930
as Colonel John Aldridge
After the Fog
1929
as Joshua Barker
The Sap
1929
as The Banker
My Lady's Past
1929
All Faces West
1929
as Gunner Bill
Innocents of Paris
1929
as Emile Leval
Tropical Nights
1928
as Singapore Joe
Wild Geese
1927
as Caleb Gare
Now We're in the Air
1927
as Lord Abercrombie McTavish
The First Auto
1927
as Hank Armstrong
The Frontiersman
1927
as Andrew Jackson
Annie Laurie
1927
as Sandy
Lovey Mary
1926
as Stubbins
Rustlin' for Cupid
1926
as Hank Blatchford
The Earth Woman
1926
as Ezra Tilden
The Splendid Road
1925
as Capt. Lightfoot
The Eagle
1925
as The Eagle's Lieutenant / Coach Driver (uncredited)
Why Women Love
1925
as Silas Martin
Thunder Mountain
1925
as Si Pace
Paint and Powder
1925
as Riley
Faint Perfume
1925
as Grandpa Crumb
Old Shoes
1925
The Narrow Street
1925
as Garvey
Painted People
1924
as Fred Lane
Defying Destiny
1923
as Mr. Wilkens
The Virginian
1923
as Trampas
The Huntress
1923
as Big Jack Skinner
Circus Days
1923
as Eben Holt
The Girl of the Golden West
1923
as Jack Rance
The Kingdom Within
1922
as Caleb Deming
Peg o' My Heart
1922
as Jim O'Connell
Rags to Riches
1922
as The Sheriff
Human Hearts
1922
as Paul Logan
Across the Dead-Line
1922
as Enoch Kidder
Under the Lash
1921
as Simeon Krillet
Snowblind
1921
as Hugh Garth
Bunty Pulls the Strings
1921
as Tammas Biggar
Godless Men
1920
as 'Black' Pawl
The Branding Iron
1920
as John Carver
Lahoma
1920
as 'Brick' Willock
The Deadlier Sex
1920
as Jim Willis
Desert Gold
1919
as Ladd
Bill Apperson's Boy
1919
as Bill Apperson
The Brand
1919
as Dan McGill
Riders of the Night
1918
as Sally's Grandfather
The Uphill Path
1918
as James Lawton
The Border Legion
1918
as Overland Bradley
Breakers Ahead
1918
as Captain Scudder
A Weaver of Dreams
1918
as Martin Chandler
Blue Jeans
1917
as Jacob Tutwiler
The Old Homestead
1915
as Sheriff
The Virginian
1914
as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
Radio Scout
as Pappy Tolliver