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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
June 16, 1880
Died
December 12, 1959
Place of Birth
Danville, California, USA
Also Known As
- Russell McCaskill Simpson
- Russel Simpson
Russell Simpson
0.4 Popularity
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
6.9
Henry Goodbody
The Horse Soldiers
1959
5.5
Zeb Waters
The Texan
1958
7.0
Clem Hall
The Tin Star
1957
6.3
Mr. Carr
Wagon Train
1957
6.1
The Lonely Man
1957
6.2
Deputy 'Pop' Jackson
The Brass Legend
1956
6.6
Brother Griffith - Elder (uncredited)
Friendly Persuasion
1956
6.6
The Minister (uncredited)
Oklahoma!
1955
5.4
Old Man
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
5.7
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
1955
Credits
The Horse Soldiers
as Henry Goodbody
1959
6.9
The Texan
as Zeb Waters
1958
5.5
The Tin Star
as Clem Hall
1957
7.0
Wagon Train
as Mr. Carr
1957
6.3
The Lonely Man
1957
6.1
The Brass Legend
as Deputy 'Pop' Jackson
1956
6.2
Friendly Persuasion
as Brother Griffith - Elder (uncredited)
1956
6.6
Oklahoma!
as The Minister (uncredited)
1955
6.6
The 20th Century Fox Hour
as Old Man
1955
5.4
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
1955
5.7
The Tall Men
as Emigrant (uncredited)
1955
6.3
The Last Command
as The Parson
1955
6.4
Broken Lance
as Judge (uncredited)
1954
6.4
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
as Fred Bixby
1954
7.2
Public Defender
as Lundquist
1954
6.0
The Sun Shines Bright
as Lewt Lake
1953
6.5
General Electric Theater
1953
6.3
Meet Me at the Fair
as Sheriff Evans
1953
7.0
The Ghost of Crossbone Canyon
as Sam Stanton
1952
0.0
Lone Star
as Maynard Cole
1952
5.6
Cavalcade of America
as Quatermaster
1952
3.5
Cavalcade of America
1952
3.5
Cavalcade of America
as Judge Grant
1952
3.5
Feudin' Fools
as Grandpa Smith
1952
4.0
Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair
as Clem Johnson
1952
5.9
Comin' Round the Mountain
as Judge
1951
6.0
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
as Sam
1951
4.5
Call of the Klondike
as Andy McKay
1950
7.0
Saddle Tramp
as Pop
1950
6.3
Wagon Master
as Adam Perkins
1950
6.7
The Outriders
as Farmer (uncredited)
1950
6.9
Free For All
as Farmer
1949
6.0
The Lone Ranger
as Jack Brewster
1949
6.7
The Gal Who Took the West
as Bartender (as old Timer)
1949
5.6
Tuna Clipper
as Capt. Fergus MacLennan
1949
6.5
Joan of Arc
as Old Man with Pipe (uncredited)
1948
6.1
Sundown in Santa Fe
as Sheriff Jim Wyatt
1948
0.0
The Untamed Breed
as Minister
1948
5.0
Tap Roots
as Big Sam Dabney
1948
6.4
Coroner Creek
as Walt Hardison
1948
6.1
Albuquerque
as Abner Huggins
1948
6.8
Bowery Buckaroos
as Luke Barlow
1947
6.5
The Fabulous Texan
as Wade Clayton
1947
4.0
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
as Dan Yeary
1947
6.6
🎬
A Boy and His Dog
as Mr. Thornycroft
1946
5.5
My Dog Shep
as Mathew Hodgkins
1946
6.0
My Darling Clementine
as John Simpson
1946
7.4
Death Valley
as Old Silas Bagley
1946
5.0
Bad Bascomb
as Elijah Walker
1946
6.2
California Gold Rush
as Colonel Parker
1946
6.0
They Were Expendable
as 'Dad' Knowland
1945
6.6
Along Came Jones
as Pop de Longpre
1945
5.7
Roughly Speaking
as The Colonel - Drill Instructor (uncredited)
1945
6.8
The Big Bonanza
as Adam Parker
1944
5.5
Roaring Guns
as Farmer MacKenzie
1944
0.0
Texas Masquerade
as J.K. Trimble
1944
0.0
The Woman of the Town
as Sime
1943
6.3
Moonlight in Vermont
as Uncle Rufus
1943
6.0
Riding High
as Frenchy McGuire
1943
4.5
Colt Comrades
as Sheriff
1943
5.6
Border Patrol
as Orestes Krebs
1943
6.0
Tennessee Johnson
as Kirby
1942
6.1
The Spoilers
as Flapjack
1942
6.2
Lone Star Ranger
as Tom Duane
1942
3.0
Nazi Agent
as 2nd Captain (uncredited)
1942
6.6
Shut My Big Mouth
as Mayor Potter
1942
8.5
Wild Bill Hickok Rides
as Ned Nolan
1942
4.7
Swamp Water
as Marty McCord
1941
6.3
Last of the Duanes
as Tom Duane
1941
6.0
Wild Geese Calling
as Marshal Len Baker
1941
5.8
Bad Men of Missouri
as Hank Younger
1941
5.6
🎬
Citadel of Crime
as Jess Meekins
1941
0.0
Meet John Doe
as (uncredited)
1941
7.3
Tobacco Road
as Chief of Police
1941
6.6
Santa Fe Trail
as Shubel Morgan
1940
5.7
Brigham Young
as U.S. Army Major
1940
4.4
Wyoming
as Mr. Bronson
1940
5.9
Three Faces West
as Minister
1940
5.4
Virginia City
as Gaylord
1940
6.1
The Grapes of Wrath
as Pa Joad
1940
7.8
Geronimo
as Scout
1939
5.0
Drums Along the Mohawk
as Dr. Petry
1939
6.5
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Kenneth Allen (uncredited)
1939
7.9
Desperate Trails
as Sheriff Big Bill Tanner
1939
4.5
The Bill of Rights
as Frontiersman
1939
6.0
Western Caravans
as Winchester Thompson
1939
0.0
Young Mr. Lincoln
as Woolridge (uncredited)
1939
7.2
Dodge City
as Orth
1939
6.9
Heart of the North
as Dave MacMillan
1938
3.7
Valley of the Giants
as McKenzie
1938
6.0
The Girl of the Golden West
as Fred - Outrider in Prologue
1938
4.6
Gold Is Where You Find It
as MacKenzie
1938
6.9
That I May Live
as Bish Plivens
1937
6.5
Paradise Isle
as Baxter
1937
5.0
Wild West Days
as Matt Keeler
1937
0.0
Yodelin' Kid from Pine Ridge
as Bayliss Baynum
1937
5.5
Parnell
as Dead Child's Father
1937
4.6
Mountain Justice
as Matthew Turnbull
1937
5.5
Green Light
as Sheep Man
1937
6.4
Maid of Salem
as Village Marshal (Uncredited)
1937
5.9
Ramona
as Scroggs
1936
5.1
Back to Nature
as Sheriff
1936
0.0
San Francisco
as 'Red' Kelly
1936
6.6
Girl of the Ozarks
as Bascomb Rogers
1936
6.0
🎬
The Harvester
as Abner Prewett
1936
0.0
Man Hunt
as Jeff Parkington
1936
0.0
Paddy O'Day
as Benton
1936
7.0
Way Down East
as Squire Amasa Bartlett
1935
3.0
Motive for Revenge
as McAllister
1935
5.0
The Hoosier Schoolmaster
as Doc Small
1935
4.2
West of the Pecos
as Roy Neal
1934
0.0
Radio Scout
as Pappy Tolliver
1934
0.0
The World Moves On
as Notary (1825)
1934
5.6
Ever Since Eve
as Jim Wood
1934
0.0
Three on a Honeymoon
as Ezra MacDuff
1934
0.0
Carolina
as Richards
1934
6.0
Frontier Marshal
as Editor Pickett
1934
5.5
Sixteen Fathoms Deep
as A.B. Crockett
1934
2.3
The Power and the Glory
as Professor (uncredited)
1933
6.0
Stolen by Gypsies or Beer and Bicycles
as Speaker
1933
1.0
Face in the Sky
as Pa Nathan Brown
1933
4.5
Silver Dollar
as Hamlin
1932
5.7
Call Her Savage
as Old Man in Wagon Train
1932
5.9
The Cabin in the Cotton
as Uncle Joe
1932
6.3
Hello Trouble
as Jonathan Kenyon
1932
6.0
The Honor of the Press
as Dan Perkins
1932
6.0
Flames
as Jake
1932
2.5
The Riding Tornado
as Sheriff
1932
0.0
The Famous Ferguson Case
as Banker Craig
1932
6.0
Lena Rivers
as Grandfather Nichols
1932
5.5
Law and Order
as Judge R.W. Williams
1932
4.0
Ridin' for Justice
as Marshal Joseph Slyde
1932
0.0
Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)
as Doctor
1931
6.4
Alexander Hamilton
as Harvey Taylor - First Ex-Soldier
1931
4.5
The Great Meadow
as Thomas Hall
1931
5.0
Man to Man
as Uncle Cal
1930
5.7
Abraham Lincoln
as Lincoln's Employer
1930
5.4
Billy the Kid
as Angus McSween
1930
4.2
The Lone Star Ranger
as Colonel John Aldridge
1930
5.0
After the Fog
as Joshua Barker
1929
6.0
The Sap
as The Banker
1929
0.0
My Lady's Past
1929
0.0
All Faces West
as Gunner Bill
1929
0.0
Innocents of Paris
as Emile Leval
1929
0.0
Tropical Nights
as Singapore Joe
1928
0.0
Wild Geese
as Caleb Gare
1927
0.0
Now We're in the Air
as Lord Abercrombie McTavish
1927
6.2
The First Auto
as Hank Armstrong
1927
4.5
The Frontiersman
as Andrew Jackson
1927
0.0
Annie Laurie
as Sandy
1927
6.7
🎬
Lovey Mary
as Stubbins
1926
0.0
Rustlin' for Cupid
as Hank Blatchford
1926
0.0
The Earth Woman
as Ezra Tilden
1926
0.0
🎬
Ship of Souls
as Angus Garth
1925
0.0
The Splendid Road
as Capt. Lightfoot
1925
0.0
The Eagle
as The Eagle's Lieutenant / Coach Driver (uncredited)
1925
6.2
Why Women Love
as Silas Martin
1925
0.0
Thunder Mountain
as Si Pace
1925
0.0
Paint and Powder
as Riley
1925
0.0
Faint Perfume
as Grandpa Crumb
1925
0.0
🎬
Old Shoes
1925
0.0
🎬
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent
as Jap Taylor
1925
0.0
The Narrow Street
as Garvey
1925
0.0
Painted People
as Fred Lane
1924
0.0
The Virginian
as Trampas
1923
5.0
🎬
Defying Destiny
as Mr. Wilkens
1923
5.5
The Huntress
as Big Jack Skinner
1923
0.0
Circus Days
as Eben Holt
1923
6.5
The Girl of the Golden West
as Jack Rance
1923
0.0
🎬
The Kingdom Within
as Caleb Deming
1922
0.0
Peg o' My Heart
as Jim O'Connell
1922
7.0
Rags to Riches
as The Sheriff
1922
10.0
Human Hearts
as Paul Logan
1922
0.0
Across the Dead-Line
as Enoch Kidder
1922
0.0
Under the Lash
as Simeon Krillet
1921
0.0
Snowblind
as Hugh Garth
1921
0.0
Bunty Pulls the Strings
as Tammas Biggar
1921
0.0
Godless Men
as 'Black' Pawl
1920
1.0
The Branding Iron
as John Carver
1920
0.0
Lahoma
as 'Brick' Willock
1920
0.0
The Deadlier Sex
as Jim Willis
1920
5.0
Desert Gold
as Ladd
1919
0.0
Bill Apperson's Boy
as Bill Apperson
1919
0.0
The Brand
as Dan McGill
1919
0.0
The Challenge Accepted
as Uncle Zeke Sawyer
1918
0.0
Riders of the Night
as Sally's Grandfather
1918
7.0
🎬
The Uphill Path
as James Lawton
1918
0.0
The Border Legion
as Overland Bradley
1918
0.0
Breakers Ahead
as Captain Scudder
1918
0.0
A Weaver of Dreams
as Martin Chandler
1918
0.0
Blue Jeans
as Jacob Tutwiler
1917
5.5
🎬
The Old Homestead
as Sheriff
1915
0.0
The Virginian
as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
1914
5.6