Cast
Russell Simpson
Acting
Cast
Russell Simpson
Known for
Acting
Born
1880-06-16
From
Danville, California, USA
Died
1959-12-12
Also known as Russell McCaskill Simpson, Russel 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.
★7.8
MOVIE1939
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Kenneth Allen (uncredited)
★7.8
MOVIE1940
The Grapes of Wrath
as Pa Joad
★6.1
MOVIE1931
Susan Lenox
as Doctor
MOVIE1917
The Barrier
as John Gaylord / John Tale
★7.0
MOVIE1932
Hello Trouble
as Jonathan Kenyon
MOVIE1918
Breakers Ahead
as Captain Scudder
★6.9
MOVIE1959
The Horse Soldiers
as Henry Goodbody
★5.7
MOVIE1946
Death Valley
as Old Silas Bagley
★6.6
MOVIE1955
Oklahoma!
as The Minister (uncredited)
★9.0
MOVIE1952
The Ghost of Crossbone Canyon
as Sam Stanton
★6.6
MOVIE1956
Friendly Persuasion
as Brother Griffith - Elder (uncredited)
★6.9
MOVIE1939
Dodge City
as Orth
★7.5
MOVIE1946
My Darling Clementine
as John Simpson
★4.6
MOVIE1937
Parnell
as Dead Child's Father
★4.6
MOVIE1940
Brigham Young
as U.S. Army Major
★6.5
MOVIE1945
They Were Expendable
as 'Dad' Knowland
★6.7
MOVIE1934
Carolina
as Richards
★6.5
MOVIE1939
Drums Along the Mohawk
as Dr. Petry
★10.0
MOVIE1919
Fighting Cressy
as Hiram McKinstry
★7.0
MOVIE1957
The Tin Star
as Clem Hall
★6.9
MOVIE1948
Tap Roots
as Big Sam Dabney
★9.0
MOVIE1925
Old Shoes
★10.0
MOVIE1920
Lahoma
as 'Brick' Willock
★6.7
MOVIE1923
Defying Destiny
as Mr. Wilkens
★7.0
MOVIE1923
Desire
as Patrick Ryan
★5.8
MOVIE1945
Along Came Jones
as Pop de Longpre
★7.1
MOVIE1954
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
as Fred Bixby
★6.6
MOVIE1944
Tall in the Saddle
as Pat Foster (uncredited)
★6.5
MOVIE1955
The Tall Men
as Emigrant (uncredited)
★6.5
MOVIE1954
Broken Lance
as Judge (uncredited)
★7.2
MOVIE1939
Young Mr. Lincoln
as Woolridge (uncredited)
★6.2
MOVIE1948
Joan of Arc
as Old Man with Pipe (uncredited)
★5.0
MOVIE1932
Law and Order
as Judge R.W. Williams
MOVIE1916
Lovely Mary
as Peter Nelson
★10.0
MOVIE1924
Painted People
as Fred Lane
★7.3
MOVIE1941
Meet John Doe
as (uncredited)
★6.7
MOVIE1950
Wagon Master
as Adam Perkins
★6.3
MOVIE1925
The Eagle
as The Eagle's Lieutenant / Coach Driver (uncredited)
★6.5
MOVIE1953
The Sun Shines Bright
as Lewt Lake
★6.2
MOVIE1942
The Spoilers
as Flapjack
★5.8
MOVIE1932
Call Her Savage
as Old Man in Wagon Train
★9.0
MOVIE1921
Snowblind
as Hugh Garth
★5.5
MOVIE1930
Abraham Lincoln
as Lincoln's Employer
★5.8
MOVIE1940
Santa Fe Trail
as Shubel Morgan
★7.3
MOVIE1950
The Outriders
as Farmer (uncredited)
★8.3
MOVIE1942
Shut My Big Mouth
as Mayor Potter
★5.9
MOVIE1917
Blue Jeans
as Jacob Tutwiler
★6.7
MOVIE1938
Valley of the Giants
as McKenzie
★6.6
MOVIE1936
San Francisco
as 'Red' Kelly
★6.7
MOVIE1955
The Last Command
as The Parson
★5.7
MOVIE1952
Lone Star
as Maynard Cole
★5.5
MOVIE1942
Wild Bill Hickok Rides
as Ned Nolan
★6.3
MOVIE1940
Virginia City
as Gaylord
★6.5
MOVIE1950
Saddle Tramp
as Pop
★6.0
MOVIE1949
The Gal Who Took the West
as Bartender (as old Timer)
★4.3
MOVIE1932
Flames
as Jake
★8.0
MOVIE1918
Oh, Johnny!
as Adele's Father
★9.0
MOVIE1929
Noisy Neighbors
as Ebenezer
★6.2
MOVIE1951
Comin' Round the Mountain
as Judge
★6.8
MOVIE1945
Roughly Speaking
as The Colonel - Drill Instructor (uncredited)
★6.3
MOVIE1941
Swamp Water
as Marty McCord
★6.7
MOVIE1937
Green Light
as Sheep Man
★5.3
MOVIE1938
The Girl of the Golden West
as Fred - Outrider in Prologue
★6.8
MOVIE1941
Tobacco Road
as Chief of Police
★6.5
MOVIE1941
Last of the Duanes
as Tom Duane
★9.0
MOVIE1921
Under the Lash
as Simeon Krillet
★5.7
MOVIE1940
Three Faces West
as Minister
★6.3
MOVIE1956
The Brass Legend
as Deputy 'Pop' Jackson
★4.0
MOVIE1934
Sixteen Fathoms Deep
as A.B. Crockett
★6.2
MOVIE1948
Coroner Creek
as Walt Hardison
★6.4
MOVIE1942
Tennessee Johnson
as Kirby
★7.0
MOVIE1928
Life's Mockery
as Wolf Miller
★7.0
MOVIE1927
The Heart of the Yukon
as 'Cash' Cynon
★6.3
MOVIE1932
The Cabin in the Cotton
as Uncle Joe
★8.0
MOVIE1918
The Challenge Accepted
as Uncle Zeke Sawyer
★8.0
MOVIE1926
The Social Highwayman
as The Mayor's Partner
★5.8
MOVIE1936
Ramona
as Scroggs
MOVIE1919
The Blue Bandanna
as Jim Yancy
★6.6
MOVIE1942
Nazi Agent
as 2nd Captain (uncredited)
★6.7
MOVIE1947
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
as Dan Yeary
★8.0
MOVIE1925
The Narrow Street
as Garvey
★8.0
MOVIE1926
The Earth Woman
as Ezra Tilden
★6.3
MOVIE1937
Mountain Justice
as Matthew Turnbull
★4.3
MOVIE1935
Way Down East
as Squire Amasa Bartlett
★6.2
MOVIE1937
Maid of Salem
as Village Marshal (Uncredited)
★7.0
MOVIE1938
Gold Is Where You Find It
as MacKenzie
★5.2
MOVIE1933
Secrets
as Doctor (uncredited)
★9.0
MOVIE1941
Citadel of Crime
as Jess Meekins
★6.5
MOVIE1944
Texas Masquerade
as J.K. Trimble
★6.3
MOVIE1946
My Dog Shep
as Mathew Hodgkins
★8.0
MOVIE1932
The Honor of the Press
as Dan Perkins
MOVIE1917
The Food Gamblers
as Samuel Sloane
MOVIE1919
The Brand
as Dan McGill
★5.9
MOVIE1934
The World Moves On
as Notary (1825)
★7.0
MOVIE1934
Frontier Marshal
as Editor Pickett
★6.2
MOVIE1941
Bad Men of Missouri
as Hank Younger
★7.0
MOVIE1934
West of the Pecos
as Roy Neal
★7.0
MOVIE1936
Paddy O'Day
as Benton
★7.5
MOVIE1920
The Deadlier Sex
as Jim Willis
★5.6
MOVIE1914
The Virginian
as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
★6.3
MOVIE1944
The Big Bonanza
as Adam Parker
★4.7
MOVIE1930
Billy the Kid
as Angus McSween
★6.4
MOVIE1943
The Woman of the Town
as Sime
★6.2
MOVIE1943
Border Patrol
as Orestes Krebs
★5.9
MOVIE1943
Colt Comrades
as Sheriff
★6.6
MOVIE1932
The Famous Ferguson Case
as Banker Craig
★5.9
MOVIE1933
The Power and the Glory
as Professor (uncredited)
★6.5
MOVIE1952
Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair
as Clem Johnson
★6.5
MOVIE1936
Girl of the Ozarks
as Bascomb Rogers
★6.8
MOVIE1948
Albuquerque
as Abner Huggins
★5.8
MOVIE1933
Face in the Sky
as Pa Nathan Brown
★9.0
MOVIE1936
Back to Nature
as Sheriff
★6.7
MOVIE1940
Wyoming
as Mr. Bronson
★6.8
MOVIE1927
Annie Laurie
as Sandy
★6.3
MOVIE1935
Motive for Revenge
as McAllister
★5.6
MOVIE1943
Riding High
as Frenchy McGuire
★10.0
MOVIE1948
Sundown in Santa Fe
as Sheriff Jim Wyatt
★4.4
MOVIE1931
Alexander Hamilton
as Harvey Taylor - First Ex-Soldier
★8.0
MOVIE1928
Tropical Nights
as Singapore Joe
★6.0
MOVIE1937
Paradise Isle
as Baxter
★6.3
MOVIE1949
Free For All
as Farmer
★6.0
MOVIE1931
The Great Meadow
as Thomas Hall
★5.2
MOVIE1938
Heart of the North
as Dave MacMillan
★7.5
MOVIE1927
Now We're in the Air
as Lord Abercrombie McTavish
★6.5
MOVIE1947
The Fabulous Texan
as Wade Clayton
★5.8
MOVIE1927
The First Auto
as Hank Armstrong
★7.0
MOVIE1925
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent
as Jap Taylor
★7.0
MOVIE1934
Three on a Honeymoon
as Ezra MacDuff
★7.0
MOVIE1930
The Lone Star Ranger
as Colonel John Aldridge
★10.0
MOVIE1936
Man Hunt
as Jeff Parkington
★6.2
MOVIE1932
Silver Dollar
as Hamlin
★6.2
MOVIE1930
Man to Man
as Uncle Cal
★7.8
MOVIE1949
Tuna Clipper
as Capt. Fergus MacLennan
★7.5
MOVIE1946
California Gold Rush
as Colonel Parker
★7.3
MOVIE1922
Peg o' My Heart
as Jim O'Connell
★7.0
MOVIE1925
Thunder Mountain
as Si Pace
★7.3
MOVIE1946
Bad Bascomb
as Elijah Walker
★6.5
MOVIE1939
The Bill of Rights
as Frontiersman
★7.0
MOVIE1932
Lena Rivers
as Grandfather Nichols
★8.0
MOVIE1922
Across the Dead-Line
as Enoch Kidder
★10.0
MOVIE1922
The Kingdom Within
as Caleb Deming
★6.6
MOVIE1947
Bowery Buckaroos
as Luke Barlow
★9.0
MOVIE1926
Rustlin' for Cupid
as Hank Blatchford
★6.1
MOVIE1957
The Lonely Man
★6.5
MOVIE1923
The Virginian
as Trampas
★8.5
MOVIE1953
Meet Me at the Fair
as Sheriff Evans
★8.0
MOVIE1926
Lovey Mary
as Stubbins
★6.5
MOVIE1948
The Untamed Breed
as Minister
★8.0
MOVIE1929
Innocents of Paris
as Emile Leval
★6.5
MOVIE1943
Moonlight in Vermont
as Uncle Rufus
★7.0
MOVIE1925
Beauty and the Bad Man
as Chuckwalla Bill
★7.0
MOVIE1918
Riders of the Night
as Sally's Grandfather
★1.0
MOVIE1933
Stolen by Gypsies or Beer and Bicycles
as Speaker
★5.9
MOVIE1946
A Boy and His Dog
as Mr. Thornycroft
★7.3
MOVIE1937
That I May Live
as Bish Plivens
★6.5
MOVIE1941
Wild Geese Calling
as Marshal Len Baker
★7.3
MOVIE1923
Circus Days
as Eben Holt
★10.0
MOVIE1928
The Bushranger
as Sir Eric
★7.0
MOVIE1925
Paint and Powder
as Riley
★6.7
MOVIE1937
Yodelin' Kid from Pine Ridge
as Bayliss Baynum
★8.0
MOVIE1937
Wild West Days
as Matt Keeler
★9.0
MOVIE1923
Hearts Aflame
as Black Joe
★4.0
MOVIE1920
Godless Men
as 'Black' Pawl
★7.0
MOVIE1918
The Uphill Path
as James Lawton
★7.0
MOVIE1925
The Splendid Road
as Capt. Lightfoot
★10.0
MOVIE1929
The Sap
as The Banker
MOVIE1934
Radio Scout
as Pappy Tolliver
★5.7
MOVIE1939
Desperate Trails
as Sheriff Big Bill Tanner
★5.5
MOVIE1952
Feudin' Fools
as Grandpa Smith
★10.0
MOVIE1927
Wild Geese
as Caleb Gare
★10.0
MOVIE1922
Rags to Riches
as The Sheriff
★5.3
MOVIE1942
Lone Star Ranger
as Tom Duane
★4.3
MOVIE1935
The Hoosier Schoolmaster
as Doc Small
★9.0
MOVIE1919
Desert Gold
as Ladd
★5.3
MOVIE1939
Geronimo
as Scout
★8.0
MOVIE1929
After the Fog
as Joshua Barker
★9.0
MOVIE1925
Why Women Love
as Silas Martin
★7.0
MOVIE1932
The Riding Tornado
as Sheriff
★7.0
MOVIE1925
Faint Perfume
as Grandpa Crumb
★7.3
MOVIE1950
Call of the Klondike
as Andy McKay
★8.0
MOVIE1923
The Huntress
as Big Jack Skinner
★8.0
MOVIE1944
Roaring Guns
as Farmer MacKenzie
★9.0
MOVIE1936
The Harvester
as Abner Prewett
★5.0
MOVIE1925
Ship of Souls
as Angus Garth
★7.0
MOVIE1939
Western Caravans
as Winchester Thompson
★10.0
MOVIE1932
Ridin' for Justice
as Marshal Joseph Slyde
★9.0
MOVIE1927
The Frontiersman
as Andrew Jackson
★8.0
MOVIE1923
The Girl of the Golden West
as Jack Rance
★7.0
MOVIE1920
The Branding Iron
as John Carver
★8.0
MOVIE1921
Bunty Pulls the Strings
as Tammas Biggar
★7.0
MOVIE1929
My Lady's Past
MOVIE1918
A Weaver of Dreams
as Martin Chandler
★10.0
MOVIE1922
Human Hearts
as Paul Logan
★9.0
MOVIE1934
Ever Since Eve
as Jim Wood
MOVIE1918
The Border Legion
as Overland Bradley
MOVIE1915
The Old Homestead
as Sheriff
MOVIE1919
Bill Apperson's Boy
as Bill Apperson
★9.0
MOVIE1929
All Faces West
as Gunner Bill