Russell Simpson

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 rusticsounding Simpson was a familiar character actor for almost fortyfive 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 DeMilles 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 didnt 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