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