His grim, beady-eyed, sharp-nosed, weatherbeaten face was always familiar despite the small roles he appeared in. Every once in a while character actor Russell Simpson would stand out in a small scene, but his main purpose seemed to be adding rustic authenticity to his westerns or small-town dramas. Born on June 17, 1880 in San Francisco, ...
With eight Technicolor films through 1939, it was thought he held the record for work in early Technicolor. They are: Ramona (1936), Gold is Where You Find It (1938), Sons of the Plains [short] (1938), Valley of the Giants (1938), Heart of the North (1938), Dodge City (1939), The Bill of Rights [short] (1939) and Drums Along the Mohawk (1939). However, checking the IMDb's own list reveals that Jack Mower has appeared in far more, with a total of fourteen up to the end of 1939.
2
Erroneously reported in some sources to be the brother of stuntman Barlow Simpson, but U.S. Census records clearly indicate different parents and no readily apparent relationship.
3
Daughter: Roberta Hope (c. 1918)
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Beauty and the Bad Man
1925
Chuckwalla Bill
Old Shoes
1925
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent
1925
Jap Taylor
The Narrow Street
1925
Gaarvey
Painted People
1924
Fred Lane
Desire
1923
Patrick Ryan
The Virginian
1923
Trampas
Defying Destiny
1923
Mr. Wilkens
The Huntress
1923
Big Jack Skinner
Circus Days
1923
Eben Holt
The Rip-Tide
1923
The Maharajah
The Girl of the Golden West
1923
Jack Rance
Hearts Aflame
1923
Black Joe
When Love Is Young
1922
The Kingdom Within
1922
Caleb Deming
Peg o' My Heart
1922
Jim O'Connell
Fools of Fortune
1922
Magpie Simpkins
Rags to Riches
1922
The Sheriff
Human Hearts
1922
Paul Logan
Across the Deadline
1922
Enoch Kidder
Shadows of Conscience
1921
Jim Logan
Under the Lash
1921
Simeon Krillet
Snowblind
1921
Hugh Garth
Bunty Pulls the Strings
1921
Tammas Biggar
Godless Men
1920
'Black' Pawl
The Branding Iron
1920
John Carver
Lahoma
1920
'Brick' Willock
The Deadlier Sex
1920
Jim Willis
Out of the Dust
1920
Captain John Evans, U.S.A.
Desert Gold
1919/I
Ladd
Fighting Cressy
1919
Hiram McKinstry
The Blue Bandanna
1919
Jim Yancy
Bill Apperson's Boy
1919
Bill Apperson
The Brand
1919
Dan McGill
The Challenge Accepted
1918
Uncle Zeke Sawyer
Oh, Johnny!
1918
Adele's Fatther
The Border Legion
1918
Overland Bradley
The Uphill Path
1918
James Lawton
Riders of the Night
1918
Sally's Grandfather
Breakers Ahead
1918
Captain Scudder
A Weaver of Dreams
1918
Martin Chandler
Salt of the Earth
1917
Sinful John
Blue Jeans
1917
Jacob Tutwiler
The Girl Without a Soul
1917
Judge (uncredited)
The Food Gamblers
1917
Samuel Sloane
The Barrier
1917
John Gaylord / John Tale
The Feud Girl
1916
Zeb Bassett
Lovely Mary
1916
Peter Nelson
The Old Homestead
1915
Sheriff
The Virginian
1914
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
The Horse Soldiers
1959
Sheriff Goodbody
The Texan
1959
TV Series
Zeb Waters
Mackenzie's Raiders
1959
TV Series
Albert Penn
Goodyear Theatre
1958
TV Series
Mr. Austin
The Court of Last Resort
1958
TV Series
Glover
The Gray Ghost
1958
TV Series
Slocum
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
1957
TV Series
Jonah
General Electric Theater
1956-1957
TV Series
The Tin Star
1957
Clem Hall
Wagon Train
1957
TV Series
Mr. Carr
The Lonely Man
1957
Red Bluff Poker Player (uncredited)
The Brass Legend
1956
Deputy 'Pop' Jackson
Friendly Persuasion
1956
Brother Griffith - Elder (uncredited)
The Millionaire
1956
TV Series
Frank MacKeever
These Wilder Years
1956
Farmer (uncredited)
Crossroads
1956
TV Series
The 20th Century-Fox Hour
1955
TV Series
Old Man
Oklahoma!
1955
The Minister (uncredited)
The Tall Men
1955
Emigrant (uncredited)
The Last Command
1955
The Parson
Many Rivers to Cross
1955
Man at Inn (uncredited)
TV Reader's Digest
1955
TV Series
Sheriff Jim Roberts
Cavalcade of America
1953-1954
TV Series
Judge Grant / Quatermaster
Broken Lance
1954
Judge (uncredited)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
1954
Mr. Bixby
Gypsy Colt
1954
Mr. Minter (uncredited)
The Lone Ranger
1953
TV Series
Jack Brewster
The Sun Shines Bright
1953
Dr. Lewt Lake
Meet Me at the Fair
1953
Sheriff Evans
Feudin' Fools
1952
Grandpa Smith
Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair
1952
Clem Johnson
Gang Busters
1952
TV Series
Lone Star
1952
Maynard Cole
Across the Wide Missouri
1951
Hoback (uncredited)
Comin' Round the Mountain
1951
Judge
Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
1951
TV Series
Sam
Call of the Klondike
1950
Andy McKay
Saddle Tramp
1950
Pop
Wagon Master
1950
Adam Perkins
The Outriders
1950
Farmer (uncredited)
Free for All
1949
Farmer
The Gal Who Took the West
1949
Bartender (as old Timer)
The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend
1949
Grandpa (uncredited)
Tuna Clipper
1949
Capt. Fergus MacLennan
Joan of Arc
1948
Old Man with Pipe (uncredited)
Sundown in Santa Fe
1948
Sheriff Jim Wyatt
The Untamed Breed
1948
Minister (uncredited)
Tap Roots
1948
Big Sam Dabney
Coroner Creek
1948
Walt Hardison
Albuquerque
1948
Abner Huggins
The Fabulous Texan
1947
Wade Clayton
Bowery Buckaroos
1947
Sheriff Luke Barlow
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
1947
Dan Yeary
The Millerson Case
1947
Squire Tuttle (uncredited)
A Boy and His Dog
1946
Short
Mr. Thornycroft
My Dog Shep
1946
Matt Hodgkins
Lady Luck
1946
Daniel Boone (uncredited)
My Darling Clementine
1946
John Simpson
Death Valley
1946
Old Silas Bagley
Bad Bascomb
1946
Elijah Walker
California Gold Rush
1946
Colonel Parker
They Were Expendable
1945
'Dad' Knowland
Incendiary Blonde
1945
Jenkins (uncredited)
Along Came Jones
1945
Pop de Longpre
Roughly Speaking
1945
The Colonel - Drill Instructor (uncredited)
The Big Bonanza
1944
Adam Parker
Tall in the Saddle
1944
Pat Foster (uncredited)
Man from Frisco
1944
Dr. Hershey
Roaring Guns
1944
Short
Farmer MacKenzie
Texas Masquerade
1944
J.K. Trimble
The Woman of the Town
1943
Sime
Moonlight in Vermont
1943
Uncle Rufus
Riding High
1943
Frenchy McQuire (uncredited)
Colt Comrades
1943
Sheriff (uncredited)
Border Patrol
1943
Orestes Krebs
Tennessee Johnson
1942
Kirby
The Spoilers
1942
Flapjack Sims
Lone Star Ranger
1942
Tom Duane
Shut My Big Mouth
1942
Mayor Potter
Wild Bill Hickok Rides
1942
Edward 'Ned' Nolan
Nazi Agent
1942
2nd Captain (uncredited)
Swamp Water
1941
Marty McCord
Last of the Duanes
1941
Tom Duane
Wild Geese Calling
1941
Marshal Len Baker
Bad Men of Missouri
1941
Hank Younger
Citadel of Crime
1941
Jess Meekins
Meet John Doe
1941
uncredited
Tobacco Road
1941
Chief of Police
Santa Fe Trail
1940
Shubel Morgan
Wyoming
1940
Mr. Bronson (uncredited)
Brigham Young
1940
U.S. Army Major
Three Faces West
1940
Minister
Virginia City
1940
Gaylord
The Grapes of Wrath
1940
Pa Joad
Geronimo
1939
Scout (uncredited)
Drums Along the Mohawk
1939
Dr. Petry
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939
Kenneth Allen (uncredited)
Desperate Trails
1939
Sheriff Big Bill Tanner
The Bill of Rights
1939
Short
Frontiersman (uncredited)
Western Caravans
1939
Winchester Thompson
Young Mr. Lincoln
1939
Woolridge (uncredited)
Dodge City
1939
Jack Orth
Heart of the North
1938
Dave MacMillan
The Sisters
1938
First Sailor (uncredited)
Valley of the Giants
1938
McKenzie
Sons of the Plains
1938
Short
The Girl of the Golden West
1938
Fred - Outrider in Prologue (uncredited)
Gold Is Where You Find It
1938
MacKenzie
Paradise Isle
1937
Baxter
Wild West Days
1937
Matt Keeler
Yodelin' Kid from Pine Ridge
1937
Bayliss Baynum
Parnell
1937
Dead Child's Father (uncredited)
That I May Live
1937
Bish Plivens
Mountain Justice
1937
Mr. Matthew Turnbull
Green Light
1937
Sheep Man
Maid of Salem
1937
Village Marshal (uncredited)
Wild Brian Kent
1936
Race Judge (uncredited)
Ramona
1936
Scroggs
Back to Nature
1936
Sheriff (uncredited)
The Crime of Dr. Forbes
1936
Sheriff Neil
San Francisco
1936
'Red' Kelly
Girl of the Ozarks
1936
Bascomb Rogers
The Harvester
1936
Abner Prewett
Man Hunt
1936
Jeff Parkington
Paddy O'Day
1936
Benton
Way Down East
1935
Squire Amasa Bartlett
Motive for Revenge
1935
McAllister
The Hoosier Schoolmaster
1935
Doc Small
The County Chairman
1935
Vance Jimmison
West of the Pecos
1934
Roy Neal
The World Moves On
1934
Notary (1825)
Ever Since Eve
1934
Jim Wood
Three on a Honeymoon
1934
Ezra MacDuff
Carolina
1934
Richards
Frontier Marshal
1934
Editor Pickett
Radio Scout
1934
Short
Sixteen Fathoms Deep
1934
A.B. Crockett
The Power and the Glory
1933
College Engineering Professor (uncredited)
Stolen by Gypsies or Beer and Bicycles
1933
Short
Speaker
The Moonshiner's Daughter
1933
Short
Paw Catfield - The Moonshiner (as Russel Simpson)
Face in the Sky
1933
Pa Nathan Brown
Thru Thin and Thicket, or Who's Zoo in Africa
1933
Short
Born to Fight
1932
Jackson
Silver Dollar
1932
Hamlin
Call Her Savage
1932
Old Man in Wagon Train
White Eagle
1932
Gray Wolf (uncredited)
The Cabin in the Cotton
1932
Uncle Joe
Two Lips and Juleps; or, Southern Love and Northern Exposure
1932
Short
Hello Trouble
1932
Jonathan Kenyon
The Honor of the Press
1932
City Editor Dan Perkins
The Engineer's Daughter; or, Iron Minnie's Revenge
1932
Short
Flames
1932
Jake
The Famous Ferguson Case
1932
Banker Craig
The Riding Tornado
1932
Sheriff
Rule 'Em and Weep
1932
Short
King's Aide
Lena Rivers
1932
Grandfather Nichols
Law and Order
1932
Judge R.W. Williams
Ridin' for Justice
1932
Marshal Joseph Slyde
Susan Lenox
1931
Doctor
Alexander Hamilton
1931
Harvey Taylor - Ex-Soldier (uncredited)
West of the Rockies
1931
Gunner Bill
The Great Meadow
1931
Thomas Hall
Man to Man
1930
Uncle Cal
Billy the Kid
1930
Angus Mc Sween
Abraham Lincoln
1930
Lincoln's Employer
The Lone Star Ranger
1930
Colonel John Aldridge
After the Fog
1929
Joshua Barker
The Sap
1929
The Banker
Innocents of Paris
1929
Emile Leval
My Lady's Past
1929
John Parker
The Kid's Clever
1929
John Decker
Noisy Neighbors
1929
Ebenezer
Tropical Nights
1928
Singapore Joe
The Bushranger
1928
Sir Eric
Life's Mockery
1928
Wolf Miller
The Trail of '98
1928
Old Swede (scenes deleted)
Wild Geese
1927
Caleb Gare
Now We're in the Air
1927
Lord Abercrombie McTavish
The First Auto
1927
'Hank' Armstrong
The Frontiersman
1927
Andrew Jackson
The Heart of the Yukon
1927
'Cash' Cynon
Annie Laurie
1927
Sandy
God's Great Wilderness
1927
Richard Stoner
Lovey Mary
1926
Stubbins
The Social Highwayman
1926
The Mayor's Partner
Rustling for Cupid
1926
Hank Blatchford
The Earth Woman
1926
Ezra Tilden
Ship of Souls
1925
Angus Garth
The Splendid Road
1925
Capt. Lightfoot
The Eagle
1925
The Eagle's Lieutenant / Coach Driver (uncredited)