Russell Simpson (actor)

Russell McCaskill Simpson (17 June 1880 – 12 December 1959) was an American actor.
Biography.
Simpson was born in San Francisco, California. He is best known for his work in the movies of John Ford. He is most famous for his portrayal of Pa Joad in "The Grapes of Wrath" in 1940.
Simpson reportedly prospected for gold in Alaska in his youth. By 1909 he had gone into the theatre. He appeared in at least two plays on Broadway between 1909 and 1912. He made his motion picture debut in Cecil B. DeMille's 1914 original movieversion of "The Virginian". He only had a minor role in that movie. By 1923, when the movie was remade, Simpson had progressed to playing the lead villain. 
Simpson was a familiar character actor for almost forty-five years as a member of the John Ford Stock Company. He worked up to 1959. His final movie was "The Horse Soldiers". It was his tenth movie for Ford. He died in Woodland Hills, California 12 December 1959. 
He was survived by his wife Gertrude. Simpson had two children, Russell Jr. and Roberta.