Simon Oakland - Rotten Tomatoes Celebrity Profile

Biography

This page uses content from the Simon Oakland biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

Simon Oakland (28 August 1915 - 29 August 1983) was an American actor of stage, screen, and television.

Early career

Oakland began his performing arts career as a musician (he was a violinist, a vocation he would enjoy his entire career as an actor). He began his acting career in the late 1940s. He enjoyed a series of Broadway hits, including Light Up the Sky, The Shrike and Inherit the Wind, and theater was one of his lasting passions.

Moving to films and television

Oakland made his film debut as the "tough, but compassionate" journalist who speaks up for Susan Hayward's Barbara Grahame in I Want to Live! in 1958. Oakland would wind up playing this type often over the course of career.

He went on to play a long series of tough guy types, usually on the right side of the law (or in positions of authority), most notably in Psycho, West Side Story, and as the cantankerous Antonio Vincenzo (Kolchak's boss) in the science fiction television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. A gifted actor, he often accepted roles that were inferior to his acting ability and often played on type rather than talent. He was highly respected by his co-workers as an actor; he died of cancer, one day after his 68th birthday.

Filmography

Murder Inc. (1960)
Twilight Zone (the original series, hosted by Rod Serling).
The Outer Limits {1964}
The Sand Pebbles (1966)
Bullitt {1968}
The Night Stalker (1972)
Emperor of the North (1973)
Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
Baa Baa Black Sheep (1977-1978)

External links

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