Simon Oakland

Infobox actor
name = Simon Oakland
birthdate = birth date|1915|8|28|mf=y
birthplace = Brooklyn, New York City, United States
deathdate = death date and age|1983|8|29|1915|8|28
deathplace = Cathedral City, California
United States

Simon Oakland (August 28, 1915 – August 29, 1983) was an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He was born in Brooklyn, New York City.

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. He was a concert violinist until the 1940's.

Moving to films and television

Oakland made his film debut as the "tough, but compassionate" journalist who speaks up for Susan Hayward's Barbara Graham in "I Want to Live!" in 1958. Oakland would wind up playing this type often over the course of his 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", Captain Bennett in "Bullitt", and as the cantankerous Antonio Vincenzo (Kolchak's boss) in the science fiction television series "". 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 (29 August 1983), in Cathedral City, California.

Filmography

* "Murder Inc." (1960)
* "Psycho" (1960)
* "Who Was That Lady?" (1960)
* "West Side Story" (1961)
* "The Twilight Zone" (the original series, hosted by Rod Serling).
* "Bonanza"
* "The Outer Limits" (1964)
* "Get Smart" (1965)
* "The Sand Pebbles" (1966)
* "Tony Rome" (1967)
* "Bullitt" (1968)
* Chubasco (1968)
* "The Night Stalker" (1972)
* "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever" (1970)
* "The Night Strangler" (1973)
* "Emperor of the North" (1973)
* "" (1974)
* "Baa Baa Black Sheep" (1977-1978)
* "David Cassidy - Man Undercover" (1978-1979)
* "Hawaii Five-O"
* "The Rockford Files"
* "Quincy, M.E."

External links

*imdb|0643000