Richard Simmons (actor)
| Richard "Dick" Simmons | |
|---|---|
 Simmons as Sergeant Preston with Yukon King, 1955 | |
| Born |
August 19, 1913 St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died |
January 11, 2003 (aged 89) Oceanside, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Motion picture and television actor |
| Years active | 1937–1982 |
| Spouse(s) |
Joni Simmons (m.1941–?) (her death) Billie Simmons (m. 2002–03) (his death) |
| Children | Michael, Sue Bryar[1] |
Richard Simmons (August 19, 1913 – January 11, 2003), known as Dick Simmons, was an American actor.
Early life and career
He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and his family later moved across the Mississippi River to Minneapolis. There he attended West Side High School and then the University of Minnesota. While attending the university, he competed in fencing and swimming and also acted in a few theater productions. Simmons left the Twin Cities in the 1930s to launch his film acting career in 1937. He soon became an MGM contract player. Many of his minor movie roles went uncredited through the 1940s. One even included his portrayal of a Mountie in the movie serial King of the Royal Mounted produced by Republic Pictures. Starting in 1943, he began appearing in credited roles, beginning with his appearance in The Youngest Profession, starring Virginia Weidler. From 1943 through 1949 he would appear in seventeen films, of which ten listed him in the credits.
The 1950s mirrored the 1940s, with him appearing in several films and television series, at times uncredited. In 1952 he played the co-pilot in Above and Beyond. In 1955, Simmons won his best-known role, portraying the title character, Sergeant William Preston, in the 1950s television series Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. Following the end of the series in 1958, he continued to have a successful acting career, mostly in television series guest appearances, through 1982, with his last role being in the CHiPs TV series, guest-starring along with Sue Lyon and Cesar Romero.
In 1967, Simmons was cast as Meriwether Lewis, with the actress Victoria Vetri as Sacajawea in the episode "The Girl Who Walked the West" of the syndicated series Death Valley Days, hosted by Robert Taylor. Don Matheson played William Clark, and Victor French was cast as Charbonneau.[2] In 1969, Simmons played W. Frank Stewart, a silver mining operator who served from 1876 to 1880 as a Nevada state senator,[3] in the Death Valley Days episode "How to Beat a Badman". In the story line, Stewart is determined to gain at a bargain price a silver claim being worked by two young former outlaws, played by Tom Heaton and Scott Graham.[4]
Death
On January 11, 2003, Simmons died (with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease) in Oceanside, California at the age of 89.[5]
References
- ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/2003/jan/14/local/me-simmons14
- ↑ ""The Girl Who Walked the West" on Death Valley Days". Internet Movie Data Base. November 4, 1967. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
- ↑ "Nevada legislators, 1861-2015" (PDF). leg.state.nv.us. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
- ↑ "How to Beat a Badman". Internet Movie Data Base. March 18, 1969. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
- ↑ McLellan, Dennis (January 14, 2003). "Dick Simmons, 89; Played Sgt. Preston in 1950s Television Series". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
External links
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