Ivan Simpson

Ivan F. Simpson
File:Ivan Simpson in Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936).jpg Ivan F. Simpson as Rev. Mordaunt in Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)
Born	(1875-02-08)8 February 1875 Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Died	New York City, New York, US
Other names	Ivan Simpson, I. F. Simpson
Years active	(probably before) 1906-1951

Ivan Freebody Simpson (8 February 1875 – 12 October 1951) was a Scottish film and theatre actor.

Life and career

Ivan Simpson was born in Scotland and went as a young man to New York City, where he worked for four decades on Broadway from 1906 until his death. In 1915 he started his film silent career and starred in notable silent films like The Green Goddess from 1923, where he played the role of Mister Watkins. He also replied in this role seven years later in the sound film version of The Green Goddess. In 1929 he portrayed Hugh Myers in Disraeli, where he played along his close friend George Arliss. Arliss and Simpson appeared together in a total of seven films.

Especially in the 1930s, Simpson was a successful character actor in supporting and bit parts and appeared in many classics. He often played servants, like in MGM's literature adaption David Copperfield as Littimer and the horror movie Mark of the Vampire. He also portrayed priests like in Little Lord Fauntleroy and Random Harvest, judges like in This Land Is Mine or doctors like in They All Kissed the Bride. Simpson was also a frequent actor in the Errol Flynn movies, he appeared in The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Prince and the Pauper and Captain Blood.

Ivan F. Simpson starred in over 100 Hollywood films, his last was My Girl Tisa from 1948. He died three years later at the age of 76 years and was buried in Kensico Cemetery. His daughter was actress Pamela Simpson (1905-2002).

Partial filmography

• The Dictator (1915)
• Out of the Drifts (1916)
• The Green Goddesss (1923)
• Miss Bluebeard (1925)
• Wild, Wild Susan (1925)
• Lovers in Quarantine (1925)
• Disraeli (1929)
• The Green Goddess (1930)
• The Way of All Men (1930)
• The Reckless Hour (1931)
• The Lady Who Dared (1931)
• The Crash (1932)
• The Phantom of Crestwood (1932)
• The Man Who Played God (1932)
• Sherlock Holmes (1932)
• The Silk Express (1933)
• Midnight Mary (1933)
• Charlie Chan's Greatest Case (1933)
• The House of Rothschild (1934)
• British Agent (1934)
• David Copperfield (1935)
• Captain Blood (1935)
• Mark of the Vampire (1935)
• The Bishop Misbehaves (1935)
• Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
• Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)
• Mary of Scotland (1936)
• Trouble for Two (1936)
• The Prince and the Pauper (1937)
• Maid of Salem (1937)
• Night of Mystery (1937)
• The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
• Marie Antoinette (1938)
• The Baroness and the Butler (1938)
• The Sun Never Sets (1939)
• The Invisible Man Returns (1940)
• The Body Disappears (1941)
• They All Kissed the Bride (1942)
• Random Harvest (1942)
• This Land Is Mine (1943)

External links

• Ivan Simpson at the Internet Movie Database