Mickey Simpson (December 3, 1913 – September 23, 1985) was an American supporting actor of burly roles, probably most familiar as "Sarge," the bigoted diner owner in the 1956 film, ''

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

''. He appeared in over 175 films and television episodes.

Career

Born to Fred and Bertha Rogers Simpson, his paternal heritage was Irish. He was the eldest of four sons, one of whom, Richard, died in childhood. When his father, a contractor, was unable to work following the 1929 stock market crash, his mother supported the family as a waitress. By his twenties, Simpson had grown into a hulking figure and considered a

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

career. He has been referred to in some sources as the 1935 "

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...

Boxing Champion," but the only official records of his ring work are for two fights in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

in 1939, both of which he lost. Simpson, nicknamed "Mickey," arrived in Los Angeles in the late 1930s. Some unconfirmed stories have him working as a

chauffeur A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine. Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to specia ...

for

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert ( ; born Émilie Claudette Chauchoin; September 13, 1903July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictur ...

. In 1939, he reportedly played a tiny bit part in his first film, ''

Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

''. The director,

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

, would loom large in Simpson's career. Simpson found fairly steady movie work as various guards, cops, bouncers, and thugs until his career was interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, in which he served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as a

Shore Patrol Shore patrol are service members who are provided to aid in security for the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, United States Marine Corps, and the British Royal Navy while on shore.Cutler And Cutler, p 202 They are often temporar ...

man, keeping drunken sailors and townies from killing each other, while patrolling the many L.A. bars and strip clubs. When he returned to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

, it was Ford who resurrected his career, giving Simpson a small but notable role as one of

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...

's sons in ''

My Darling Clementine ''My Darling Clementine'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp during the period leading up to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The ensemble cast also features Victor Mature (as Doc Holl ...

''. Simpson would appear in a total of nine Ford films. He appeared in 13 episodes of the TV series ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

'' between 1950 and 1956, including episode 117 in 1953 and episode 141 in 1954. During the late 1950s he portrayed the role of Boley on the television series ''

Captain David Grief ''Captain David Grief'' (also known as ''The Jack London Stories'') is an American action/adventure television series that aired in syndication from October 1957 to 1960. The program was based on a series of Jack London short-stories centered on t ...

''. In 1957 Simpson appeared as Johnny Hines on the TV western ''

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian languages, Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized tribe, federally recognize ...

'' in the episode titled "Decision at Gunsight." In 1960 he played bully cowboy Donovan in

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...

. Modern viewers may remember Simpson as Rocky Duggan in the

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appear ...

film ''

Gents in a Jam ''Gents in a Jam'' is a 1952 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). It is the 141st entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring th ...

''. Simpson played a memorable wrestler dubbed "the strongest man in the world." He even offered to tear a

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into el ...

book in half for the Stooges, who were hiding his unclothed wife ( Dani Sue Nolan).

Later career and death

Simpson worked, primarily in lesser roles, until his late 50s. He died from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

Northridge, California Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center. Originally named Zelzah by settlers in 1908, the ...

on September 23, 1985, at the age of 71.California Death Index 1940-1997. He was buried at

Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills is one of the six Forest Lawn cemeteries in Southern California. It is located at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, California 90068, in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. Histo ...

in Los Angeles.

Selected filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Mickey 1913 births 1985 deaths Male actors from Rochester, New York American people of Irish descent American male film actors American male television actors People from Greater Los Angeles Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American male actors Western (genre) television actors