Richard Simmons (August 19, 1913 – January 11, 2003) was an American actor.

Early life

Simmons was born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, and his family later moved across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. There, he attended West Side High School and then the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, where he studied drama. Simmons was a professional pilot.

Career

While attending the university, Simmons 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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

contract player. Many of his minor movie roles went uncredited through the 1940s. One even included his portrayal of a Mountie in '' 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 appeared in 17 films, of which 10 listed him in the credits. Simmons interrupted his film career to serve as a flight officer pilot '' Look'' – February 6, 1945 with the Air Transport Command in World War II. The 1950s mirrored the 1940s, with his 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 Sergeant William Preston in ''

Sergeant Preston of the Yukon ''Challenge of the Yukon'' is an American radio adventure series that began on Detroit, Michigan, Detroit's WXYT (AM), WXYZ and is an example of a Northern (genre), Northern genre story. The series was first heard on January 3, 1939. The title ...

''. Following the end of the series in 1958, he continued to have a successful acting career, mostly in television series guest appearances, through 1982. Simmons appeared in a 1963 episode of '' Perry Mason'' ("The Case of the Decadent Dean"). In 1964, he appeared in the episode "Tin Can Man" (aired November 5, 1964) of ''

The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom about the home life of a family of benign monsters that aired from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster (Frankenstein's monster),Episodes referring to the fact that Herman is ...

'' as Harold Balding, the principal of Eddie Munster's school. His last role was in a 1982 episode of '' CHiPs''.

Later life and death

In the 1970s, when acting roles became scarce, Simmons managed a mobile home park in Carlsbad, near San Diego. Towards the end of his life, Simmons was diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. He died on January 11, 2003, at the age of 89, in an

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a beach city in the North County (San Diego area), North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city had a population of 174,068 at the 2020 United States census, making it the most populous city in the Nort ...

, nursing home.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Richard 1913 births 2003 deaths American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Saint Paul, Minnesota Deaths from dementia in California Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in California 20th-century American male actors United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II United States Army Air Forces officers Air Transport Command personnel