Simon Oakland
Simon Oakland is known for Psycho (1960), West Side Story (1961), Bullitt (1968).
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Simon Oakland (August 28, 1915 – August 29, 1983) was an American actor of stage, screen, and television.
During his career, Oakland performed primarily on television, appearing in over 130 series and made-for-television movies between 1951 and 1983. His most notable big-screen roles were in Psycho (1960), West Side Story (1961), The Sand Pebbles (1966), Bullitt (1968), The Hunting Party (1971), and Chato's Land (1972). On television, he was a regular on the cult classic horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974-1975), and the military drama Baa Baa Black Sheep (1976-1978).
Early life and career
Oakland was born in Brooklyn, New York, the eldest of the three sons of immigrant Jewish parents, Jacob Weiss and Ethel Oaklander, born in Romania and the Russian Empire respectively. His father was a plasterer and builder. While he later claimed in media interviews to have been born in 1922 (a date repeated in his New York Times obituary), Social Security and vital records indicate he was born Simon Weiss in 1915; his stage name was derived from his mother's maiden name, Oaklander.
Film and television
In 1955, Oakland made his film debut, albeit uncredited, as an Indiana state trooper in The Desperate Hours. He appeared in two films released in 1958: as Mavrayek in The Brothers Karamazov and as journalist Edward Montgomery in I Want to Live!
Oakland's notable performance in I Want to Live! led to his playing a long series of tough-guys, either as authority figures or villains or a mix of both. He appeared in Psycho as the psychiatrist who, at the end of the film, explains Norman Bates's multiple personality disorder. He appeared in the films West Side Story, The Sand Pebbles, and Bullitt.
He made two guest appearances as murder victims on CBS's Perry Mason. He appeared in the syndicated crime drama, Decoy, starring Beverly Garland. Oakland appeared once on the CBS Western Dundee and the Culhane and once on the series Sheriff of Cochise. He was also a regular, in a comedic supporting role, as General Thomas Moore, on NBC's Baa Baa Black Sheep, starring Robert Conrad. He appeared in two episodes of the original The Twilight Zone TV series (“The Rip Van Winkle Caper” and “The Thirty-Fathom Grave”) and in The Outer Limits as the alien birdman in "Second Chance". In 1974 and 1975, he was a series regular on Kolchak: The Night Stalker, playing newspaper editor Tony Vincenzo. (He had previously played the same character in two made-for-television movies.
Personal life
Oakland was married to Lois Lorraine Porta. The couple had one daughter, Barbara.
Death
Oakland continued working up to the year of his death. His last credited acting appearance was in the episode "Living and Presumed Dead" on the CBS television series Tucker's Witch. That episode aired three months before Oakland's death from colon cancer in Cathedral City, California, on August 29, 1983, the day after his 68th birthday. CLR
Questions about Simon Oakland
How many Simon Oakland films are in the catalogue?
The CineQuiz catalogue has 38 films with Simon Oakland, from 1949 to 1977.
What is the best rated Simon Oakland film?
The best rated Simon Oakland film in the catalogue is Psycho (1960), rated 8.4.
What was the first Simon Oakland film?
The first Simon Oakland film in the catalogue is The Desperate Hours, from 1955.
Who has Simon Oakland worked with the most?
In the catalogue, Simon Oakland shares the most credits with Richard Basehart (3 films), Robert Wise (3 films) and Bob Cobert (2 films).
People data: TMDb.
Known for
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8.4 Psycho
1960
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7.2 West Side Story
1961
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7.2 Bullitt
1968
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7.2 The Sand Pebbles
1966
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6.6 Chato's Land
1972
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6.9 The Night Stalker
1972
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7.0 The Desperate Hours
1955
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6.1 The Satan Bug
1965
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6.8 Emperor of the North
1973
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6.2 The Hunting Party
1971
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6.7 On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
1970
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7.0 I Want to Live!
1958
Trivia
- Also works as
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Trivia from Wikidata, licensed CC0.
Full filmography
38 films — 38 in the catalogue
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Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy
1977 · Delaney
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7.3 The Flying Misfits
1976 · Brig. Gen. Thomas Moore
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7.5 Crackle of Death
1976 · Tony Vincenzo
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6.0 Demon and the Mummy
1976 · Tony Vincenzo
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9.0 Please Call It Murder
1975 · Mickey Costigan
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8.0 Key West
1973 · Gen. Tom Luker
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6.5 Happy Mother's Day, Love George
1973 · Sheriff Roy
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6.8
Emperor of the North
1973 · Policeman
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7.7 Toma
1973 · Lieutenant Spooner
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6.7 The Night Strangler
1973 · Tony Vincenzo
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6.6
Chato's Land
1972 · Jubal Hooker
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6.9
The Night Stalker
1972 · Tony Vincenzo
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7.0 Crosscurrent
1971 · Capt. E. J. Goodlad
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6.2
The Hunting Party
1971 · Matthew Gunn
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6.4 Scandalous John
1971 · Barton Whittaker
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6.7
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
1970 · Dr. Conrad Fuller
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7.2
Bullitt
1968 · Captain Sam Bennett
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4.5 Chubasco
1968 · Laurindo
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5.0 Alexander The Great
1968 · Attalos
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6.4 Tony Rome
1967 · Rudy Kosterman
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7.2
The Sand Pebbles
1966 · Stawski
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5.6 The Plainsman
1966 · Chief Black Kettle
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6.1
The Satan Bug
1965 · Tasserly
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8.0 Ready for the People
1964 · Murray Brock
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4.8 The Raiders
1963 · Sgt. Austin Tremaine
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4.1 Wall of Noise
1963 · Johnny Papadakis
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5.6 Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man
1962 · Joe Boulton
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9.0 Third of a Man
1962 · Doon
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6.1 Follow That Dream
1962 · Nick
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7.2
West Side Story
1961 · Schrank
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6.5 Murder, Inc.
1960 · William Tobin
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8.4
Psycho
1960 · Fred Richman
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6.4 Who Was That Lady?
1960 · Belka
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6.1 The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond
1960 · Lt. Moody
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7.0
I Want to Live!
1958 · Edward S. 'Ed' Montgomery
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6.5 The Brothers Karamazov
1958 · Mavrayek
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7.0
The Desperate Hours
1955 · State Trooper (uncredited)
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5.9 Red Light
1949 · Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Series and TV shows
35 titles
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6.9
Vega$
1978 · Cast
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6.8
CHiPs
1977 · Cast
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7.4
Lou Grant
1977 · Cast
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7.1
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
1977 · Cast
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7.6
Baa Baa Black Sheep
1976 · Thomas Moore · 36 ep.
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7.5
Quincy, M.E.
1976 · Cast · 3 ep.
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6.7
Charlie's Angels
1976 · Sgt. Cates · 2 ep.
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7.5
Ellery Queen
1975 · Cast
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7.7
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
1974 · Tony Vincenzo · 20 ep.
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7.6
The Rockford Files
1974 · Beppy Conigliaro
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7.0
Police Story
1973 · Cast · 2 ep.
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7.3
Kojak
1973 · Tom Donnelly
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7.2
Hawaii Five-O
1969 · Frank Epstein
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6.1
The Mod Squad
1968 · Cast
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6.8
Ironside
1967 · Ted Berringer, Sr.
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6.9
Tarzan
1966 · Cast · 2 ep.
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7.6
Mission: Impossible
1966 · Jack Wellman
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8.0
Get Smart
1965 · Cowboy
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6.2
The Big Valley
1965 · Adam Howard
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5.6
The F.B.I.
1965 · Nikos Kapralos
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7.6
The Wild Wild West
1965 · Diamond Dave Desmond
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7.0
Daniel Boone
1964 · General James Wilkerson
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6.2
My Favorite Martian
1963 · Lt. Murphy
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7.8
The Outer Limits
1963 · Empyrian
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7.9
Combat!
1962 · Sgt. Tom Akers · 2 ep.
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6.5
The Virginian
1962 · Charles Sanders
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6.7
Route 66
1960 · Cast
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7.5
Bonanza
1959 · Judge Seth Tabor
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7.3
Rawhide
1959 · Bolivar Jagger
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8.5
The Twilight Zone
1959 · De Cruz
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8.0
The Untouchables
1959 · Russ Bogan
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7.2
77 Sunset Strip
1958 · Cast
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7.3
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957 · Cast
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7.7
Perry Mason
1957 · Howard Walters
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6.7
Gunsmoke
1955 · Miguel
People data: TMDb.
Cast
