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Simon Oakland

Simon Oakland

Actor · 1915 – 1983 · New York City, New York, USA

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

Movies24

  • Movie8.4

    Psycho

    1960 · 11K votes

  • Movie7.2

    West Side Story

    1961 · 2.1K votes

  • Movie7.2

    Bullitt

    1968 · 1.3K votes

  • Movie6.5

    Chato's Land

    1972 · 172 votes

  • Movie7.2

    The Sand Pebbles

    1966 · 293 votes

  • Movie6.8

    Emperor of the North

    1973 · 149 votes

  • Movie6.9

    The Night Stalker

    1972 · 137 votes

  • Movie6.4

    Who Was That Lady?

    1960 · 31 votes

  • Movie7.0

    The Desperate Hours

    1955 · 188 votes

  • Movie6.1

    The Satan Bug

    1965 · 58 votes

  • Movie6.1

    The Hunting Party

    1971 · 78 votes

  • Movie6.7
  • Movie6.5

    The Brothers Karamazov

    1958 · 52 votes

  • Movie7.0

    I Want to Live!

    1958 · 122 votes

  • Movie6.4

    Tony Rome

    1967 · 74 votes

  • Movie5.6
  • Movie6.1

    Follow That Dream

    1962 · 48 votes

  • Movie6.1
  • Movie5.6

    The Plainsman

    1966 · 7 votes

  • Movie6.5
  • Movie6.0

    Demon and the Mummy

    1976 · 1 votes

  • Movie6.5

    Murder, Inc.

    1960 · 27 votes

  • Movie8.0

    Key West

    1973 · 2 votes

  • Movie6.7

    The Night Strangler

    1973 · 85 votes

Series24

  • TV7.7

    Perry Mason

    1957 · 139 votes

  • TV7.5

    Bonanza

    1959 · 500 votes

  • TV6.8

    Ironside

    1967 · 71 votes

  • TV7.5

    Quincy, M.E.

    1976 · 123 votes

  • TV7.6

    The Rockford Files

    1974 · 133 votes

  • TV7.6

    Mission: Impossible

    1966 · 320 votes

  • TV7.2

    Hawaii Five-O

    1969 · 164 votes

  • TV8.0

    Get Smart

    1965 · 448 votes

  • TV7.3

    Have Gun, Will Travel

    1957 · 44 votes

  • TV8.5

    The Twilight Zone

    1959 · 1.1K votes

  • TV5.6

    The F.B.I.

    1965 · 25 votes

  • TV6.5

    The Virginian

    1962 · 35 votes

  • TV7.9

    Combat!

    1962 · 119 votes

  • TV7.0

    Daniel Boone

    1964 · 34 votes

  • TV7.0

    The Name of the Game

    1968 · 13 votes

  • TV6.7

    Charlie's Angels

    1976 · 241 votes

  • TV5.9
  • TV5.7

    Naked City

    1958 · 13 votes

  • TV6.3

    The Defenders

    1961 · 11 votes

  • TV5.9

    Ben Casey

    1961 · 15 votes

  • TV6.2
  • TV7.6

    The Wild Wild West

    1965 · 86 votes

  • TV6.2

    The Big Valley

    1965 · 59 votes

  • TV8.0

    The Untouchables

    1959 · 139 votes