Ivan Simpson

Scottish actor (1875–1951)

Ivan F. Simpson
Simpson as Reverend Mordaunt in Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)
Born	(1875-02-08)8 February 1875 Glasgow, Scotland
Died	12 October 1951(1951-10-12) (aged 76) New York City, U.S.
Other names	Ivan Simpson, I. F. Simpson
Occupation	Actor
Years active	(probably before) 1906–1951

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

Life and career

Simpson was born on 8 February 1875 in Glasgow, 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 nine films.^[1]

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.

Selected filmography

The Dictator (1915) – Simpson
Out of the Drifts (1916) – Martin
The Man Who Played God (1922) – Battle
The Green Goddess (1923) – Watkins
Twenty-One (1923) – Mr. Willis
Twenty Dollars a Week (1925) – James Pettison
Miss Bluebeard (1925) – Bounds
Wild, Wild Susan (1925) – Malcolm
Lovers in Quarantine (1925) – The Silent Passenger
A Kiss for Cinderella (1925) – Mr. Cutaway
Womanhandled (1925) – Butler (uncredited)
Disraeli (1929) – Sir Hugh Myers (uncredited)
Evidence (1929) – Peabody
The Green Goddess (1930) – Watkins
Isle of Escape (1930) – Judge
Golden Dawn (1930) – Minor Role (uncredited)
Inside the Lines (1930) – Capper
Manslaughter (1930) – Morson
Old English (1930) – Joe Pillin
The Way of All Men (1930) – Higgins
The Sea God (1930) – Pearly Nick
The Lady Who Dared (1931) – Butler
The Millionaire (1931) – Davis
The Reckless Hour (1931) – Stevens – Adams' Butler (uncredited)
Safe in Hell (1931) – Crunch
The Man Who Played God (1932) – Battle
A Passport to Hell (1932) – Simms
The Crash (1932) – Hodge
The Phantom of Crestwood (1932) – Mr. Vayne
Sherlock Holmes (1932) – Faulkner
The Monkey's Paw (1933) – Mr. White
The Past of Mary Holmes (1933) – Jacob Riggs
The Secret of Madame Blanche (1933) – Aubrey's Lawyer (uncredited)
The Silk Express (1933) – Johnson, Kilgore's Secretary
Midnight Mary (1933) – Tindle
Voltaire (1933) – Lelain – Actor (uncredited)
Blind Adventure (1933) – Perkins—Butler (uncredited)
Charlie Chan's Greatest Case (1933) – Brade
Her Secret (1933) – Lathrop
Man of Two Worlds (1934) – Dr. Lott
The Mystery of Mr. X (1934) – Hutchinson
The House of Rothschild (1934) – Amschel Rothschild
Murder in Trinidad (1934) – First Doctor (uncredited)
Stingaree (1934) – Man with Beard (uncredited)
The World Moves On (1934) – Clumber
British Agent (1934) – Poohbah Evans
Among the Missing (1934) – Smeed
The Little Minister (1934) – Sanders Webster (uncredited)
David Copperfield (1935) – Littimer
Shadow of Doubt (1935) – Morse
Mark of the Vampire (1935) – Jan
The Bishop Misbehaves (1935) – Mr. Grantham
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) – Morgan
Splendor (1935) – Fletcher
East of Java (1935) – Resident (uncredited)
The Great Impersonation (1935) – Dr. Harrison
Captain Blood (1935) – Prosecutor
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) – Rev. Mordaunt
Trouble for Two (1936) – Collins
Mary of Scotland (1936) – Judge
Lloyd's of London (1936) – Old Man
Maid of Salem (1937) – Rev. Parris
The Prince and the Pauper (1937) – Clemens
Night of Mystery (1937) – Sproot
London by Night (1937) – Burroughs
Youth on Parole (1937) – Minor Role (uncredited)
45 Fathers (1937) – Chamberlain (uncredited)
The Baroness and the Butler (1938) – Count Dormo
Invisible Enemy (1938) – Michael
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) – Proprietor of Kent Road Tavern
Kidnapped (1938) – Old Man (uncredited)
Marie Antoinette (1938) – Sauce (uncredited)
Booloo (1938) – 1st Governor
Made for Each Other (1939) – Simon – Judge Doolittle's Brother (uncredited)
Never Say Die (1939) – Kretsky
The Sun Never Sets (1939) – A Doctor (uncredited)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) – Gates – Trial Prosecutor (uncredited)
Rulers of the Sea (1939) – Secretary (uncredited)
Tower of London (1939) – Anne's Protector (uncredited)
The Earl of Chicago (1940) – Hargraves (uncredited)
The Invisible Man Returns (1940) – Mr. Cotton (uncredited)
New Moon (1940) – Guizot
The Body Disappears (1941) – Dean Claxton
Nazi Agent (1942) – Professor Sterling
The Male Animal (1942) – Dean Frederick Damon
They All Kissed the Bride (1942) – Dr. Cassell
Eagle Squadron (1942) – Simms (uncredited)
Youth on Parade (1942) – Dean Wharton
Nightmare (1942) – Arnold – Money Changer
Random Harvest (1942) – The Vicar
My Kingdom for a Cook (1943) – Dexter
Two Weeks to Live (1943) – Professor Albert Frisby
This Land Is Mine (1943) – Judge
Above Suspicion (1943) – Porter in Oxford (uncredited)
My Kingdom for a Cook (1943) – Professor Harlow
Government Girl (1943) – Judge Leonard (uncredited)
Jane Eyre (1943) – Mr. Woods – the Minister (uncredited)
The Uninvited (1944) – Will Hardy – Tobacconist (uncredited)
The Hour Before the Dawn (1944) – Magistrate (uncredited)
My Girl Tisa (1948) – Old Man (uncredited)