Mickey Simpson

A burly American supporting actor, Mickey Simpson was born Charles Henry Simpson to Fred and Bertha Rogers Simpson in Rochester, New York. His paternal heritage was Irish. He was the eldest of four sons, one of whom, Richard, died in childhood. When his father was unable to find work following the 1929 stock market crash, his mother supported the family as a waitress. By his 20s Mickey had grown into a hulking figure and considered a boxing career. He has been referred to in some sources as the 1935 "New York City Heavyweight Boxing Champion," but the only official records of his ring work are for two fights in Los Angeles 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 for Claudette Colbert. In 1939 he reportedly played a bit part in Stagecoach (1939), a film whose director, John Ford, would loom large in Simpson's career. Simpson found fairly steady movie work playing guar