Biography
Simon Oakland was an American actor of stage, screen and television. Born Simon Weiss in Brooklyn, New York, he began his career as a concert violinist before turning to acting in the late 1940s. He appeared in Broadway productions including Light Up the Sky, The Shrike and Inherit the Wind.
His film roles included an uncredited state trooper in The Desperate Hours (1955), a journalist in I Want to Live! (1958), Dr Fred Richman in Psycho (1960), Lieutenant Schrank in West Side Story (1961), Stawski in The Sand Pebbles (1966) and Captain Sam Bennett in Bullitt (1968). On television he appeared in more than 130 series and made-for-television films, with regular roles on Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974–1975) and Baa Baa Black Sheep (1976–1978).
Oakland died in 1983.
