"To Hal / Best / Simon"
Photograph from the files of Julian F. Myers, Inc. public relations agency, Beverly Hills, CA.
Simon Oakland (August 28, 1915 – August 29, 1983) was an American actor of stage, screen, and television.
Oakland made his film debut as the "tough, but compassionate" journalist who speaks up for Susan Hayward's Barbara Graham in I Want to Live! in 1958. Oakland would wind up playing this type often over the course of his career.
He went on to play a long series of tough guy types, usually in positions of authority, most notably in Psycho, in which he plays the psychiatrist who explains Norman Bates's multiple personality disorder. He also appeared in West Side Story, Bullitt, and the science fiction television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. He made two guest appearances on CBS's Perry Mason, both times as the murder victim. He also appeared in the syndicated crime drama, Decoy, starring Beverly Garland. Oakland appeared once each on the CBS western, Dundee and the Culhane and in another syndicated crime drama series, Sheriff of Cochise, starring John Bromfield. Oakland played General Thomas Moore on NBC's Baa Baa Black Sheep, starring Robert Conrad.
Simon Oakland died of cancer, one day after his 68th birthday (29 August 1983), in Cathedral City, California.
