Robert F. Simon

Robert F. Simon (December 2, 1908 – November 29, 1992) was an American character actor, often portraying military or authority figure roles. Though his face was recognized by audiences, he was mostly unknown by name. A life member of The Actors Studio, Simon appeared in films and on television between 1950 and 1985, having mastered the genre of westerns, drama, and comedy. 2Roles played 3Television work Simon had recurring supporting roles on eight television series: As copy editor Dave Tabak in Saints and Sinners (1962–63) As Uncle Everett McPherson in the 1970 NBC sitcom Nancy, starring Celeste Holm As Frank Stephens, father-in-law of Samantha Stephens and father of Darrin Stephens, in ABC's Bewitched. He appeared five times from 1964–1971 in Bewitched, alternating with actor Roy Roberts depending upon availability. As The President of the United States in 1965 science fiction television series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea As General Alfred H. Terry in the 1967 ABC military-western Custer As General Maynard M. Mitchell in M*A*S*H (1973–74) As Captain Rudy Olsen in Karl Malden's ABC detective series The Streets of San Francisco As newspaperman J. Jonah Jameson in The Amazing Spider-Man. 3Historic roles In addition to his Custer role of General Terry, Simon had other historic roles: Henry Clay in NBC's 1965 television version of John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage in the episode "Daniel Webster" Shawnee Indian Chief Blackfish in the 1964 episode "Ken-Tuck-E" of NBC's Daniel Boone starring Fess Parker as Kentucky frontiersman Daniel Boone Liberal journalist Drew Pearson in the NBC film Tail Gunner Joe, a fictional critique of U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy As Attorney General of the United States Homer S. Cummings in the 1961 episode "The Big Train" Part One" of ABC's crime drama The Untouchables 2Biography 3Earlier years Simon was born in 1908 in Mansfield in Richland County in north central Ohio, where he was an all-state high school basketball champion in the 1920s. He played basketball in one-on-one games well into his forties. Before he entered acting, he was a traveling salesman. He initially thought that acting would help him to overcome his natural shyness, but he enjoyed appearing on stage and later film so much that he decided to make a career as an acto