Chief Yowlachie
Acting
1891-08-15 · Yakima Indian Reservation, Washington, USA
Chief Yowlachie was born in Kitsap County, Washington, and later lived with his family on the Yakima Indian Reservation. Although he was not enrolled in the Yakima Nation, his parents John W. Simmons and Lucy Riddle both had Puyallup heritage and owned allotted land on the Yakima reservation. Yowlatchie's real name was Daniel Simmons and he began his show-business career as--believe it or not--an opera singer and spent many years in that profession. In the 1920s he switched to films, and over the next 25 or so years played everything from rampaging Apache chiefs to comic-relief sidekicks. A large, round-faced man, his distinctive voice--a deep, resonant bass somewhat resembling Bluto's in the old "Popeye" cartoons--was instantly recognizable, and he had the distinction of not appearing to have aged much over his career, which is most likely attributable to the fact that he looked quite a bit younger than he actually was, so his "aging" wasn't all that noticeable. In addition to his "serious" roles, he had somewhat more light-hearted parts in several films, notably Red River (1948), where he traded quips with veteran scene-stealer Walter Brennan, and held his own quite well.
Filmography
The Virginian
1962 · Series
Yellowstone Kelly
1959 · Movie
The FBI Story
1959 · Movie
The Spirit of St. Louis
1957 · Movie
Hollywood or Bust
1956 · Movie
Buffalo Bill Jr.
1955 · Series
Gunfighters of the Northwest
1954 · Movie
Rose Marie
1954 · Movie
Stories of the Century
1954 · Series
The Pathfinder
1952 · Movie
Son of Geronimo
1952 · Movie
The Half-Breed
1952 · Movie
Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory
1952 · Movie
Warpath
1951 · Movie
The Painted Hills
1951 · Movie
Cherokee Uprising
1950 · Movie
Winchester '73
1950 · Movie
A Ticket to Tomahawk
1950 · Movie
Annie Get Your Gun
1950 · Movie
Kill the Umpire
1950 · Movie
Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town
1950 · Movie
Mrs. Mike
1949 · Movie
My Friend Irma
1949 · Movie
The Lone Ranger
1949 · Series
The Cowboy and the Indians
1949 · Movie
Canadian Pacific
1949 · Movie
El Paso
1949 · Movie
Yellow Sky
1948 · Movie
The Paleface
1948 · Movie
You Gotta Stay Happy
1948 · Movie
Red River
1948 · Movie
The Gallant Legion
1948 · Movie
The Senator Was Indiscreet
1947 · Movie
The Prairie
1947 · Movie
Bowery Buckaroos
1947 · Movie
The Hucksters
1947 · Movie
Wild West
1946 · Movie
The Strange Woman
1946 · Movie
Canyon Passage
1946 · Movie
Frontier Fury
1943 · Movie
Dawn on the Great Divide
1942 · Movie
Ride 'Em Cowboy
1942 · Movie
This Woman Is Mine
1941 · Movie
White Eagle
1941 · Movie
North West Mounted Police
1940 · Movie
Winners of the West
1940 · Movie
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe
1940 · Movie
The Girl of the Golden West
1930 · Movie
The Santa Fe Trail
1930 · Movie
Way Out West
1930 · Movie
Tiger Rose
1929 · Movie
The Invaders
1929 · Movie
Hawk of the Hills
1929 · Movie
The Glorious Trail
1928 · Movie
The Red Raiders
1927 · Movie
With Sitting Bull at the Spirit Lake Massacre
1927 · Movie
War Paint
1926 · Movie
Forlorn River
1926 · Movie
Moran of the Mounted
1926 · Movie
Ella Cinders
1926 · Movie
Kentucky Days
1923 · Movie