Chief Yowlachie
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.
Photos
Films (58)
Yellowstone Kelly
1959 · Medicine Man (uncredited)
The FBI Story
1959 · Harry Willowtree (uncredited)
The Spirit of St. Louis
1957 · Indian (uncredited)
Hollywood or Bust
1956 · Chief Running Water
Gunfighters of the Northwest
1954 · Chief Running Elk
Rose Marie
1954 · Black Eagle
The Pathfinder
1952 · Eagle Feather
Son of Geronimo
1952 · Geronimo [ch 15]
The Half-Breed
1952 · Apache Chief (uncredited)
Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory
1952 · Chief White Cloud
Warpath
1951 · Chief
The Painted Hills
1951 · Bald Eagle
Cherokee Uprising
1950 · Gray Eagle
Winchester '73
1950 · Indian at Rifle Shoot (uncredited)
A Ticket to Tomahawk
1950 · Pawnee
Annie Get Your Gun
1950 · Little Horse (uncredited)
Kill the Umpire
1950 · Indian (uncredited)
Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town
1950 · Crowbar (uncredited)
Mrs. Mike
1949 · Atenou
My Friend Irma
1949 · Indian (uncredited)
The Cowboy and the Indians
1949 · Chief Long Arrow (uncredited)
Canadian Pacific
1949 · Indian Chief (uncredited)
El Paso
1949
Yellow Sky
1948 · Colorado (uncredited)
The Paleface
1948 · Chief Yellow Feather
You Gotta Stay Happy
1948 · Native American Man (Uncredited)
Red River
1948 · Quo
The Gallant Legion
1948 · Indian Medicine Man
The Senator Was Indiscreet
1947 · Indian
The Prairie
1947 · Matoreeh
Bowery Buckaroos
1947 · Big Chief Hi-Octane
The Hucksters
1947 · Indian (uncredited)
Wild West
1946 · Chief Black Fox
The Strange Woman
1946 · Guide (uncredited)
Canyon Passage
1946 · Indian Spokesman (uncredited)
Frontier Fury
1943 · Captured Indian (uncredited)
Dawn on the Great Divide
1942 · Indian
King of the Stallions
1942 · Chief Matapotan
Ride 'Em Cowboy
1942 · Chief Tomahawk (uncredited)
This Woman Is Mine
1941 · Chief One-Eye Comcomly
White Eagle
1941 · Chief Running Deer
North West Mounted Police
1940 · Indian
Winners of the West
1940 · Chief War Eagle
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe
1940 · King of the Rock People (uncredited)
The Girl of the Golden West
1930 · Billy Jackrabbit
The Santa Fe Trail
1930 · Brown Beaver
Way Out West
1930 · Indian (uncredited)
Tiger Rose
1929 · Indian
The Invaders
1929
Hawk of the Hills
1929 · Chief White Wolf
The Glorious Trail
1928 · High Wolf
The Red Raiders
1927 · Lone Wolf
With Sitting Bull at the Spirit Lake Massacre
1927 · Sitting Bull
War Paint
1926 · Iron Eyes
Forlorn River
1926 · Modoc Joe
Moran of the Mounted
1926 · Biting Wolf
Ella Cinders
1926 · Indian with Cigar (uncredited)
Kentucky Days
1923 · Indian Scout
