Chief Yowlachie

Birthday: August 15, 1891 in Yakima Indian Reservation, Washington, USA

Birth Name: Daniel Simmons

A member of the Yakima tribe in Washington state, Chief Yowlachie (whose real name was Daniel Simmons) began his show-business career as--believe it or not--an opera singer and spent many years in tha ...Show More

A member of the Yakima tribe in Washington state, Chief Yowlachie (whose real name was Daniel Simmons) 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 La rivière rouge (1948), where he traded quips with veteran scene-stealer Walter Brennan, and held his own quite well. Hide