Biography

Tom Simcox was the owner of the River Bottom Bar, directly across the street from Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank. Because of its proximity, The River Bottom was a favorite watering hole for actors and studio crew alike and was the scene of many brawls that often included the stars of Warner's many Westerns. Source: Warren Oates: A Wild Life, by Susan A. Compo (book).

Veteran biker and tough guy actor William Smith credits Tom Simcox with saving his life during the filming of Piranha (1972). On location in the Venezuelan jungle near the Amazon, Smith accidentally sliced open his left forearm while trying to open a can of Vienna sausages with a knife. Simcox applied constant pressure to Smith's arm during the long boat ride back to a doctor in Caracas. Source: William Smith Fan Site, www.williamsmith.org.

"That Yankee Cowboy" is how Beatle John Lennon referred to actor Tom Simcox after both spent time at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in India. In her book, "John", Cynthia Lennon, the Beatle's first wife, reveals that John secretly suspected her of having an affair with Simcox while at the retreat. Of Tom, she writes, "The Yankee Cowboy was an American actor called Tom Simcox, whom we'd met at the Maharishi's center. I'd got on well with him, but the idea that we'd had an affair was preposterous. Tom had never even hinted at anything untoward between us, apart from once asking me, very sweetly, if I had a twin sister". Source: John (book), by Cynthia Lennon.

Tom Simcox studied meditation alongside The Beatles at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in India. There's a reference to it in the book, "Revolver: The Secret History of the Beatles", by Geoffrey Giuliano. John Lennon is speaking, referring to the ashram, "And there's a cowboy there called Tom (Simcox) who plays cowboys on TV and, my, did the Beatles wives go for him in a big way".