J. K. (Jonathan Kimble) Simmons was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1955, the son of Patricia (née Kimble), an administrator, and Donald William Simmons, a college professor. J. K. Simmons studied opera for a year at Ohio State University before transferring to the University of Montana in Missoula where he received a B.A. in music in 1978. His father, Donald W. Simmons taught at UM from 1972 until his retirement.
After college, Simmons began his acting career in the repertory troupe at the Bigfork Summer Playhouse in Bigfork, Montana, before moving on to Seattle and then to Broadway. His now prolific career in television and films includes a continuing role in Law and Order and a significant role in all three Spider-Man movies and the movie, Juno .
From the guide to the J. K. Simmons music scores, circa 1976, (University of Montana-Missoula Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Archives and Special Collections)
