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Charley Grapewin
Actor
Born December 20, 1869Died February 2, 1956 (86 years)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 – February 2, 1956) was an American vaudeville performer, writer and a stage and silent and sound actor, and comedian who was best known for portraying Aunt Em's husband, Uncle Henry in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's The Wizard of Oz (1939) as well as Grandpa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and Jeeter Lester in Tobacco Road (1941). He usually portrayed elderly folksy-type characters in a rustic setting, in all appearing in over 100 films. He was the oldest cast member of The Wizard of Oz.
Born in Xenia, Ohio, Charles Ellsworth Grapewin ran away from home to be a circus acrobat which led him to work as an aerialist and trapeze artist in a traveling circus before turning to acting. He traveled all over the world with the famous P. T. Barnum circus. Grapewin also appeared in the original 1903 Broadway production of The Wizard of Oz, 36 years before he would appear in the famous Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film version.
After this he continued in theatre, on and offstage, for the next thirty years, starting with various stock companies, and wrote stage plays as a vehicle for himself. His sole Broadway theatre credit was the short-lived play It's Up to You John Henry in 1905.
Grapewin married actress Anna Chance (1875–1943) in 1896, and they remained a devoted couple until her death some 47 years later. Two years after his first wife's death, Grapewin married Loretta McGowan Becker on Jan 10, 1945.
Grapewin began in silent films at the turn of the twentieth century. His very first films were two "moving image shorts" made by Frederick S. Armitage and released in November 1900; Chimmie Hicks at the Races (also known as Above the Limit) and Chimmie Hicks and the Rum Omelet, both shot in September and October 1900 and released in November of that year. During his long career, Grapewin appeared in more than one hundred films, including The Good Earth, The Grapes of Wrath, Tobacco Road, and in what is probably his best-remembered role: Uncle Henry in The Wizard of Oz. He also had a recurring role as Inspector Queen in the Ellery Queen film series of the early 1940s.
Grapewin died of natural causes in Corona, California at age 86, and his ashes are interred with his wife's in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California, at the Great Mausoleum's Columbarium of Inspiration.
Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 – February 2, 1956) was an American vaudeville performer, writer and a stage and silent and sound actor, and comedian who was best known for portraying Aunt Em's husband, Uncle Henry in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's The Wizard of Oz (1939) as well as Grandpa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and Jeeter Lester in Tobacco Road (1941). He usually portrayed elderly folksy-type characters in a rustic setting, in all appearing in over 100 films. He was the oldest cast member of The Wizard of Oz.
Born in Xenia, Ohio, Charles Ellsworth Grapewin ran away from home to be a circus acrobat which led him to work as an aerialist and trapeze artist in a traveling circus before turning to acting. He traveled all over the world with the famous P. T. Barnum circus. Grapewin also appeared in the original 1903 Broadway production of The Wizard of Oz, 36 years before he would appear in the famous Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film version.
After this he continued in theatre, on and offstage, for the next thirty years, starting with various stock companies, and wrote stage plays as a vehicle for himself. His sole Broadway theatre credit was the short-lived play It's Up to You John Henry in 1905.
Grapewin married actress Anna Chance (1875–1943) in 1896, and they remained a devoted couple until her death some 47 years later. Two years after his first wife's death, Grapewin married Loretta McGowan Becker on Jan 10, 1945.
Grapewin began in silent films at the turn of the twentieth century. His very first films were two "moving image shorts" made by Frederick S. Armitage and released in November 1900; Chimmie Hicks at the Races (also known as Above the Limit) and Chimmie Hicks and the Rum Omelet, both shot in September and October 1900 and released in November of that year. During his long career, Grapewin appeared in more than one hundred films, including The Good Earth, The Grapes of Wrath, Tobacco Road, and in what is probably his best-remembered role: Uncle Henry in The Wizard of Oz. He also had a recurring role as Inspector Queen in the Ellery Queen film series of the early 1940s.
Grapewin died of natural causes in Corona, California at age 86, and his ashes are interred with his wife's in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California, at the Great Mausoleum's Columbarium of Inspiration.
Known For
Filmography
| 2011 | These Amazing Shadows · as Uncle Henry (clip From The Wizard Of Oz (1939)) |
| 2000 | The Dark Side of the Rainbow · as Uncle Henry (archive Footage) |
| 1987 | Bloopermania · as Cast |
| 1984 | Going Hollywood: The '30s · as (archive Footage) |
| 1976 | That's Entertainment, Part II · as (archive Footage) |
| 1964 | The Big Parade of Comedy · as Mr. Bane In 'libeled Lady' (archive Footage) (uncredited) |
| 1951 | When I Grow Up · as Grandpa Reed |
| 1949 | Sand · as Doug |
| 1947 | Gunfighters · as Rancher Inskip |
| 1944 | Atlantic City · as Jake Taylor |
| 1944 | The Impatient Years · as Benjamin L. Pidgeon, Bellboy |
| 1944 | Follow the Boys · as Nick West |
| 1943 | Crash Dive · as Pop |
| 1942 | Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen · as Inspector Richard Queen |
| 1942 | A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen · as Insp. Queen |
| 1942 | A Close Call for Ellery Queen · as Insp. Queen |
| 1941 | They Died with Their Boots On · as California Joe |
| 1941 | Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring · as Insp. Queen |
| 1941 | Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime · as Insp. Queen |
| 1941 | Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery · as Insp. Queen |
| 1941 | Tobacco Road · as Jeeter Lester |
| 1940 | Texas Rangers Ride Again · as Ben Caldwalder |
| 1940 | Ellery Queen, Master Detective · as Insp. Queen |
| 1940 | Rhythm on the River · as Uncle Caleb |
| 1940 | Earthbound · as Mr. Whimser |
| 1940 | Johnny Apollo · as Judge Emmett T. Brennan |
| 1940 | The Grapes of Wrath · as Grandpa Joad |
| 1939 | Sabotage · as Major Matt Grayson |
| 1939 | Dust Be My Destiny · as Pop |
| 1939 | The Wizard of Oz · as Uncle Henry |
| 1939 | The Man Who Dared · as Ulysses Porterfield |
| 1939 | Sudden Money · as Grandpa Casey Patterson |
| 1939 | Burn 'Em Up O'Connor · as Doc Heath |
| 1939 | Stand Up and Fight · as 'old Puff' |
| 1938 | Artists and Models Abroad · as James Harper |
| 1938 | Listen, Darling · as Joe Higgins |
| 1938 | Three Loves Has Nancy · as Grandpa Briggs |
| 1938 | The Shopworn Angel · as Wilson - Caretaker |
| 1938 | Three Comrades · as Local Doctor |
| 1938 | The Girl of the Golden West · as Uncle Davy |
| 1938 | Of Human Hearts · as Jim Meeker |
| 1937 | The Bad Man of Brimstone · as Barney Lane |
| 1937 | Big City · as Robert, The Mayor |
| 1937 | Bad Guy · as Dan Gray |
| 1937 | Broadway Melody of 1938 · as James K. Blakeley |
| 1937 | Between Two Women · as Dr. Webster |
| 1937 | Captains Courageous · as Uncle Salters |
| 1937 | The Good Earth · as Old Father |
| 1937 | A Family Affair · as Frank Redmond |
| 1936 | Sinner Take All · as Aaron Lampier |
| 1936 | Without Orders · as J.p. Kendrick |
| 1936 | Libeled Lady · as Hollis Bane |
| 1936 | Small Town Girl · as Dr. Ned Fabre |
| 1936 | The Voice of Bugle Ann · as Cal Royster |
| 1936 | The Petrified Forest · as Gramp Maple |
| 1935 | Ah Wilderness! · as Dave Mccomber |
| 1935 | Rendezvous · as Prof. Martin |
| 1935 | Alice Adams · as J. A. Lamb |
| 1935 | Shanghai · as Truesdale |
| 1935 | One Frightened Night · as Jasper Whyte |
| 1935 | Party Wire · as Will Oliver |
| 1935 | Eight Bells · as Grayson |
| 1934 | Anne of Green Gables · as Dr. Tatum |
| 1934 | The President Vanishes · as Richard Norton |
| 1934 | Judge Priest · as Sergeant Jimmy Bagby |
| 1934 | The Loudspeaker · as Pop Calloway |
| 1934 | No More West · as Judge |
| 1934 | Caravan · as Notary |
| 1934 | Two Alone · as Sandy Roberts |
| 1933 | Female · as Drunk At Hamburger Stand (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Wild Boys of the Road · as Mr. Cadman (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Torch Singer · as Andrew 'juddy' Judson |
| 1933 | Beauty for Sale · as Freddy Gordon |
| 1933 | Turn Back the Clock · as Dr. Henderson (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Pilgrimage · as Dad Saunders |
| 1933 | Don't Bet on Love · as Patrick Mccaffrey |
| 1933 | Midnight Mary · as Clerk |
| 1933 | Heroes for Sale · as Pa Dennis |
| 1933 | The Kiss Before the Mirror · as Schultz |
| 1933 | Hello, Everybody! · as Jed |
| 1932 | No Man of Her Own · as Clerk |
| 1932 | Wild Horse Mesa · as Sam Bass |
| 1932 | Hell's House · as Henry Clark |
| 1932 | The Night of June 13 · as "grandpop" Strawn (as Charles Grapewin) |
| 1932 | American Madness · as Mr. Jones (uncredited) |
| 1932 | Lady and Gent · as Grocer |
| 1932 | The Washington Masquerade · as Senator Simmons (uncredited) |
| 1932 | Huddle · as Doctor (uncredited) |
| 1932 | Are You Listening? · as Pierce |
| 1932 | The Big Timer · as Pop Baldwin |
| 1931 | Gold Dust Gertie · as Nicholas Hautrey |
| 1931 | The Millionaire · as Ed Powers |
| 1930 | Only Saps Work · as Simeon Tanner |