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Charley Grapewin

Charley Grapewin

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.

The Dark Side of the Rainbow

2000

as Uncle Henry (archive footage)

The Dark Side of Oz

1995

as Uncle Henry (archive footage)

Going Hollywood: The '30s

1984

as (archive footage)

That's Entertainment, Part II

1976

as (archive footage)

The Big Parade of Comedy

1964

as Mr. Bane in 'Libeled Lady' (archive footage) (uncredited)

When I Grow Up

1951

as Grandpa Reed

Sand

1949

as Doug

The Enchanted Valley

1948

as Grandpa

Gunfighters

1947

as Rancher Inskip

Atlantic City

1944

as Jake Taylor

The Impatient Years

1944

as Benjamin L. Pidgeon, Bellboy

Follow the Boys

1944

as Nick West

Crash Dive

1943

as Pop

Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen

1942

as Inspector Richard Queen

A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen

1942

as Insp. Queen

A Close Call for Ellery Queen

1942

as Insp. Queen

They Died with Their Boots On

1941

as California Joe

Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring

1941

as Insp. Queen

Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime

1941

as Insp. Queen

Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery

1941

as Insp. Queen

Tobacco Road

1941

as Jeeter Lester

The Texas Rangers Ride Again

1940

as Ben Caldwalder

Ellery Queen, Master Detective

1940

as Insp. Queen

Rhythm on the River

1940

as Uncle Caleb

Earthbound

1940

as Mr. Whimser

Johnny Apollo

1940

as Judge Emmett T. Brennan

The Grapes of Wrath

1940

as Grandpa Joad

Sabotage

1939

as Major Matt Grayson

Hero for a Day

1939

as Uncle Frank "Lucky" Higgins

Dust Be My Destiny

1939

as Pop

The Wizard of Oz

1939

as Uncle Henry

The Man Who Dared

1939

as Ulysses Porterfield

Sudden Money

1939

as Grandpa Casey Patterson

Burn 'Em Up O'Connor

1939

as Doc Heath

Stand Up and Fight

1939

as 'Old Puff'

Artists and Models Abroad

1938

as James Harper

Listen, Darling

1938

as Joe Higgins

Three Loves Has Nancy

1938

as Grandpa Briggs

Three Comrades

1938

as Local Doctor

The Girl of the Golden West

1938

as Uncle Davy

Of Human Hearts

1938

as Jim Meeker

The Bad Man of Brimstone

1937

as Barney Lane

Big City

1937

as Robert, the Mayor

Bad Guy

1937

as Dan Gray

Broadway Melody of 1938

1937

as James K. Blakeley

Between Two Women

1937

as Dr. Webster

Captains Courageous

1937

as Uncle Salters

The Good Earth

1937

as Old Father

A Family Affair

1937

as Frank Redmond

Breakdowns of 1936

1936

as Self

Sinner Take All

1936

as Aaron Lampier

Without Orders

1936

as J.P. Kendrick

Libeled Lady

1936

as Hollis Bane

Small Town Girl

1936

as Dr. Ned Fabre

The Voice of Bugle Ann

1936

as Cal Royster

The Petrified Forest

1936

as Gramp Maple

Ah, Wilderness!

1935

as Dave McComber

Rendezvous

1935

as Prof. Martin

King Solomon of Broadway

1935

as Uncle Winchester

Alice Adams

1935

as J. A. Lamb

Shanghai

1935

as Truesdale

One Frightened Night

1935

as Jasper Whyte

Party Wire

1935

as Will Oliver

Eight Bells

1935

as Grayson

In Spite of Danger

1935

as Pop Sullivan

Caravan

1934

as Notary

Anne of Green Gables

1934

as Dr. Tatum

The President Vanishes

1934

as Richard Norton

Judge Priest

1934

as Sergeant Jimmy Bagby

Return of the Terror

1934

as Jessup

The Loudspeaker

1934

as Pop Calloway

She Made Her Bed

1934

as Joe Olesen

The Quitter

1934

as Ed Tilford

Two Alone

1934

as Sandy Roberts

Hell and High Water

1933

as Peck Wealin

Female

1933

as Drunk at Hamburger Stand (Uncredited)

Wild Boys of the Road

1933

as Mr. Cadman (uncredited)

Torch Singer

1933

as Andrew 'Juddy' Judson

Beauty for Sale

1933

as Freddy Gordon

Turn Back the Clock

1933

as Dr. Henderson (uncredited)

Pilgrimage

1933

as Dad Saunders

Midnight Mary

1933

as Clerk

Don't Bet on Love

1933

as Patrick McCaffrey

Heroes for Sale

1933

as Pa Dennis

The Kiss Before the Mirror

1933

as Schultz

Hello, Everybody!

1933

as Jed

No Man of Her Own

1932

as George, a Concessions Clerk

Wild Horse Mesa

1932

as Sam Bass

The Night of June 13

1932

as "Grandpop" Strawn (as Charles Grapewin)

American Madness

1932

as Mr. Jones (uncredited)

The Washington Masquerade

1932

as Senator Simmons (uncredited)

The Woman in Room 13

1932

as Andy

Huddle

1932

as Doctor (uncredited)

Are You Listening?

1932

as Pierce

The Big Timer

1932

as Pop Baldwin

Hell's House

1932

as Henry Clark

For the Love of Fanny

1931

as Professor

Heaven on Earth

1931

as Doc Boax

Gold Dust Gertie

1931

as Nicholas Hautrey

The Millionaire

1931

as Ed Powers

Only Saps Work

1930

as Simeon Tanner

Above the Limit

1900

as Chimmie Hicks