Charley Grapewin
102 movies
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Dec 20, 1869
- Died
- Feb 2, 1956 (age 86)
- Place of birth
- Xenia, Ohio, USA
- Also known as
- Charles Ellsworth Grapewin · Charles Grapewin
Biography
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.
Read the full biography
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.
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Charley Grapewin: movies and TV shows
Acting (102)
- 2000 The Dark Side of the Rainbow
as Uncle Henry (archive footage)
- 1984 Going Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)
- 1976 That's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 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
- 1948 The Enchanted Valley
as Grandpa
- 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 The 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 Hero for a Day
as Uncle Frank "Lucky" Higgins
- 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 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 Mr. 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 Super Speed
as Terry Devlin
- 1935 Rendezvous
as Prof. Martin
- 1935 King Solomon of Broadway
as Uncle Winchester
- 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
- 1935 In Spite of Danger
as Pop Sullivan
- 1934 Caravan
as Notary
- 1934 Anne of Green Gables
as Dr. Tatum
- 1934 The President Vanishes
as Richard Norton
- 1934 Judge Priest
as Sergeant Jimmy Bagby
- 1934 Return of the Terror
as Jessup
- 1934 The Loudspeaker
as Pop Calloway
- 1934 She Made Her Bed
as Joe Olesen
- 1934 The Quitter
as Ed Tilford
- 1934 Two Alone
as Sandy Roberts
- 1933 Hell and High Water
as Peck Wealin
- 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 Midnight Mary
as Clerk
- 1933 Don't Bet on Love
as Patrick McCaffrey
- 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 The Night of June 13
as "Grandpop" Strawn (as Charles Grapewin)
- 1932 American Madness
as Mr. Jones (uncredited)
- 1932 The Washington Masquerade
as Senator Simmons (uncredited)
- 1932 The Woman in Room 13
as Andy
- 1932 Huddle
as Doctor (uncredited)
- 1932 Are You Listening?
as Pierce
- 1932 The Big Timer
as Pop Baldwin
- 1932 Hell's House
as Henry Clark
- 1931 For the Love of Fanny
as Professor
- 1931 Heaven on Earth
as Doc Boax
- 1931 Gold Dust Gertie
as Nicholas Hautrey
- 1931 The Millionaire
as Ed Powers
- 1930 Only Saps Work
as Simeon Tanner
- 1929 The Shannons of Broadway
as Swanzey
- 1900 Above the Limit
as Chimmie Hicks
Talk shows and appearances (2)
- 1955 MGM Parade
1 episode
- 1936