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.
Photos
Films (103)
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
2000 · Uncle Henry (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984 · (archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976 · (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Big Parade of Comedy
1964 · Mr. Bane in 'Libeled Lady' (archive footage) (uncredited)
When I Grow Up
1951 · Grandpa Reed
Sand
1949 · Doug
The Enchanted Valley
1948 · Grandpa
Gunfighters
1947 · Rancher Inskip
Atlantic City
1944 · Jake Taylor
The Impatient Years
1944 · Benjamin L. Pidgeon, Bellboy
Follow the Boys
1944 · Nick West
Crash Dive
1943 · Pop
Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen
1942 · Inspector Richard Queen
A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen
1942 · Insp. Queen
A Close Call for Ellery Queen
1942 · Insp. Queen
They Died with Their Boots On
1941 · California Joe
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring
1941 · Insp. Queen
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
1941 · Insp. Queen
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
1941 · Insp. Queen
Tobacco Road
1941 · Jeeter Lester
The Texas Rangers Ride Again
1940 · Ben Caldwalder
Ellery Queen, Master Detective
1940 · Insp. Queen
Rhythm on the River
1940 · Uncle Caleb
Earthbound
1940 · Mr. Whimser
Johnny Apollo
1940 · Judge Emmett T. Brennan
The Grapes of Wrath
1940 · Grandpa Joad
Sabotage
1939 · Major Matt Grayson
Hero for a Day
1939 · Uncle Frank "Lucky" Higgins
Dust Be My Destiny
1939 · Pop
The Wizard of Oz
1939 · Uncle Henry
The Man Who Dared
1939 · Ulysses Porterfield
Sudden Money
1939 · Grandpa Casey Patterson
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
1939 · Doc Heath
Stand Up and Fight
1939 · 'Old Puff'
Artists and Models Abroad
1938 · James Harper
Listen, Darling
1938 · Joe Higgins
Three Loves Has Nancy
1938 · Grandpa Briggs
Three Comrades
1938 · Local Doctor
The Girl of the Golden West
1938 · Uncle Davy
Of Human Hearts
1938 · Jim Meeker
The Bad Man of Brimstone
1937 · Barney Lane
Big City
1937 · Robert, the Mayor
Bad Guy
1937 · Dan Gray
Broadway Melody of 1938
1937 · James K. Blakeley
Between Two Women
1937 · Dr. Webster
Captains Courageous
1937 · Uncle Salters
The Good Earth
1937 · Old Father
A Family Affair
1937 · Frank Redmond
Breakdowns of 1936
1936 · Self
Sinner Take All
1936 · Aaron Lampier
Without Orders
1936 · J.P. Kendrick
Libeled Lady
1936 · Mr. Bane
Small Town Girl
1936 · Dr. Ned Fabre
The Voice of Bugle Ann
1936 · Cal Royster
The Petrified Forest
1936 · Gramp Maple
Ah, Wilderness!
1935 · Dave McComber
Super Speed
1935 · Terry Devlin
Rendezvous
1935 · Prof. Martin
King Solomon of Broadway
1935 · Uncle Winchester
Alice Adams
1935 · J. A. Lamb
Shanghai
1935 · Truesdale
One Frightened Night
1935 · Jasper Whyte
Party Wire
1935 · Will Oliver
Eight Bells
1935 · Grayson
In Spite of Danger
1935 · Pop Sullivan
Caravan
1934 · Notary
Anne of Green Gables
1934 · Dr. Tatum
The President Vanishes
1934 · Richard Norton
Judge Priest
1934 · Sergeant Jimmy Bagby
Return of the Terror
1934 · Jessup
The Loudspeaker
1934 · Pop Calloway
She Made Her Bed
1934 · Joe Olesen
The Quitter
1934 · Ed Tilford
Two Alone
1934 · Sandy Roberts
Hell and High Water
1933 · Peck Wealin
Female
1933 · Drunk at Hamburger Stand (Uncredited)
Wild Boys of the Road
1933 · Mr. Cadman (uncredited)
Torch Singer
1933 · Andrew 'Juddy' Judson
Beauty for Sale
1933 · Freddy Gordon
Turn Back the Clock
1933 · Dr. Henderson (uncredited)
Pilgrimage
1933 · Dad Saunders
Midnight Mary
1933 · Clerk
Don't Bet on Love
1933 · Patrick McCaffrey
Heroes for Sale
1933 · Pa Dennis
The Kiss Before the Mirror
1933 · Schultz
Hello, Everybody!
1933 · Jed
No Man of Her Own
1932 · Clerk
Wild Horse Mesa
1932 · Sam Bass
The Night of June 13
1932 · "Grandpop" Strawn (as Charles Grapewin)
American Madness
1932 · Mr. Jones (uncredited)
The Washington Masquerade
1932 · Senator Simmons (uncredited)
The Woman in Room 13
1932 · Andy
Huddle
1932 · Doctor (uncredited)
Are You Listening?
1932 · Pierce
The Big Timer
1932 · Pop Baldwin
Hell's House
1932 · Henry Clark
For the Love of Fanny
1931 · Professor
Heaven on Earth
1931 · Doc Boax
Gold Dust Gertie
1931 · Nicholas Hautrey
The Millionaire
1931 · Ed Powers
Only Saps Work
1930 · Simeon Tanner
The Shannons of Broadway
1929 · Swanzey
Above the Limit
1900 · Chimmie Hicks
