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person_profile-Charley Grapewin

Charley Grapewin Died at age: 86

Actor | Producer

Date of Birth:

Dec 19, 1869

Country of birth:

USA

Died:

Feb 02, 1956

Biography of

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 of

Charley Grapewin

Photos ( 2 Photos

Filmography of

Charley Grapewin

Found 97 Movies in total

The Dark Side of the Rainbow

Uncle Henry (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 2000

The Dark Side of Oz

Uncle Henry (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1995

Going Hollywood: The '30s

(archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1984

That's Entertainment, Part II

(archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1976

The Big Parade of Comedy

(archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1964

When I Grow Up

Grandpa Reed ( Actor )

... 1951

Sand

Doug ( Actor )

... 1949

The Enchanted Valley

Grandpa ( Actor )

... 1948

Gunfighters

Rancher Inskip ( Actor )

... 1947

Atlantic City

Jake Taylor ( Actor )

... 1944

The Impatient Years

Benjamin L. Pidgeon, Bellboy ( Actor )

... 1944

Follow the Boys

Nick West ( Actor )

... 1944

Crash Dive

Pop ( Actor )

... 1943

Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen

Inspector Richard Queen ( Actor )

... 1942

... 1942

A Close Call for Ellery Queen

Insp. Queen ( Actor )

... 1942

They Died with Their Boots On

California Joe ( Actor )

... 1941

... 1941

... 1941

... 1941

Tobacco Road

Jeeter Lester ( Actor )

... 1941

The Texas Rangers Ride Again

Ben Caldwalder ( Actor )

... 1940

Ellery Queen, Master Detective

Insp. Queen ( Actor )

... 1940

Rhythm on the River

Uncle Caleb ( Actor )

... 1940

Earthbound

Mr. Whimser ( Actor )

... 1940

Johnny Apollo

Judge Emmett T. Brennan ( Actor )

... 1940

The Grapes of Wrath

Grandpa Joad ( Actor )

... 1940

Sabotage

Major Matt Grayson ( Actor )

... 1939

Dust Be My Destiny

Pop ( Actor )

... 1939

The Wizard of Oz

Uncle Henry ( Actor )

... 1939

The Man Who Dared

Ulysses Porterfield ( Actor )

... 1939

Sudden Money

Grandpa Casey Patterson ( Actor )

... 1939

Burn 'Em Up O'Connor

Doc Heath ( Actor )

... 1939

Stand Up and Fight

'Old Puff' ( Actor )

... 1939

Artists and Models Abroad

James Harper ( Actor )

... 1938

Listen, Darling

Joe Higgins ( Actor )

... 1938

Three Loves Has Nancy

Grandpa Briggs ( Actor )

... 1938

Three Comrades

Local Doctor ( Actor )

... 1938

The Girl of the Golden West

Uncle Davy ( Actor )

... 1938

Of Human Hearts

Jim Meeker ( Actor )

... 1938

The Bad Man of Brimstone

Barney Lane ( Actor )

... 1937

Big City

Robert, the Mayor ( Actor )

... 1937

Bad Guy

Dan Gray ( Actor )

... 1937

Broadway Melody of 1938

James K. Blakeley ( Actor )

... 1937

Between Two Women

Dr. Webster ( Actor )

... 1937

Captains Courageous

Uncle Salters ( Actor )

... 1937

The Good Earth

Old Father ( Actor )

... 1937

A Family Affair

Frank Redmond ( Actor )

... 1937

Sinner Take All

Aaron Lampier ( Actor )

... 1936

Without Orders

J.P. Kendrick ( Actor )

... 1936

Libeled Lady

Hollis Bane ( Actor )

... 1936

Small Town Girl

Dr. Ned Fabre ( Actor )

... 1936

The Voice of Bugle Ann

Cal Royster ( Actor )

... 1936

The Petrified Forest

Gramp Maple ( Actor )

... 1936

Ah, Wilderness!

Dave McComber ( Actor )

... 1935

Rendezvous

Prof. Martin ( Actor )

... 1935

King Solomon of Broadway

Uncle Winchester ( Actor )

... 1935

Alice Adams

J. A. Lamb ( Actor )

... 1935

Shanghai

Truesdale ( Actor )

... 1935

One Frightened Night

Jasper Whyte ( Actor )

... 1935

Party Wire

Will Oliver ( Actor )

... 1935

Eight Bells

Grayson ( Actor )

... 1935

In Spite of Danger

Pop Sullivan ( Actor )

... 1935

Caravan

Notary ( Actor )

... 1934

Anne of Green Gables

Dr. Tatum ( Actor )

... 1934

The President Vanishes

Richard Norton ( Actor )

... 1934

Judge Priest

Sergeant Jimmy Bagby ( Actor )

... 1934

Return of the Terror

Jessup ( Actor )

... 1934

The Loudspeaker

Pop Calloway ( Actor )

... 1934

She Made Her Bed

Joe Olesen ( Actor )

... 1934

The Quitter

Ed Tilford ( Actor )

... 1934

Two Alone

Sandy Roberts ( Actor )

... 1934

Female

Drunk at Hamburger Stand (Uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1933

Wild Boys of the Road

Mr. Cadman (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1933

Torch Singer

Andrew 'Juddy' Judson ( Actor )

... 1933

Beauty for Sale

Freddy Gordon ( Actor )

... 1933

Turn Back the Clock

Dr. Henderson (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1933

Pilgrimage

Dad Saunders ( Actor )

... 1933

Don't Bet on Love

Patrick McCaffrey ( Actor )

... 1933

Midnight Mary

Clerk ( Actor )

... 1933

Heroes for Sale

Pa Dennis ( Actor )

... 1933

... 1933

Hello, Everybody!

Jed ( Actor )

... 1933

No Man of Her Own

George, a Concessions Clerk ( Actor )

... 1932

Wild Horse Mesa

Sam Bass ( Actor )

... 1932

The Night of June 13

"Grandpop" Jeptha Strawn ( Actor )

... 1932

American Madness

Mr. Jones (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1932

The Washington Masquerade

Senator Simmons (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1932

The Woman in Room 13

Andy ( Actor )

... 1932

Huddle

Doctor (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1932

Are You Listening?

Pierce ( Actor )

... 1932

The Big Timer

Pop Baldwin ( Actor )

... 1932

Hell's House

Henry Clark ( Actor )

... 1932

Heaven on Earth

Doc Boax ( Actor )

... 1931

Gold Dust Gertie

Nicholas Hautrey ( Actor )

... 1931

The Millionaire

Ed Powers ( Actor )

... 1931

Only Saps Work

Simeon Tanner ( Actor )

... 1930