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Charley Grapewin

Charley Grapewin

Birthday: 1869-12-20 | Place of Birth: Xenia, Ohio, USA

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. ​

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1949
Sand

as    Doug

1949
The Wizard of Oz

as    Uncle Henry

1947
Gunfighters

as    Rancher Inskip

1944
The Impatient Years

as    Benjamin L. Pidgeon, Bellboy

1944
Atlantic City

as    Jake Taylor

1944
Follow the Boys

as    Nick West

1942
A Close Call for Ellery Queen

as    Insp. Queen

1942
A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen

as    Insp. Queen

1942
Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen

as    Inspector Richard Queen

1941
They Died with Their Boots On

as    California Joe

1941
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery

as    Insp. Queen

1941
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime

as    Insp. Queen

1941
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring

as    Insp. Queen

1941
Tobacco Road

as    Jeeter Lester

1940
The Texas Rangers Ride Again

as    Ben Caldwalder

1940
The Grapes of Wrath

as    Grandpa Joad

1940
Ellery Queen, Master Detective

as    Insp. Queen

1940
Johnny Apollo

as    Judge Emmett T. Brennan

1940
Earthbound

as    Mr. Whimser

1939
Stand Up and Fight

as    'Old Puff'

1939
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor

as    Doc Heath

1939
Sabotage

as    Major Matt Grayson

1939
Dust Be My Destiny

as    Pop

1938
Three Loves Has Nancy

as    Grandpa Briggs

1938
Artists and Models Abroad

as    James Harper

1938
Of Human Hearts

as    Jim Meeker

1938
Three Comrades

as    Local Doctor

1937
Bad Guy

as    Dan Gray

1937
A Family Affair

as    Frank Redmond

1937
Captains Courageous

as    Uncle Salters