Charley Grapewin
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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.
Known for
Credits
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
as Uncle Henry
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
as Grandpa Joad
Captains Courageous (1937)
as Uncle Salters
Libeled Lady (1936)
as Mr. Bane
They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
as California Joe
The Petrified Forest (1936)
as Gramp Maple
The Millionaire (1931)
as Ed Powers
Tobacco Road (1941)
as Jeeter Lester
Gunfighters (1947)
as Rancher Inskip
The Good Earth (1937)
as Old Father
Hello, Everybody! (1933)
as Jed
The Loudspeaker (1934)
as Pop Calloway
Crash Dive (1943)
as Pop
Johnny Apollo (1940)
as Judge Emmett T. Brennan
Huddle (1932)
as Doctor (uncredited)
Small Town Girl (1936)
as Dr. Ned Fabre
Heroes for Sale (1933)
as Pa Dennis
Alice Adams (1935)
as J. A. Lamb
Three Comrades (1938)
as Local Doctor
Of Human Hearts (1938)
as Jim Meeker
Follow the Boys (1944)
as Nick West
American Madness (1932)
as Mr. Jones (uncredited)
That's Entertainment, Part II (1976)
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Stand Up and Fight (1939)
as 'Old Puff'
Ah, Wilderness! (1935)
as Dave McComber
The Big Parade of Comedy (1964)
as Mr. Bane in 'Libeled Lady' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Super Speed (1935)
as Terry Devlin
No Man of Her Own (1932)
as Clerk
Three Loves Has Nancy (1938)
as Grandpa Briggs
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime (1941)
as Insp. Queen
Dust Be My Destiny (1939)
as Pop
When I Grow Up (1951)
as Grandpa Reed
Wild Boys of the Road (1933)
as Mr. Cadman (uncredited)
The Bad Man of Brimstone (1937)
as Barney Lane
Only Saps Work (1930)
as Simeon Tanner
Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)
as James K. Blakeley
The President Vanishes (1934)
as Richard Norton
The Dark Side of the Rainbow (2000)
as Uncle Henry (archive footage)
She Made Her Bed (1934)
as Joe Olesen
Return of the Terror (1934)
as Jessup
Rendezvous (1935)
as Prof. Martin
The Washington Masquerade (1932)
as Senator Simmons (uncredited)
Midnight Mary (1933)
as Clerk
Listen, Darling (1938)
as Joe Higgins
Beauty for Sale (1933)
as Freddy Gordon
The Girl of the Golden West (1938)
as Uncle Davy
Are You Listening? (1932)
as Pierce
The Woman in Room 13 (1932)
as Andy
The Shannons of Broadway (1929)
as Swanzey
Anne of Green Gables (1934)
as Dr. Tatum
Going Hollywood: The '30s (1984)
as (archive footage)
The Night of June 13 (1932)
as "Grandpop" Strawn (as Charles Grapewin)
Big City (1937)
as Robert, the Mayor
The Impatient Years (1944)
as Benjamin L. Pidgeon, Bellboy
The Voice of Bugle Ann (1936)
as Cal Royster
Torch Singer (1933)
as Andrew 'Juddy' Judson
Sudden Money (1939)
as Grandpa Casey Patterson
Two Alone (1934)
as Sandy Roberts
Sinner Take All (1936)
as Aaron Lampier
Pilgrimage (1933)
as Dad Saunders
Breakdowns of 1936 (1936)
as Self
Earthbound (1940)
as Mr. Whimser
The Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940)
as Ben Caldwalder
Judge Priest (1934)
as Sergeant Jimmy Bagby
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941)
as Insp. Queen
Female (1933)
as Drunk at Hamburger Stand (Uncredited)
Heaven on Earth (1931)
as Doc Boax
The Kiss Before the Mirror (1933)
as Schultz
Rhythm on the River (1940)
as Uncle Caleb
Shanghai (1935)
as Truesdale
Caravan (1934)
as Notary
Without Orders (1936)
as J.P. Kendrick
Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen (1942)
as Inspector Richard Queen
Sabotage (1939)
as Major Matt Grayson
Hell and High Water (1933)
as Peck Wealin
Between Two Women (1937)
as Dr. Webster
Bad Guy (1937)
as Dan Gray
Party Wire (1935)
as Will Oliver
Turn Back the Clock (1933)
as Dr. Henderson (uncredited)
Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940)
as Insp. Queen
The Wizard of Oz at Sphere (2025)
as Uncle Henry (archive footage)
A Family Affair (1937)
as Frank Redmond
Eight Bells (1935)
as Grayson
Sand (1949)
as Doug
Atlantic City (1944)
as Jake Taylor
Artists and Models Abroad (1938)
as James Harper
A Close Call for Ellery Queen (1942)
as Insp. Queen
One Frightened Night (1935)
as Jasper Whyte
Wild Horse Mesa (1932)
as Sam Bass
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring (1941)
as Insp. Queen
The Quitter (1934)
as Ed Tilford
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor (1939)
as Doc Heath
Hero for a Day (1939)
as Uncle Frank "Lucky" Higgins
Hell's House (1932)
as Henry Clark
Gold Dust Gertie (1931)
as Nicholas Hautrey
A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen (1942)
as Insp. Queen
The Big Timer (1932)
as Pop Baldwin
In Spite of Danger (1935)
as Pop Sullivan
The Man Who Dared (1939)
as Ulysses Porterfield
The Enchanted Valley (1948)
as Grandpa
Don't Bet on Love (1933)
as Patrick McCaffrey
For the Love of Fanny (1931)
as Professor
King Solomon of Broadway (1935)
as Uncle Winchester
Above the Limit (1900)
as Chimmie Hicks