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