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