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