From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0335788
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q920018
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Filmography (Movies)
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
Character:Uncle Henry (archive footage)
Release Date:01/07/2000
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Character:(archive footage)
Release Date:01/01/1984
That's Entertainment, Part II
Character:(archive footage)
Release Date:16/05/1976
The Big Parade of Comedy
Character:Mr. Bane in 'Libeled Lady' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Release Date:02/09/1964
When I Grow Up
Character:Grandpa Reed
Release Date:19/04/1951
Sand
Character:Doug
Release Date:03/08/1949
The Enchanted Valley
Character:Grandpa
Release Date:24/03/1948
Gunfighters
Character:Rancher Inskip
Release Date:15/07/1947
Atlantic City
Character:Jake Taylor
Release Date:15/09/1944
The Impatient Years
Character:Benjamin L. Pidgeon, Bellboy
Release Date:10/09/1944
Follow the Boys
Character:Nick West
Release Date:05/05/1944
Crash Dive
Character:Pop
Release Date:22/04/1943
Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen
Character:Inspector Richard Queen
Release Date:30/07/1942
A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen
Character:Insp. Queen
Release Date:07/05/1942
A Close Call for Ellery Queen
Character:Insp. Queen
Release Date:29/01/1942
They Died with Their Boots On
Character:California Joe
Release Date:20/11/1941
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring
Character:Insp. Queen
Release Date:18/11/1941
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
Character:Insp. Queen
Release Date:14/08/1941
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
Character:Insp. Queen
Release Date:24/03/1941
Tobacco Road
Character:Jeeter Lester
Release Date:20/02/1941
The Texas Rangers Ride Again
Character:Ben Caldwalder
Release Date:13/12/1940
Ellery Queen, Master Detective
Character:Insp. Queen
Release Date:30/11/1940
Rhythm on the River
Character:Uncle Caleb
Release Date:28/08/1940
Earthbound
Character:Mr. Whimser
Release Date:06/06/1940
Johnny Apollo
Character:Judge Emmett T. Brennan
Release Date:19/04/1940
The Grapes of Wrath
Character:Grandpa Joad
Release Date:15/03/1940
Sabotage
Character:Major Matt Grayson
Release Date:13/10/1939
Hero for a Day
Character:Uncle Frank "Lucky" Higgins
Release Date:06/10/1939
Dust Be My Destiny
Character:Pop
Release Date:16/09/1939
The Wizard of Oz
Character:Uncle Henry
Release Date:15/08/1939
The Man Who Dared
Character:Ulysses Porterfield
Release Date:03/06/1939
Sudden Money
Character:Grandpa Casey Patterson
Release Date:31/03/1939
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
Character:Doc Heath
Release Date:13/01/1939
Stand Up and Fight
Character:'Old Puff'
Release Date:06/01/1939
Artists and Models Abroad
Character:James Harper
Release Date:20/12/1938
Listen, Darling
Character:Joe Higgins
Release Date:21/10/1938
Three Loves Has Nancy
Character:Grandpa Briggs
Release Date:02/09/1938
Three Comrades
Character:Local Doctor
Release Date:02/06/1938
The Girl of the Golden West
Character:Uncle Davy
Release Date:18/03/1938
Of Human Hearts
Character:Jim Meeker
Release Date:11/02/1938
The Bad Man of Brimstone
Character:Barney Lane
Release Date:31/12/1937
Big City
Character:Robert, the Mayor
Release Date:03/09/1937
Bad Guy
Character:Dan Gray
Release Date:27/08/1937
Broadway Melody of 1938
Character:James K. Blakeley
Release Date:20/08/1937
Between Two Women
Character:Dr. Webster
Release Date:09/07/1937
Captains Courageous
Character:Uncle Salters
Release Date:25/06/1937
The Good Earth
Character:Old Father
Release Date:02/06/1937
A Family Affair
Character:Frank Redmond
Release Date:12/03/1937
Breakdowns of 1936
Character:Self
Release Date:30/12/1936
Sinner Take All
Character:Aaron Lampier
Release Date:18/12/1936
Without Orders
Character:J.P. Kendrick
Release Date:22/10/1936
Libeled Lady
Character:Hollis Bane
Release Date:09/10/1936
Small Town Girl
Character:Dr. Ned Fabre
Release Date:10/04/1936
The Voice of Bugle Ann
Character:Cal Royster
Release Date:15/02/1936
The Petrified Forest
Character:Gramp Maple
Release Date:08/02/1936
Ah, Wilderness!
Character:Dave McComber
Release Date:25/12/1935
Rendezvous
Character:Prof. Martin
Release Date:25/10/1935
King Solomon of Broadway
Character:Uncle Winchester
Release Date:30/09/1935
Alice Adams
Character:J. A. Lamb
Release Date:23/08/1935
Shanghai
Character:Truesdale
Release Date:19/07/1935
One Frightened Night
Character:Jasper Whyte
Release Date:01/05/1935
Party Wire
Character:Will Oliver
Release Date:27/04/1935
Eight Bells
Character:Grayson
Release Date:10/04/1935
In Spite of Danger
Character:Pop Sullivan
Release Date:08/03/1935
Caravan
Character:Notary
Release Date:30/12/1934
Anne of Green Gables
Character:Dr. Tatum
Release Date:23/11/1934
The President Vanishes
Character:Richard Norton
Release Date:17/11/1934
Judge Priest
Character:Sergeant Jimmy Bagby
Release Date:15/09/1934
Return of the Terror
Character:Jessup
Release Date:07/07/1934
The Loudspeaker
Character:Pop Calloway
Release Date:01/06/1934
She Made Her Bed
Character:Joe Olesen
Release Date:26/04/1934
The Quitter
Character:Ed Tilford
Release Date:05/02/1934
Two Alone
Character:Sandy Roberts
Release Date:26/01/1934
Hell and High Water
Character:Peck Wealin
Release Date:16/12/1933
Female
Character:Drunk at Hamburger Stand (Uncredited)
Release Date:11/11/1933
Wild Boys of the Road
Character:Mr. Cadman (uncredited)
Release Date:07/10/1933
Torch Singer
Character:Andrew 'Juddy' Judson
Release Date:08/09/1933
Beauty for Sale
Character:Freddy Gordon
Release Date:01/09/1933
Turn Back the Clock
Character:Dr. Henderson (uncredited)
Release Date:25/08/1933
Pilgrimage
Character:Dad Saunders
Release Date:12/07/1933
Midnight Mary
Character:Clerk
Release Date:30/06/1933
Don't Bet on Love
Character:Patrick McCaffrey
Release Date:30/06/1933
Heroes for Sale
Character:Pa Dennis
Release Date:17/06/1933
The Kiss Before the Mirror
Character:Schultz
Release Date:04/05/1933
Hello, Everybody!
Character:Jed
Release Date:17/02/1933
No Man of Her Own
Character:Clerk
Release Date:30/12/1932
Wild Horse Mesa
Character:Sam Bass
Release Date:25/11/1932
The Night of June 13
Character:"Grandpop" Strawn (as Charles Grapewin)
Release Date:17/09/1932
American Madness
Character:Mr. Jones (uncredited)
Release Date:15/08/1932
The Washington Masquerade
Character:Senator Simmons (uncredited)
Release Date:09/07/1932
The Woman in Room 13
Character:Andy
Release Date:15/05/1932
Huddle
Character:Doctor (uncredited)
Release Date:14/05/1932
Are You Listening?
Character:Pierce
Release Date:21/03/1932
The Big Timer
Character:Pop Baldwin
Release Date:10/03/1932
Hell's House
Character:Henry Clark
Release Date:30/01/1932
For the Love of Fanny
Character:Professor
Release Date:27/12/1931
Heaven on Earth
Character:Doc Boax
Release Date:27/11/1931
Gold Dust Gertie
Character:Nicholas Hautrey
Release Date:27/06/1931
The Millionaire
Character:Ed Powers
Release Date:01/05/1931
Only Saps Work
Character:Simeon Tanner
Release Date:05/12/1930
The Shannons of Broadway
Character:Swanzey
Release Date:08/12/1929
Above the Limit
Character:Chimmie Hicks
Release Date:21/11/1900
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