Charley Grapewin
Biography
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
Grandpa Joad
The Grapes of Wrath
Uncle Henry
The Wizard of Oz
Sergeant Jimmy Bagby
Judge Priest
Hollis Bane
Libeled Lady
Pop
Dust Be My Destiny
Nick West
Follow the Boys
Clerk
No Man of Her Own
Jasper Whyte
One Frightened Night
Uncle Davy
The Girl of the Golden West
James K. Blakeley
Broadway Melody of 1938
J. A. Lamb
Alice Adams
Dr. Tatum
Anne of Green Gables
Jessup
Return of the Terror
Uncle Salters
Captains Courageous
California Joe
They Died with Their Boots On
Gramp Maple
The Petrified Forest
Jeeter Lester
Tobacco Road
Pa Dennis
Heroes for Sale
Judge Emmett T. Brennan
Johnny Apollo
Insp. Queen
A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen
Insp. Queen
A Close Call for Ellery Queen
Insp. Queen
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring
Insp. Queen
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
Inspector Richard Queen
Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen
Insp. Queen
Ellery Queen, Master Detective
Insp. Queen
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
Clerk
Midnight Mary
Andrew 'Juddy' Judson
Torch Singer
Robert, the Mayor
Big City
Prof. Martin
Rendezvous
Joe Higgins
Listen, Darling
Dave McComber
Ah, Wilderness!
Dr. Ned Fabre
Small Town Girl
Jim Meeker
Of Human Hearts
Dr. Henderson (uncredited)
Turn Back the Clock
Will Oliver
Party Wire
Uncle Caleb
Rhythm on the River
Frank Redmond
A Family Affair
'Old Puff'
Stand Up and Fight
Truesdale
Shanghai
Henry Clark
Hell's House
Pierce
Are You Listening?
Benjamin L. Pidgeon, Bellboy
The Impatient Years
Patrick McCaffrey
Don't Bet on Love
Cal Royster
The Voice of Bugle Ann
Jed
Hello, Everybody!
Freddy Gordon
Beauty for Sale
Jake Taylor
Atlantic City
Ed Powers
The Millionaire
Dr. Webster
Between Two Women
Nicholas Hautrey
Gold Dust Gertie
Dan Gray
Bad Guy
Doc Heath
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
James Harper
Artists and Models Abroad
Pop Baldwin
The Big Timer
Grandpa Casey Patterson
Sudden Money
Ben Caldwalder
The Texas Rangers Ride Again
Doug
Sand
Sandy Roberts
Two Alone
Grandpa Briggs
Three Loves Has Nancy
(archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Barney Lane
The Bad Man of Brimstone
"Grandpop" Strawn (as Charles Grapewin)
The Night of June 13
Senator Simmons (uncredited)
The Washington Masquerade
Mr. Whimser
Earthbound
Ulysses Porterfield
The Man Who Dared
Mr. Jones (uncredited)
American Madness
Richard Norton
The President Vanishes
Doc Boax
Heaven on Earth
J.P. Kendrick
Without Orders
Simeon Tanner
Only Saps Work
Professor
For the Love of Fanny
Grayson
Eight Bells
Notary
Caravan
Schultz
The Kiss Before the Mirror
Major Matt Grayson
Sabotage
Peck Wealin
Hell and High Water
Ed Tilford
The Quitter
Self
Breakdowns of 1936
Andy
The Woman in Room 13
Rancher Inskip
Gunfighters
Doctor (uncredited)
Huddle
Old Father
The Good Earth
Uncle Winchester
King Solomon of Broadway
Pop Calloway
The Loudspeaker
Uncle Henry (archive footage)
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
Aaron Lampier
Sinner Take All
Chimmie Hicks
Above the Limit
Sam Bass
Wild Horse Mesa
Mr. Cadman (uncredited)
Wild Boys of the Road
Local Doctor
Three Comrades
Grandpa Reed
When I Grow Up
Drunk at Hamburger Stand (Uncredited)
Female
(archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
Pop
Crash Dive
Mr. Bane in 'Libeled Lady' (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Big Parade of Comedy
Grandpa
The Enchanted Valley
Pop Sullivan
In Spite of Danger
Uncle Frank "Lucky" Higgins
Hero for a Day
Joe Olesen
She Made Her Bed
Dad Saunders
Pilgrimage
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
101
Gender
Male
Birthday
1869-12-20
Place of Birth
Xenia, Ohio, USA
Also Known As
Charles Ellsworth Grapewin