Charley Grapewin
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- December 20, 1869, Xenia, Ohio, USA
- Died
- February 2, 1956
- Movies
- 103
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.
Best-Known Movies
Filmography
| 2000 | The Dark Side of the Rainbow | Uncle Henry (archive footage) |
| 1984 | Going Hollywood: The '30s | (archive footage) |
| 1976 | That's Entertainment, Part II | (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 1964 | The Big Parade of Comedy | Mr. Bane in 'Libeled Lady' (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 1951 | When I Grow Up | Grandpa Reed |
| 1949 | Sand | Doug |
| 1948 | The Enchanted Valley | Grandpa |
| 1947 | Gunfighters | Rancher Inskip |
| 1944 | Atlantic City | Jake Taylor |
| 1944 | The Impatient Years | Benjamin L. Pidgeon, Bellboy |
| 1944 | Follow the Boys | Nick West |
| 1943 | Crash Dive | Pop |
| 1942 | Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen | Inspector Richard Queen |
| 1942 | A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen | Insp. Queen |
| 1942 | A Close Call for Ellery Queen | Insp. Queen |
| 1941 | They Died with Their Boots On | California Joe |
| 1941 | Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring | Insp. Queen |
| 1941 | Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime | Insp. Queen |
| 1941 | Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery | Insp. Queen |
| 1941 | Tobacco Road | Jeeter Lester |
| 1940 | The Texas Rangers Ride Again | Ben Caldwalder |
| 1940 | Ellery Queen, Master Detective | Insp. Queen |
| 1940 | Rhythm on the River | Uncle Caleb |
| 1940 | Earthbound | Mr. Whimser |
| 1940 | Johnny Apollo | Judge Emmett T. Brennan |
| 1940 | The Grapes of Wrath | Grandpa Joad |
| 1939 | Sabotage | Major Matt Grayson |
| 1939 | Hero for a Day | Uncle Frank "Lucky" Higgins |
| 1939 | Dust Be My Destiny | Pop |
| 1939 | The Wizard of Oz | Uncle Henry |
| 1939 | The Man Who Dared | Ulysses Porterfield |
| 1939 | Sudden Money | Grandpa Casey Patterson |
| 1939 | Burn 'Em Up O'Connor | Doc Heath |
| 1939 | Stand Up and Fight | 'Old Puff' |
| 1938 | Artists and Models Abroad | James Harper |
| 1938 | Listen, Darling | Joe Higgins |
| 1938 | Three Loves Has Nancy | Grandpa Briggs |
| 1938 | Three Comrades | Local Doctor |
| 1938 | The Girl of the Golden West | Uncle Davy |
| 1938 | Of Human Hearts | Jim Meeker |
| 1937 | The Bad Man of Brimstone | Barney Lane |
| 1937 | Big City | Robert, the Mayor |
| 1937 | Bad Guy | Dan Gray |
| 1937 | Broadway Melody of 1938 | James K. Blakeley |
| 1937 | Between Two Women | Dr. Webster |
| 1937 | Captains Courageous | Uncle Salters |
| 1937 | The Good Earth | Old Father |
| 1937 | A Family Affair | Frank Redmond |
| 1936 | Breakdowns of 1936 | Self |
| 1936 | Sinner Take All | Aaron Lampier |
| 1936 | Without Orders | J.P. Kendrick |
| 1936 | Libeled Lady | Mr. Bane |
| 1936 | Small Town Girl | Dr. Ned Fabre |
| 1936 | The Voice of Bugle Ann | Cal Royster |
| 1936 | The Petrified Forest | Gramp Maple |
| 1935 | Ah, Wilderness! | Dave McComber |
| 1935 | Super Speed | Terry Devlin |
| 1935 | Rendezvous | Prof. Martin |
| 1935 | King Solomon of Broadway | Uncle Winchester |
| 1935 | Alice Adams | J. A. Lamb |
| 1935 | Shanghai | Truesdale |
| 1935 | One Frightened Night | Jasper Whyte |
| 1935 | Party Wire | Will Oliver |
| 1935 | Eight Bells | Grayson |
| 1935 | In Spite of Danger | Pop Sullivan |
| 1934 | Caravan | Notary |
| 1934 | Anne of Green Gables | Dr. Tatum |
| 1934 | The President Vanishes | Richard Norton |
| 1934 | Judge Priest | Sergeant Jimmy Bagby |
| 1934 | Return of the Terror | Jessup |
| 1934 | The Loudspeaker | Pop Calloway |
| 1934 | She Made Her Bed | Joe Olesen |
| 1934 | The Quitter | Ed Tilford |
| 1934 | Two Alone | Sandy Roberts |
| 1933 | Hell and High Water | Peck Wealin |
| 1933 | Female | Drunk at Hamburger Stand (Uncredited) |
| 1933 | Wild Boys of the Road | Mr. Cadman (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Torch Singer | Andrew 'Juddy' Judson |
| 1933 | Beauty for Sale | Freddy Gordon |
| 1933 | Turn Back the Clock | Dr. Henderson (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Pilgrimage | Dad Saunders |
| 1933 | Midnight Mary | Clerk |
| 1933 | Don't Bet on Love | Patrick McCaffrey |
| 1933 | Heroes for Sale | Pa Dennis |
| 1933 | The Kiss Before the Mirror | Schultz |
| 1933 | Hello, Everybody! | Jed |
| 1932 | No Man of Her Own | Clerk |
| 1932 | Wild Horse Mesa | Sam Bass |
| 1932 | The Night of June 13 | "Grandpop" Strawn (as Charles Grapewin) |
| 1932 | American Madness | Mr. Jones (uncredited) |
| 1932 | The Washington Masquerade | Senator Simmons (uncredited) |
| 1932 | The Woman in Room 13 | Andy |
| 1932 | Huddle | Doctor (uncredited) |
| 1932 | Are You Listening? | Pierce |
| 1932 | The Big Timer | Pop Baldwin |
| 1932 | Hell's House | Henry Clark |
| 1931 | For the Love of Fanny | Professor |
| 1931 | Heaven on Earth | Doc Boax |
| 1931 | Gold Dust Gertie | Nicholas Hautrey |
| 1931 | The Millionaire | Ed Powers |
| 1930 | Only Saps Work | Simeon Tanner |
| 1929 | The Shannons of Broadway | Swanzey |
| 1900 | Above the Limit | Chimmie Hicks |
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