Acting
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.
Filmography
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
Film · 2000
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Film · 1984
That's Entertainment, Part II
Film · 1976
The Big Parade of Comedy
Film · 1964
MGM Parade
Series · 1955
When I Grow Up
Film · 1951
Sand
Film · 1949
The Enchanted Valley
Film · 1948
Gunfighters
Film · 1947
Follow the Boys
Film · 1944
The Impatient Years
Film · 1944
Atlantic City
Film · 1944
Crash Dive
Film · 1943
A Close Call for Ellery Queen
Film · 1942
A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen
Film · 1942
Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen
Film · 1942
They Died with Their Boots On
Film · 1941
Tobacco Road
Film · 1941
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring
Film · 1941
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
Film · 1941
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
Film · 1941
The Grapes of Wrath
Film · 1940
Johnny Apollo
Film · 1940
Ellery Queen, Master Detective
Film · 1940
Rhythm on the River
Film · 1940
The Texas Rangers Ride Again
Film · 1940
Earthbound
Film · 1940
The Wizard of Oz
Film · 1939
Dust Be My Destiny
Film · 1939
Stand Up and Fight
Film · 1939
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
Film · 1939
Sudden Money
Film · 1939
The Man Who Dared
Film · 1939
Sabotage
Film · 1939
Hero for a Day
Film · 1939
The Girl of the Golden West
Film · 1938
Listen, Darling
Film · 1938
Of Human Hearts
Film · 1938
Artists and Models Abroad
Film · 1938
Three Loves Has Nancy
Film · 1938
Three Comrades
Film · 1938
Broadway Melody of 1938
Film · 1937
Captains Courageous
Film · 1937
Big City
Film · 1937
A Family Affair
Film · 1937
Between Two Women
Film · 1937
Bad Guy
Film · 1937
The Bad Man of Brimstone
Film · 1937
The Good Earth
Film · 1937
Libeled Lady
Film · 1936
The Petrified Forest
Film · 1936
Small Town Girl
Film · 1936
The Voice of Bugle Ann
Film · 1936
Without Orders
Film · 1936
Breakdowns of 1936
Film · 1936
Sinner Take All
Film · 1936
One Frightened Night
Film · 1935
Alice Adams
Film · 1935
Rendezvous
Film · 1935
Ah, Wilderness!
Film · 1935
Party Wire
Film · 1935
Shanghai
Film · 1935
Eight Bells
Film · 1935
King Solomon of Broadway
Film · 1935
In Spite of Danger
Film · 1935
Super Speed
Film · 1935
Judge Priest
Film · 1934
Anne of Green Gables
Film · 1934
Return of the Terror
Film · 1934
Two Alone
Film · 1934
The President Vanishes
Film · 1934
Caravan
Film · 1934
The Quitter
Film · 1934
The Loudspeaker
Film · 1934
She Made Her Bed
Film · 1934
Heroes for Sale
Film · 1933
Midnight Mary
Film · 1933
Torch Singer
Film · 1933
Turn Back the Clock
Film · 1933
Don't Bet on Love
Film · 1933
Hello, Everybody!
Film · 1933
Beauty for Sale
Film · 1933
The Kiss Before the Mirror
Film · 1933
Hell and High Water
Film · 1933
Wild Boys of the Road
Film · 1933
Female
Film · 1933
Pilgrimage
Film · 1933
No Man of Her Own
Film · 1932
Hell's House
Film · 1932
Are You Listening?
Film · 1932
The Big Timer
Film · 1932
The Night of June 13
Film · 1932
The Washington Masquerade
Film · 1932
American Madness
Film · 1932
The Woman in Room 13
Film · 1932
Huddle
Film · 1932
Wild Horse Mesa
Film · 1932
The Millionaire
Film · 1931
Gold Dust Gertie
Film · 1931
Heaven on Earth
Film · 1931
For the Love of Fanny
Film · 1931
Only Saps Work
Film · 1930
The Shannons of Broadway
Film · 1929
Above the Limit
Film · 1900