Charley Grapewin
Charley Grapewin | |
|---|---|
 In the New York Clipper, December 22, 1900 | |
| Born | Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (1869-12-20)December 20, 1869 Xenia, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | February 2, 1956(1956-02-02) (aged 86) Corona, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Occupation | Vaudeville performer, actor (stage and screen), comedian, writer, circus performer |
| Years active | 1900–1956 |
| Spouse(s) | Anna Chance (m.1896–1943; her death) |
Play mediaGrapewin in the 1902 silent film Chimmie Hicks at the races.
Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 – February 2, 1956) was an American vaudeville performer, circus performer, writer and a stage and silent and sound actor, and comedian who was best known for portraying Uncle Henry in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's The Wizard of Oz (1939) as well as Grandpa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Jeeter Lester in Tobacco Road (1941) and California Joe in They Died With Their Boots On (1941).[1] He usually portrayed elderly folksy-type characters in a rustic setting, in all appearing in over 100 films.
Contents
1 Biography
2 Death
3 Selected filmography
4 References
5 External links
Biography
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.[2] Two years after his first wife's death, Grapewin married Loretta McGowan Becker on Jan 10, 1945.[3]
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.[4][5][6] 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, although he was the only actor to appear in Kansas, but not Oz. He also had a recurring role as Inspector Queen in the Ellery Queen film series of the early 1940s.
Death
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.[1]
Selected filmography
The Shannons of Broadway (1929) as Swanzey (film debut)
Only Saps Work (1930) as Simeon Tanner
The Millionaire (1931) as Ed Powers
Gold Dust Gertie (1931) as Nicholas Hautrey
Heaven on Earth (1931) as Doc Boax
Hell's House (1932) as Henry Clark
The Big Timer (1932) as Pop Baldwin
Disorderly Conduct (1932) as Limpy
Are You Listening? (1932) as Pierce (uncredited)
Huddle (1932) as Doctor (uncredited)
The Woman in Room 13 (1932) as Andy
The Washington Masquerade (1932) as Senator Simmons (uncredited)
Lady and Gent (1932) as Grocer
American Madness (1932) as Mr. Jones (uncredited)
The Night of June 13 (1932) as "Grandpop" Jeptha Strawn
Wild Horse Mesa (1932) as Sam Bass
No Man of Her Own (1932) as George, the Clerk
Hello, Everybody! (1933) as Jed
The Kiss Before the Mirror (1933) as Schultz
Heroes for Sale (1933) as Pa Dennis
Midnight Mary (1933) as Clerk
Don't Bet on Love (1933) as Pop McCaffery
Pilgrimage (1933) as Dad Saunders
Turn Back the Clock (1933) as Dr. Henderson (uncredited)
Beauty for Sale (1933) as Freddy Gordon
Torch Singer (1933) as Judson
Wild Boys of the Road (1933) as Mr. Cadman (uncredited)
Female (1933) as Drunk at Hamburger Stand (uncredited)
Hell and High Water (1933) as Peck Wealin
Two Alone (1934) as Sandy Roberts
Caravan (1934) as Notary
The Quitter (1934) as Ed Tilford
She Made Her Bed (1934) as Joe Olesen
The Loudspeaker (1934) as Pop Calloway
Return of the Terror (1934) as Jessup
Judge Priest (1934) as Sergeant Jimmy Bagby
The President Vanishes (1934) as Richard Norton
Anne of Green Gables (1934) as Dr. Tatum
In Spite of Danger (1935) as Pop Sullivan
Eight Bells (1935) as Grayson
Party Wire (1935) as Will Oliver
One Frightened Night (1935) as Jasper Whyte
Shanghai (1935) as Truesdale
Alice Adams (1935) as J. A. Lamb
King Solomon of Broadway (1935) as Uncle Winchester
Rendezvous (1935) as Martin
Super-Speed (1935) as Terry Devlin
Ah, Wilderness! (1935) as Dave McComber
The Petrified Forest (1936) as Gramp Maple
The Voice of Bugle Ann (1936) as Cal Royster
Small Town Girl (1936) as Dr. Ned Fabre
Libeled Lady (1936) as Mr. Bane
Without Orders (1936) as J.P. Kendrick
Sinner Take All (1936) as Aaron
The Good Earth (1937) as Old Father
A Family Affair (1937) as Frank Redmond
Captains Courageous (1937) as Uncle Salters
Between Two Women (1937) as Dr. Webster
Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937) as James K. Blakeley
Bad Guy (1937) as Dan Gray
Big City (1937) as The Mayor
The Bad Man of Brimstone (1937) as Barney Lane
Of Human Hearts (1938) as Jim Meeker
The Girl of the Golden West (1938) as Uncle Davy
Three Comrades (1938) as Local Doctor
Three Loves Has Nancy (1938) as Grandpa Briggs
Listen, Darling (1938) as Uncle Joe
Artists and Models Abroad (1938) as James Harper
Stand Up and Fight (1939) as 'Old Puff'
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor (1939) as 'Doc' Heath
Sudden Money (1939) as Grandpa Casey Patterson
The Man Who Dared (1939) as Ulysses Porterfield
The Wizard of Oz (1939) as Uncle Henry
Dust Be My Destiny (1939) as Pop
Hero for a Day (1939) as Uncle Frank 'Lucky' Higgins
Sabotage (1939) as Major Matt Grayson
The Grapes of Wrath (1940) as William James "Grandpa" Joad
Johnny Apollo (1940) as Judge Emmett T. Brennan
Earthbound (1940) as Mr. Whimser
Rhythm on the River (1940) as Uncle Caleb
Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) as Insp. Queen
Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940) as Ranger Ben Caldwalder
Tobacco Road (1941) as Jeeter
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as Inspector Richard Queen
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime (1941) as Insp. Queen
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring (1941) as Insp. Queen
They Died with Their Boots On (1941) as California Joe
A Close Call for Ellery Queen (1942) as Inspector Queen
A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen (1942) as Insp. Queen
Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen (1942) as Inspector Richard Queen
Crash Dive (1943) as Pop (uncredited)
Follow the Boys (1944) as Nick West
Atlantic City (1944) as Jake Taylor
The Impatient Years (1944) as Benjamin L. Pidgeon, Bellboy
Gunfighters (1947) as Inskip - Rancher
The Enchanted Valley (1948) as Grandpa
Sand (1949) as Doug
When I Grow Up (1951) as Grandpa Reed (final film role)
Prior to The Wizard of Oz, Grapewin appeared in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Broadway Melody of 1938 with Judy Garland (Oz's Dorothy) and Buddy Ebsen (Oz's original Tin Man). He also appeared with Garland in Listen, Darling.
References
^ ab "Charles Grapewin Is Dead at 86; Stage Comedian Scored in Movies; Portrayed Jeeter Lester in Film 'Tobacco Road,' Grampa in 'Grapes of Wrath' Was "Pop" in Three Pictures". The New York Times. February 3, 1956. Retrieved 2014-01-23.Charles Grapewin, who acted the roles of Jeeter Lester in Tobacco Road and of Grampa in Grapes of Wrath in the movies, died today at his home in Corona. His age was 86.
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^ "Mrs. Charles Grapewin". The New York Times. September 12, 1943. Retrieved 2007-08-21.Mrs. Anna Chance Grapewin, wife of the character actor, Charles Grapewin, died yesterday in the ...
^ "Charles Grapewin Weds Divorcee," The Philadelphia Inquirer, 11 Jan 1945, page 9, http://fultonhistory.com:8089/highlighter/doc/a08daca9734926a635deb35b3cbed923.pdf#page=1[permanent dead link]
^ Complete Index to World Film, Chimmie Hicks at the Races, accessed 02-19-2009
^ sinema.com (Turkish) Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, Chimmie Hicks and the Rum Omelet, accessed 02-19-2009
^ Chimmie Hicks at the Races[permanent dead link]Library of Congress Moving Image Collection, "Chimmie Hicks at the races / American Mutoscope and Biograph Company", accessed 02-19-2009
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Grapewin. |
Charley Grapewin on IMDb
Charley Grapewin at the Internet Broadway Database
"Charley Grapewin". Find a Grave. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
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