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.

Known For	Acting
Most Rating	4.093
Birthday	1869-12-19
Place of Birth	Xenia, Ohio, USA
Also Known As	Charles Ellsworth Grapewin, Charles Grapewin,

The Grapes of Wrath

The Wizard of Oz

Judge Priest

Libeled Lady

Dust Be My Destiny

Follow the Boys

One Frightened Night

The Girl of the Golden West

Broadway Melody of 1938

Alice Adams

Anne of Green Gables

Captains Courageous

The Petrified Forest

They Died with Their Boots On

Johnny Apollo

Heroes for Sale

Tobacco Road

A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen

A Close Call for Ellery Queen

Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen

Ellery Queen, Master Detective

Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery

Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime

Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring

Big City

Midnight Mary

Torch Singer

Rendezvous

Listen, Darling

Ah, Wilderness!

Of Human Hearts

Turn Back the Clock

Small Town Girl

Party Wire

Rhythm on the River

A Family Affair

Stand Up and Fight

Shanghai

Hell's House

Are You Listening?

The Impatient Years

The Voice of Bugle Ann

Don't Bet on Love

Hello, Everybody!

Beauty for Sale

Atlantic City

The Millionaire

Between Two Women

Burn 'Em Up O'Connor

Gold Dust Gertie

Bad Guy

Artists and Models Abroad

The Big Timer

The Texas Rangers Ride Again

Sudden Money

Two Alone

The Loudspeaker

Three Loves Has Nancy

The Bad Man of Brimstone

The Washington Masquerade

The Night of June 13

Earthbound

Sand

The Man Who Dared

American Madness

The President Vanishes

Heaven on Earth

Without Orders

Only Saps Work

Eight Bells

Caravan

The Kiss Before the Mirror

Sabotage

The Quitter

Breakdowns of 1936

The Woman in Room 13

Gunfighters

Huddle

The Good Earth

King Solomon of Broadway