Charley Grapewin
Known for: Acting
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
Film
The Wizard of Oz
Uncle Henry
1939
Series
MGM Parade
self
1955
Film
The Grapes of Wrath
Grandpa Joad
1940
Film
The Petrified Forest
Gramp Maple
1936
Film
Libeled Lady
Mr. Bane
1936
Film
They Died with Their Boots On
California Joe
1941
Film
Captains Courageous
Uncle Salters
1937
Film
Tobacco Road
Jeeter Lester
1941
Film
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
1976
Film
Johnny Apollo
Judge Emmett T. Brennan
1940
Film
Gunfighters
Rancher Inskip
1947
Film
The Good Earth
Old Father
1937
Film
Follow the Boys
Nick West
1944
Film
Crash Dive
Pop
1943
Film
The Millionaire
Ed Powers
1931
Film
Dust Be My Destiny
Pop
1939
Film
Sinner Take All
Aaron Lampier
1936
Film
Small Town Girl
Dr. Ned Fabre
1936
Film
The Big Parade of Comedy
Mr. Bane in 'Libeled Lady' (archive footage) (uncredited)
1964
Film
Ah, Wilderness!
Dave McComber
1935
Film
Three Comrades
Local Doctor
1938
Film
Heroes for Sale
Pa Dennis
1933
Film
Wild Boys of the Road
Mr. Cadman (uncredited)
1933
Film
Huddle
Doctor (uncredited)
1932
Film
Female
Drunk at Hamburger Stand (Uncredited)
1933
Film
Alice Adams
J. A. Lamb
1935
Film
American Madness
Mr. Jones (uncredited)
1932
Film
No Man of Her Own
Clerk
1932
Film
Hello, Everybody!
Jed
1933
Film
Rendezvous
Prof. Martin
1935
Film
The Kiss Before the Mirror
Schultz
1933
Film
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
Insp. Queen
1941
Film
Broadway Melody of 1938
James K. Blakeley
1937
Film
A Family Affair
Frank Redmond
1937
Film
Breakdowns of 1936
Self
1936
Film
Midnight Mary
Clerk
1933
Film
Of Human Hearts
Jim Meeker
1938
Film
Super Speed
Terry Devlin
1935
Film
Stand Up and Fight
'Old Puff'
1939
Film
When I Grow Up
Grandpa Reed
1951
Film
The Washington Masquerade
Senator Simmons (uncredited)
1932
Film
Sudden Money
Grandpa Casey Patterson
1939
Film
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
Insp. Queen
1941
Film
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(archive footage)
1984
Film
The Night of June 13
"Grandpop" Strawn (as Charles Grapewin)
1932
Film
Earthbound
Mr. Whimser
1940
Film
The Girl of the Golden West
Uncle Davy
1938
Film
Judge Priest
Sergeant Jimmy Bagby
1934
Film
She Made Her Bed
Joe Olesen
1934
Film
Three Loves Has Nancy
Grandpa Briggs
1938
Film
Are You Listening?
Pierce
1932
Film
Big City
Robert, the Mayor
1937
Film
Two Alone
Sandy Roberts
1934
Film
Torch Singer
Andrew 'Juddy' Judson
1933
Film
The Bad Man of Brimstone
Barney Lane
1937
Film
Only Saps Work
Simeon Tanner
1930
Film
The Texas Rangers Ride Again
Ben Caldwalder
1940
Film
Listen, Darling
Joe Higgins
1938
Film
Pilgrimage
Dad Saunders
1933
Film
Atlantic City
Jake Taylor
1944
Film
Artists and Models Abroad
James Harper
1938
Film
Caravan
Notary
1934
Film
Shanghai
Truesdale
1935
Film
Anne of Green Gables
Dr. Tatum
1934
Film
The Impatient Years
Benjamin L. Pidgeon, Bellboy
1944
Film
The Loudspeaker
Pop Calloway
1934
Film
Ellery Queen, Master Detective
Insp. Queen
1940
Film
Sabotage
Major Matt Grayson
1939
Film
Return of the Terror
Jessup
1934
Film
Rhythm on the River
Uncle Caleb
1940
Film
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring
Insp. Queen
1941
Film
Turn Back the Clock
Dr. Henderson (uncredited)
1933
Film
Between Two Women
Dr. Webster
1937
Film
The President Vanishes
Richard Norton
1934
Film
Bad Guy
Dan Gray
1937
Film
A Close Call for Ellery Queen
Insp. Queen
1942
Film
The Quitter
Ed Tilford
1934
Film
The Shannons of Broadway
Swanzey
1929
Film
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
Uncle Henry (archive footage)
2000
Film
Beauty for Sale
Freddy Gordon
1933
Film
One Frightened Night
Jasper Whyte
1935
Film
The Big Timer
Pop Baldwin
1932
Film
Party Wire
Will Oliver
1935
Film
The Man Who Dared
Ulysses Porterfield
1939
Film
The Woman in Room 13
Andy
1932
Film
Without Orders
J.P. Kendrick
1936
Film
Eight Bells
Grayson
1935
Film
Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen
Inspector Richard Queen
1942
Film
The Voice of Bugle Ann
Cal Royster
1936
For the Love of Fanny
Professor
1931
Film
Hero for a Day
Uncle Frank "Lucky" Higgins
1939
Film
Wild Horse Mesa
Sam Bass
1932
Hell and High Water
Peck Wealin
1933
Film
King Solomon of Broadway
Uncle Winchester
1935
Film
Heaven on Earth
Doc Boax
1931
Film
A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen
Insp. Queen
1942
Film
Hell's House
Henry Clark
1932
Film
The Wizard of Oz at Sphere
Uncle Henry (archive footage)
2025
Film
Sand
Doug
1949
Film
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
Doc Heath
1939
Film
The Enchanted Valley
Grandpa
1948
Film
Don't Bet on Love
Patrick McCaffrey
1933
Film
In Spite of Danger
Pop Sullivan
1935
Film
Gold Dust Gertie
Nicholas Hautrey
1931
Above the Limit
Chimmie Hicks
1900