Site Revisions Underway Some Features May Not Work
Photo of Charley Grapewin

Charley Grapewin

Acting 86 (deceased) years old Xenia, Ohio, USA ★ 0.8
Born: December 20, 1869
Died: February 2, 1956

Biography

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.

​

External Links

🎬 IMDb

Known For

The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz Uncle Henry 1939
The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath Grandpa Joad 1940
Small Town Girl
Small Town Girl Dr. Ned Fabre 1936
Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road Jeeter Lester 1941
Captains Courageous
Captains Courageous Uncle Salters 1937

Filmography

Acting Credits (105)

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

Powered by

TMDB
× Person photo
❮ Back to Person Search