Charley Grapewin

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Charley Grapewin (1900)

Charley Grapewin (* 20th December 1869 in Xenia , Ohio as Charles Ellsworth Grapewin ; † 2. February 1956 in Corona , California ) was an American actor in theater and film.

Life

Charley Grapewin began his career as a trapeze artist and tightrope artist in the circus . As a member of the famous PT Barnum circus , he traveled around the world before turning to acting. From the 1890s he appeared in repertory theaters across America. He also wrote several plays, mostly for himself as the lead actor. Grapewin made his first film appearance in 1900 with the silent film Above the Limit . Despite occasional film appearances, however, he mainly concentrated on his stage career. In 1905 he made an appearance on Broadway in It's Up To You John Henry . Grapewin gave up his acting and circus careers in 1919, worked at General Motors and invested his money. After the stock market crash, the family lost all of their fortune and he returned to acting.

In 1929 Grapewin shot his first talkie . Between 1929 and 1951 he played in over 100 feature films, mostly playing supporting roles in lovable grandfathers or weird backwoodsmen. His most famous role was Uncle Henry at the side of Judy Garland in the classic film The Wizard of Oz (1939). He was also known as Grandpa Joad in The Fruits of Wrath (1940), John Ford's award-winning film adaptation of John Steinbeck 's novel of the same name. In 1941 Grapewin played one of his few leading movie roles as the impoverished southerner Jeeter Lester in Ford's tragic comedy Tabakstrasse based on the novel by Erskine Caldwell . He also took on the role of Inspector Queen in the Ellery Queen film series. From the early 1940s, Grapewin slowly withdrew from the acting business , making his last film When I Grow Up in 1951.

In 1896 he married his wife Anna Chance (1875–1943). The two remained a couple when she died in 1943. Charley Grapewin died in 1956 at the age of 86 and was buried at his wife's side in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.

Grapewin in the silent film Chimmie Hicks at the Races (1902)

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Grapewin, Charley
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH December 20, 1869
PLACE OF BIRTH Xenia , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH 2nd February 1956
Place of death Corona , California