Acting · Xenia, Ohio, USA · Born December 20, 1869
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.
MovieThe Wizard of Oz at Sphere
2025
as Uncle Henry (archive footage)
MovieThe Dark Side of the Rainbow
2000
as Uncle Henry (archive footage)
MovieGoing Hollywood: The '30s
1984
as (archive footage)
MovieThat's Entertainment, Part II
1976
as (archive footage)
MovieThe Big Parade of Comedy
1964
as Mr. Bane in 'Libeled Lady' (archive footage) (uncredited)
TVMGM Parade
1955
as self
MovieWhen I Grow Up
1951
as Grandpa Reed
MovieSand
1949
as Doug
MovieThe Enchanted Valley
1948
as Grandpa
MovieGunfighters
1947
as Rancher Inskip
MovieAtlantic City
1944
as Jake Taylor
MovieThe Impatient Years
1944
as Benjamin L. Pidgeon, Bellboy
MovieFollow the Boys
1944
as Nick West
MovieCrash Dive
1943
as Pop
MovieEnemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen
1942
as Inspector Richard Queen
MovieA Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen
1942
as Insp. Queen
MovieA Close Call for Ellery Queen
1942
as Insp. Queen
MovieThey Died with Their Boots On
1941
as California Joe
MovieEllery Queen and the Murder Ring
1941
as Insp. Queen
MovieEllery Queen and the Perfect Crime
1941
as Insp. Queen
MovieEllery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
1941
as Insp. Queen
MovieTobacco Road
1941
as Jeeter Lester
MovieThe Texas Rangers Ride Again
1940
as Ben Caldwalder
MovieEllery Queen, Master Detective
1940
as Insp. Queen
MovieRhythm on the River
1940
as Uncle Caleb
MovieEarthbound
1940
as Mr. Whimser
MovieJohnny Apollo
1940
as Judge Emmett T. Brennan
MovieThe Grapes of Wrath
1940
as Grandpa Joad
MovieSabotage
1939
as Major Matt Grayson
MovieHero for a Day
1939
as Uncle Frank "Lucky" Higgins
MovieDust Be My Destiny
1939
as Pop
MovieThe Wizard of Oz
1939
as Uncle Henry
MovieThe Man Who Dared
1939
as Ulysses Porterfield
MovieSudden Money
1939
as Grandpa Casey Patterson
MovieBurn 'Em Up O'Connor
1939
as Doc Heath
MovieStand Up and Fight
1939
as 'Old Puff'
MovieArtists and Models Abroad
1938
as James Harper
MovieListen, Darling
1938
as Joe Higgins
MovieThree Loves Has Nancy
1938
as Grandpa Briggs
MovieThree Comrades
1938
as Local Doctor
MovieThe Girl of the Golden West
1938
as Uncle Davy
MovieOf Human Hearts
1938
as Jim Meeker
MovieThe Bad Man of Brimstone
1937
as Barney Lane
MovieBig City
1937
as Robert, the Mayor
MovieBad Guy
1937
as Dan Gray
MovieBroadway Melody of 1938
1937
as James K. Blakeley
MovieBetween Two Women
1937
as Dr. Webster
MovieCaptains Courageous
1937
as Uncle Salters
MovieThe Good Earth
1937
as Old Father
MovieA Family Affair
1937
as Frank Redmond
MovieBreakdowns of 1936
1936
as Self
MovieSinner Take All
1936
as Aaron Lampier
MovieWithout Orders
1936
as J.P. Kendrick
MovieLibeled Lady
1936
as Mr. Bane
MovieSmall Town Girl
1936
as Dr. Ned Fabre
MovieThe Voice of Bugle Ann
1936
as Cal Royster
MovieThe Petrified Forest
1936
as Gramp Maple
MovieAh, Wilderness!
1935
as Dave McComber
MovieSuper Speed
1935
as Terry Devlin
MovieRendezvous
1935
as Prof. Martin
MovieKing Solomon of Broadway
1935
as Uncle Winchester
MovieAlice Adams
1935
as J. A. Lamb
MovieShanghai
1935
as Truesdale
MovieOne Frightened Night
1935
as Jasper Whyte
MovieParty Wire
1935
as Will Oliver
MovieEight Bells
1935
as Grayson
MovieIn Spite of Danger
1935
as Pop Sullivan
MovieCaravan
1934
as Notary
MovieAnne of Green Gables
1934
as Dr. Tatum
MovieThe President Vanishes
1934
as Richard Norton
MovieJudge Priest
1934
as Sergeant Jimmy Bagby
MovieReturn of the Terror
1934
as Jessup
MovieThe Loudspeaker
1934
as Pop Calloway
MovieShe Made Her Bed
1934
as Joe Olesen
MovieThe Quitter
1934
as Ed Tilford
MovieTwo Alone
1934
as Sandy Roberts
Hell and High Water
1933
as Peck Wealin
MovieFemale
1933
as Drunk at Hamburger Stand (Uncredited)
MovieWild Boys of the Road
1933
as Mr. Cadman (uncredited)
MovieTorch Singer
1933
as Andrew 'Juddy' Judson
MovieBeauty for Sale
1933
as Freddy Gordon
MovieTurn Back the Clock
1933
as Dr. Henderson (uncredited)
MoviePilgrimage
1933
as Dad Saunders
MovieMidnight Mary
1933
as Clerk
MovieDon't Bet on Love
1933
as Patrick McCaffrey
MovieHeroes for Sale
1933
as Pa Dennis
MovieThe Kiss Before the Mirror
1933
as Schultz
MovieHello, Everybody!
1933
as Jed
MovieNo Man of Her Own
1932
as Clerk
MovieWild Horse Mesa
1932
as Sam Bass
MovieThe Night of June 13
1932
as "Grandpop" Strawn (as Charles Grapewin)
MovieAmerican Madness
1932
as Mr. Jones (uncredited)
MovieThe Washington Masquerade
1932
as Senator Simmons (uncredited)
MovieThe Woman in Room 13
1932
as Andy
MovieHuddle
1932
as Doctor (uncredited)
MovieAre You Listening?
1932
as Pierce
MovieThe Big Timer
1932
as Pop Baldwin
MovieHell's House
1932
as Henry Clark
For the Love of Fanny
1931
as Professor
MovieHeaven on Earth
1931
as Doc Boax
MovieGold Dust Gertie
1931
as Nicholas Hautrey
MovieThe Millionaire
1931
as Ed Powers
MovieOnly Saps Work
1930
as Simeon Tanner
MovieThe Shannons of Broadway
1929
as Swanzey
Above the Limit
1900
as Chimmie Hicks
