Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 â€" February 2, 1956)
was an American vaudeville and circus performer, a writer, and a stage
and film actor. He worked in over 100 motion pictures during the
silent and sound eras, most notably portraying Uncle Henry in
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's The Wizard of Oz (1939), Grandpa Joad in The
Grapes of Wrath (1940), Jeeter Lester in Tobacco Road (1941), and
California Joe in They Died With Their Boots On (1941).Born in Xenia,
Ohio, Charles 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
be featured 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 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 Petrified Forest, The Grapes of
Wrath, Tobacco Road, and in what is probably his best-remembered role:
Uncle Henry in The Wizard of Oz. Prior to being cast in that film,
Grapewin performed in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Broadway Melody of 1938
with Judy Garland (Dorothy in Oz) and Buddy Ebsen (the original Tin
Man in Oz). He also performed with Garland in Listen, Darling. Later,
in the early 1940s, he had a recurring role as Inspector Queen in the
Ellery Queen film series.
was an American vaudeville and circus performer, a writer, and a stage
and film actor. He worked in over 100 motion pictures during the
silent and sound eras, most notably portraying Uncle Henry in
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's The Wizard of Oz (1939), Grandpa Joad in The
Grapes of Wrath (1940), Jeeter Lester in Tobacco Road (1941), and
California Joe in They Died With Their Boots On (1941).Born in Xenia,
Ohio, Charles 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
be featured 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 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 Petrified Forest, The Grapes of
Wrath, Tobacco Road, and in what is probably his best-remembered role:
Uncle Henry in The Wizard of Oz. Prior to being cast in that film,
Grapewin performed in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Broadway Melody of 1938
with Judy Garland (Dorothy in Oz) and Buddy Ebsen (the original Tin
Man in Oz). He also performed with Garland in Listen, Darling. Later,
in the early 1940s, he had a recurring role as Inspector Queen in the
Ellery Queen film series.
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