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Charley Grapewin
In the New York Clipper, December 22, 1900
Born	Charley Ellsworth Grapewin December 20, 1869(1869-12-20) Xenia, Ohio, U.S.
Died	February 2, 1956 (aged 86) Corona, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1900 – 1951
Spouse(s)	Anna Chance (m. 1896–1943) «start: (1896)–end+1: (1944)»"Marriage: Anna Chance to Charles Grapewin" Location: (linkback:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Grapewin)

Charley Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 – February 2, 1956) was an American vaudeville performer and a stage and film actor, who portrayed Uncle Henry in The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Grandpa Joad in the film The Grapes of Wrath (1940).

Biography

Born in Xenia, Ohio, Charley Ellsworth Grapewin first worked as an aerialist and trapeze artist in a traveling circus before turning to acting. He performed on stage 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 century. His very first films were 2 "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 of 1900 and released in November of that year.^[1][2][3] During his long career, Grapewin appeared in more than one hundred films, including The Good Earth, The Grapes of Wrath, and Tobacco Road. In the early 1940s, he had a recurring role as Inspector Queen in the Ellery Queen film series.

Grapewin married actress Anna Chance (1875-1943) in 1896 and they remained a devoted couple until her death some 47 years later.^[4]

Grapewin died 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. ^[5]

Partial filmography

References

External links

• Charles Grapewin at the Internet Movie Database
• Charles Grapewin at the Internet Broadway Database
• Charles Grapewin at Find a Grave