WALTER BRENNAN
INFORMATION FROM IDMb
Date of birth
25 July 1894
Swampscott, Massachusetts, USA
Date of death
21 September 1974
Oxnard, California, USA. (emphysema)
Birth name
Walter Andrew Brennan
Height
5' 11" (1.80 m)
Spouse
Ruth Wells (1920 - 21 September 1974) (his death)
Trivia
First actor to accumulate three Academy Awards and to date still the only actor to win three Oscars as Best Supporting Actor.
Daughter: Ruth Brennan
Sons: Arthur Wells 'Mike' Brennan and Andy Brennan.
Interred at San Fernando Mission Cemetery, San Fernando, Los Angeles County, California, USA
Had four top 100 singles, including the Top 5 hit "Old Rivers" (Liberty Records) which first charted on April 7, 1962. The single spent 11 weeks on the Billboard charts and peaked at number 5.
He won the first ever Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1936 for "Come and Get It."
Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1970.
His relatives still live in and around Joseph, Oregon where the actor maintained a functioning ranch.
Owned a ranch and several businesses in Joseph, Oregon, including the Indian Lodge Motel which still displays several of his portraits in the office.
Hardly ever played the villain, usually being cast as the somewhat eccentric pal to the hero. An exception was his turn as the heartless Old Man Clanton in My Darling Clementine (1946), directed by the prickly John Ford. Ford and Brennan did not get along, and Ford was one of the few directors Brennan didn't collaborate with more than once throughout his career.
Always fiscally conservative, he became politically active in later life when he saw many of the things he held dear being
eroded by the counterculture movement. He supported George Wallace's presidential campaign in 1968 and in 1972 supported extreme right-wing Republican Representative John Schmitz, as the incumbent President Richard Nixon was viewed as too progressive by many Republicans.
After his military service during World War I, Brennan moved to Los Angeles,
where he got involved in the real-estate market and made a fortune.
Unfortunately the market took a sudden downturn and Brennan lost almost all of his money.
Broke, he began taking bit parts in films in order to earn money, and his career progressed from there.
Mini Biography
In many ways the most successful and familiar character actor of American sound films and the only actor to date to
win three Oscars for Best Supporting Actor, Walter Brennan attended college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, studying engineering.
While in school he became interested in acting and performed in school plays.
He worked some in vaudeville and also in various jobs such as clerking in a bank and as a lumberjack.
He toured in small musical comedy companies before entering the military in 1917.
After his war service he went to Guatemala and raised pineapples, then migrated to Los Angeles, where he speculated in real estate.
A few jobs as a film extra came his way beginning in 1923, then some work as a stuntman.
He eventually achieved speaking roles, going from bit parts to substantial supporting parts in scores of features and short subjects between 1927 and 1938. In 1936 his role in Come and Get It (1936) won him the very first Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. He would win it twice more in the decade, and be nominated for a fourth. His range was enormous.
He could play sophisticated businessmen, con artists, local yokels,
cowhands and military officers with apparent equal ease.
An accident in 1932 cost him most of his teeth, and he most often was seen in eccentric rural parts,
often playing characters much older than his actual age.
His career never really declined, and in the 1950s he became an even more endearing and familiar figure in several television series,
most famously "The Real McCoys" (1957). He died in 1974 of emphysema, a beloved figure in movies and TV,
the target of countless comic impressionists, and one of the best and most prolific actors of his time.
Jim Beaver
Mini Biography-2
from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
Walter Brennan was still in his 30s when he began playing crotchety old men onscreen, and he did it better than just about anyone else. At that time his wiry frame, thinning hair, lost teeth, and weary expression made him look much older than he really was, which may have hurt his vanity but stood him in good stead with movie producers. While studying engineering in college, Brennan caught the acting bug and toured with small vaudeville troupes prior to serving a hitch in the armed services during World War 1. He went to Hollywood in the mid-1920s and entered pictures as an extra; within a few years he was playing bits (in films like 1930's The King of Jazz 1935's The Bride of Frankenstein and even The ThreeStooges' 1934 short-subject Woman Haters but he eventually graduated to supporting roles. The first actor to win three Academy Awards-for Come and Get It (1936), Kentucky (1938), and The Westerner (1940, in a particularly vivid performance as mercurial Judge Roy Bean)-Brennan displayed his range in dozens of roles, most effectively in Westerns. He supported John Wayne in Red River (1948) and Rio Bravo (1959), and made a memorable Ike Clanton in My Darling Clementine (1946). Among his more than 100 feature films: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938), The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939), Sergeant York (1941, another Oscar nomination), Meet John Doe (1941), The Pride of the Yankees (1942), To Have and Have Not (1944), Task Force (1949), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), Come Next Spring (1956), How the West Was Won (1962), Those Calloways (1965), and The GnomeMobile (1967). With an impressive body of film work behind him, Brennan starred in three TV series, "The Real McCoys" (which ran six seasons), "Tycoon," and "The Guns of Will Sonnett." He even had a hit record in later years, the spoken/sung "Old Rivers," which led to several albums of similar material.
Copyright © 1994 Leonard Maltin, used by arrangement with Signet, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.
Filmography
Actor
1. Smoke in the Wind (1975) .... H. P. Kingman
2. Home for the Holidays (1972) (TV) .... Benjamin Morgan
... aka Deadly Desires
3. Two for the Money (1972/I) (TV) .... Cody Guilford
4. "To Rome with Love" (1969) TV Series .... Andy Pruitt (1970-71)
5. The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again (1970) (TV) .... Nash Crawford
6. The Young Country (1970) (TV) .... Sheriff Matt Fenley
7. The Over-the-Hill Gang (1969) (TV) .... Nash Crawford
8. Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) .... Pa Danby
9. The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968) .... Renssaeler Bower
10. "The Guns of Will Sonnett" (1967) TV Series .... Will Sonnett (1967-1969)
11. Who's Minding the Mint? (1967) .... Pop Gillis
12. The Gnome-Mobile (1967) .... D.J. Mulrooney/Knobby
13. The Oscar (1966) .... Orrin C. Quentin
14. Those Calloways (1965) .... Alf Simes
15. "The Tycoon" (1964) TV Series .... Walter Andrews (1964-65)
16. How the West Was Won (1962) .... Col. Jeb Hawkins
17. Shoot Out at Big Sag (1962) .... 'Preacher' Hawker
18. Rio Bravo (1959) .... Stumpy
19. "The Real McCoys" (1957) TV Series .... Grandpa Amos McCoy
... aka The McCoys
20. God Is My Partner (1957) .... Doctor Charles Grayson
21. Tammy and the Bachelor (1957) .... Tammy's Grandpa
... aka Tammy (UK)
... aka Tammy and the Bachelor (UK)
22. The Way to the Gold (1957) .... Uncle George
23. The Proud Ones (1956) .... Jake, Deputy Jailer
24. Good-bye, My Lady (1956) .... Uncle Jesse Jackson
... aka Goodbye, My Lady (USA: cable TV title)
... aka The Boy and the Laughing Dog (USA: reissue title)
25. Come Next Spring (1956) .... Jeffrey Storys
26. Glory (1956) .... Ned Otis
27. At Gunpoint (1955) .... Doc Lacy
... aka Gunpoint! (UK)
28. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) .... Doc T.R. Velie Jr.
29. Man On a Bus (1955)
30. Four Guns to the Border (1954) .... Simon Bhumer
... aka Shadow Valley (USA)
31. The Far Country (1954) .... Ben Tatum (Jeff's partner)
32. Drums Across the River (1954) .... Sam Brannon
33. Sea of Lost Ships (1954) .... C.P.O 'Chief' O'Malley
34. Lure of the Wilderness (1952) .... Jim Harper
35. We're Not Married! (1952) (uncredited) .... Rural suitor (deleted sequence)
36. Return of the Texan (1952) .... Firth Crockett
37. The Wild Blue Yonder (1951) .... Maj. Gen. Wolfe
... aka Thunder Across the Pacific (UK)
38. Best of the Badmen (1951) .... 'Doc' Butcher
39. Along the Great Divide (1951) .... Tim 'Pop' Keith
... aka The Travelers (USA)
40. Surrender (1950) .... Sheriff Bill Howard
41. The Showdown (1950) .... Cap MacKellar
42. Curtain Call at Cactus Creek (1950) .... Rimrock
... aka Take the Stage (UK)
43. A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950) .... Terence Sweeny
44. Singing Guns (1950) .... Dr. Jonathan Mark
45. Task Force (1949) .... Pete Richard
46. Brimstone (1949) .... Brimstone 'Pop' Courteen
47. The Green Promise (1949) .... Mr. Matthews
... aka Raging Waters (UK)
48. Blood on the Moon (1948) .... Kris Barden
49. Red River (1948) .... 'Groot' Nadine
50. Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948) .... Tony Maule
... aka Summer Lightning (UK)
51. Driftwood (1947) .... Murph
52. My Darling Clementine (1946) .... Old Man Clanton
... aka John Ford's My Darling Clementine (USA: complete title)
53. Nobody Lives Forever (1946) .... Pop Gruber
54. Centennial Summer (1946) .... Jesse Rogers
55. A Stolen Life (1946) .... Eben Folger
56. Dakota (1945) .... Capt. Bounce of the Riverbird
57. The Princess and the Pirate (1944) .... Featherhead
58. To Have and Have Not (1944) .... Eddie
59. Home in Indiana (1944) .... J. F. 'Thunder' Bolt
60. The North Star (1943) .... Karp
... aka Armored Attack (USA: recut version)
61. The Last Will and Testament of Tom Smith (1943) .... George, Mailman
... aka War Information Film No. 76
62. Slightly Dangerous (1943) .... Cornelius Burden
63. Hangmen Also Die (1943) .... Prof. Stephen Novotny
... aka Hangmen Also Die! (UK)
... aka Lest We Forget
64. Stand by for Action (1942) .... Chief Yeoman Henry Johnson
... aka Cargo of Innocents (UK)
65. The Pride of the Yankees (1942) .... Sam Blake
66. Rise and Shine (1941) .... Grandpa
67. Swamp Water (1941) .... Tom Keefer
... aka The Man Who Came Back (UK)
68. Sergeant York (1941) .... Pastor Rosier Pile
69. Meet John Doe (1941) .... The Colonel
... aka Frank Capra's 'Meet John Doe' (USA: complete title)
... aka John Doe, Dynamite (UK)
70. This Woman Is Mine (1941) .... Captain Jonathan Thorne
... aka Fury at Sea (USA: reissue title)
71. Nice Girl? (1941) .... Hector Titus
72. The Westerner (1940) .... Judge Roy Bean
73. Maryland (1940) .... William Stewart
74. Northwest Passage (1940) .... Hunk Marriner
75. Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President (1939) .... Jim
76. Stanley and Livingstone (1939) .... Jeff Slocum
77. They Shall Have Music (1939) .... Prof. Lawson
... aka Melody of Youth (UK)
... aka Ragged Angels (USA: reissue title)
78. The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) .... Walter Ash
79. Kentucky (1938) .... Peter Goodwin
80. The Cowboy and the Lady (1938) .... Sugar
81. Mother Carey's Chickens (1938) .... Mr. Ossian Popham
82. The Texans (1938) .... Ranch foreman
83. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) .... Muff Potter
84. The Buccaneer (1938) .... Ezra Peavey
85. Wild and Woolly (1937) .... Gramp Flynn
86. Affairs of Cappy Ricks (1937) .... Cappy Ricks
87. When Love Is Young (1937) .... Uncle Hugo
88. She's Dangerous (1937) .... Ote O'Leary
... aka Blonde Dynamite
89. Banjo on My Knee (1936) .... Newt Holley
90. Come and Get It (1936) .... Swan Bostrom
... aka Roaring Timbers (USA: reissue title)
91. Fury (1936) .... 'Bugs' Meyers
92. The Moon's Our Home (1936) .... Lem
93. These Three (1936) .... Taxi driver
94. Three Godfathers (1936) .... Sam 'Gus' Barton
... aka Miracle in the Sand (USA: TV title)
95. Seven Keys to Baldpate (1935) .... Station Agent
96. Metropolitan (1935) .... Grandpa
97. Barbary Coast (1935) .... Old Atrocity
... aka Port of Wickedness (USA: reissue title)
98. We're in the Money (1935) (uncredited) .... Wedding Witness
99. Alice Adams (1935) (scenes deleted)
... aka Booth Tarkington's Alice Adams (USA: complete title)
100. The Perfect Tribute (1935) (uncredited) .... Stone Cutter
101. Welcome Home (1935) (uncredited) .... Walter
102. Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935) .... 'Legs' Garnett
... aka The Memory Expert (UK)
103. Lady Tubbs (1935) (uncredited) .... Joseph
... aka The Gay Lady (UK)
104. Spring Tonic (1935) (uncredited)
105. Party Wire (1935) (uncredited) .... Paul
106. Bride of Frankenstein (1935) (uncredited) .... Neighbor
... aka The Bride of Frankenstein (USA: poster title)
107. West Point of the Air (1935) (uncredited) .... Soldier at Kelly's Wreckage
108. The Wedding Night (1935) .... Jenkins
109. Hunger Pains (1935) .... Secretary to Sylvester J. Sutton Sr.
110. Restless Knights (1935) (uncredited) .... Father
111. Law Beyond the Range (1935) .... Abner (Pete in credits)
112. Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935)
... aka Charles Dickens' 'Mystery of Edwin Drood' (USA: complete title)
113. Northern Frontier (1935) .... Stuttering cook
114. Brick-a-Brac (1935) .... Lem
115. Horses' Collars (1935) (uncredited)
116. Helldorado (1935) (uncredited) .... Pete, the Waiter
117. Biography of a Bachelor Girl (1935) (uncredited) .... Reporter on Ship
118. A Wicked Woman (1934) (scenes deleted) .... Slot Machine Man
119. The Painted Veil (1934) (scenes deleted)
120. Prescott Kid (1934) .... Zeke (Stage Driver)
121. Cheating Cheaters (1934) (uncredited)
122. There's Always Tomorrow (1934) (uncredited)
... aka Too Late for Love
123. Tailspin Tommy (1934) (uncredited) .... Intern [Ch. 8]
124. Gridiron Flash (1934) (uncredited) .... Diner Proprietor
... aka Luck of the Game (UK)
125. Great Expectations (1934) (uncredited) .... Prisoner on Ship
126. Death on the Diamond (1934) (uncredited) .... Hot dog vendor
127. Whom the Gods Destroy (1934) (uncredited) .... Clifford
128. Murder in the Private Car (1934) (uncredited) .... Switchman
... aka Murder on the Runaway Train (UK)
129. The Life of Vergie Winters (1934) (uncredited) .... Roscoe, a Gossiper
130. Half a Sinner (1934) .... Radio announcer
131. Woman Haters (1934) (uncredited) .... Train conductor
132. Fishing for Trouble (1934)
133. I'll Tell the World (1934)
134. Uncertain Lady (1934)
135. Riptide (1934) (uncredited) .... Chauffeur
136. Good Dame (1934) (uncredited) .... Elmer Spicer
... aka Good Girl (UK)
137. George White's Scandals (1934) (uncredited)
138. The Crosby Case (1934) (uncredited) .... Ship's Messenger
... aka The Crosby Murder Case (UK)
139. The Poor Rich (1934) (uncredited) .... Dr. Johnson the Coroner
140. Radio Dough (1934)
141. Paradise Valley (1934) .... Farmer Hiram
142. You Can't Buy Everything (1934) (uncredited) .... Train vendor
143. Cross Country Cruise (1934) (uncredited) .... Niagara Falls Boatman
144. Fugitive Lovers (1934) (uncredited) .... Second Bus Driver
145. Beloved (1934/I) .... Stuttering Boarder
146. King for a Night (1933) (uncredited) .... Soda Jerk
147. From Headquarters (1933) (uncredited)
148. The Invisible Man (1933) (uncredited) .... Bicycle owner
149. My Woman (1933) (uncredited)
150. Curtain at Eight (1933) (uncredited) .... Bit Role
151. Saturday's Millions (1933) (uncredited) .... Reporter
152. Golden Harvest (1933) (uncredited)
153. Sensation Hunters (1933) .... Stuttering Waiter
154. One Year Later (1933) .... Yokel
155. Sing, Sinner, Sing (1933)
... aka Clip Joint (USA)
156. Baby Face (1933) (scenes deleted)
157. Strange People (1933) .... Radio Repairman
158. The Phantom of the Air (1933/I) .... 'Skid'
159. Lilly Turner (1933) (scenes deleted)
160. The Kiss Before the Mirror (1933) (uncredited) .... Bit Part
161. The Big Cage (1933) (uncredited) .... Ticket Taker
162. The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble (1933) (uncredited) .... Bit Role
163. Rustlers' Roundup (1933) (uncredited) .... Walt
164. Girl Missing (1933) (uncredited) .... Joe, Garage Attendant
165. Silent Men (1933) .... 'Cyote' Carter (replaced by Syd Saylor)
166. Goldie Gets Along (1933) .... Stuttering Waiter
167. Parachute Jumper (1933) (uncredited) .... Counterman at Jewel Diner
168. Man of Action (1933) .... Cashier Summers
169. Manhattan Tower (1932) (uncredited) .... Mechanic
170. Afraid to Talk (1932) (uncredited) .... Sign carrier
... aka Merry-Go-Round (USA: new title)
171. Strange Justice (1932) (uncredited)
172. Once in a Lifetime (1932) (uncredited) .... Lighting Technician
173. The All-American (1932)
... aka Sport of a Nation (UK)
174. The Fourth Horseman (1932) (uncredited) .... Town Drunk
175. Fighting for Justice (1932) (uncredited) .... Blackie Fletcher
176. Iceman's Ball (1932) .... Officer Dugan
177. Cornered (1932) (uncredited) .... Court Bailiff
178. Miss Pinkerton (1932) (uncredited) .... Police Dispatcher
179. Speed Madness (1932) (uncredited) .... Joe
180. Hello Trouble (1932) (uncredited) .... A Texas Ranger
181. Two-Fisted Law (1932) .... Deputy Sheriff Bendix
182. Scandal for Sale (1932) (uncredited)
... aka Ambition
183. The Airmail Mystery (1932) .... Holly
184. Impatient Maiden (1932) (uncredited) .... Cigar Stand Proprietor
185. Law and Order (1932) (uncredited) .... Lanky Smith (saloon swamper)
... aka Guns A'Blazing (USA: reissue title)
186. Texas Cyclone (1932) .... Sheriff Lew Collins
187. A House Divided (1931) .... Musician
188. Scratch-As-Catch-Can (1931)
189. Neck and Neck (1931) .... Hector
190. Is There Justice? (1931)
191. Dancing Dynamite (1931) .... Undetermined Role
192. Honeymoon Lane (1931) .... Driver
193. Heroes of the Flames (1931) (uncredited) .... Bit Part in Chapter Twelve
194. Many a Slip (1931) (uncredited)
195. Hello Russia (1931)
196. Ooh La-La (1930)
197. See America Thirst (1930) (uncredited) .... Spumoni Bodyguard
198. Parlez Vous (1930)
199. Little Accident (1930) (uncredited)
200. Captain of the Guard (1930) (uncredited) .... Peasant
201. Dames Ahoy (1930) (uncredited) .... Side Show Barker
202. The Shannons of Broadway (1929) .... Hez
203. The Long, Long Trail (1929) .... 'Skinny'' Rawlins
204. The Last Performance (1929) (uncredited) .... Clown
... aka The Last Call (UK)
205. One Hysterical Night (1929) .... Paul Revere
206. Flying High (1929) (uncredited) .... Kidnapper
207. The Lariat Kid (1929) .... Pat O'Shea
208. Smilin' Guns (1929) .... Ranch Foreman
209. The Cohens and Kellys in Atlantic City (1929) (uncredited) .... Bit at Police Station
210. Silks and Saddles (1929) (uncredited) .... Undetermined Role
... aka Thoroughbreds (UK)
211. The Racket (1928) (uncredited) .... Man on Street in Front of Barber Shop
212. Hot Heels (1928)
213. The Ballyhoo Buster (1928)
214. Blake of Scotland Yard (1927) (uncredited) .... Henchman
215. The Ridin' Rowdy (1927)
216. Tearin' Into Trouble (1927) .... Billy Martin
217. Sensation Seekers (1927) (uncredited) .... Below Deck Yacht Crewman
218. Flashing Oars (1927) (uncredited) .... Bit Role
219. The Collegians (1926) (uncredited) .... Various Roles in Individual Episodes
220. The Ice Flood (1926) (uncredited)
221. Watch Your Wife (1926)
222. Webs of Steel (1925) (uncredited)
223. Lorraine of the Lions (1925) (uncredited)
Himself
1. Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Plays Golf (1955) .... Himself
2. Light's Diamond Jubilee (1954) (TV) .... Himself
3. The 26th Annual Academy Awards (1954) (TV) .... Himself - Presenter: Best Supporting Actress
4. The King of Jazz (1930) .... Himself
Archive Footage
1. The Real McCoys Reunion (2000) (TV) .... Himself/Grandpa Amos McCoy
2. Classe américaine, La (1993) .... Stumpy
3. Gunfighters of the Old West (1992) (V) (uncredited) .... Clanton
4. Land of Liberty (1939)
Notable TV Guest Appearances
1. "This Is Your Life" playing "Himself" in episode: "Richard Crenna" 23 February 1972
2. "Alias Smith and Jones" playing "Silky O'Sullivan" in episode: "Don't Get Mad, Get Even" (episode # 2.21) 17 February 1972
3. "Disneyland" playing "Renssaeler Bower" in episode: "The Family Band: Part 2" (episode # 18.12) 30 January 1972
4. "Disneyland" playing "Renssaeler Bower" in episode: "The Family Band: Part 1" (episode # 18.11) 23 January 1972
5. "Alias Smith and Jones" playing "Gantry" in episode: "21 Days to Tenstrike" (episode # 2.15) 6 January 1972
6. "Alias Smith and Jones" playing "Silky O'Sullivan" in episode: "The Day They Hanged Kid Curry" (episode # 2.1) 16 September 1971
7. "Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters" playing "Himself" 24 October 1969
8. "Disneyland" playing "Alf Simes" in episode: "Those Calloways: Part 3" (episode # 15.15) 26 January 1969
9. "Disneyland" playing "Alf Simes" in episode: "Those Calloways: Part 2" (episode # 15.14) 19 January 1969
10. "Disneyland" playing "Alf Simes" in episode: "Those Calloways: Part 1" (episode # 15.13) 12 January 1969
11. "What's My Line?" playing "Mystery Guest" 21 August 1966
12. "What's My Line?" playing "Himself - Mystery Guest" 22 November 1959
13. "Colgate Theatre" playing "Mr. Tutt" in episode: "Mr. Tutt" 10 September 1958
14. "Wide Wide World" playing "Himself" in episode: "The Western" 1958
15. "Zane Grey Theater" playing "Sheriff Larson" in episode: "Ride a Lonely Trail" (episode # 2.5) 2 November 1957
16. "What's My Line?" playing "Mystery Guest" 12 May 1957
17. "The Ford Television Theatre" playing "Duffy" in episode: "Duffy's Man" (episode # 5.12) 19 December 1956
18. "Zane Grey Theater" playing "Joe" in episode: "Vengeance Canyon" (episode # 1.9) 30 November 1956
19. "Cavalcade of America" in episode: "Women's Work" (episode # 5.9) 20 November 1956
20. "Ethel Barrymore Theater" in episode: "The Gentle Years" (episode # 1.2) 28 September 1956
21. "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" in episode: "The Happy Sun" (episode # 5.41) 13 July 1956
22. "Screen Directors Playhouse" playing "Grandpa Atkins" in episode: "The Bush Roper" (episode # 1.8) 23 November 1955
23. "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" in episode: "Mr. Ears" (episode # 4.31) 8 April 1955
24. "This Is Your Life" playing "Himself" in episode: "Walter Brennan" 30 March 1955
25. "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" in episode: "Lucky Thirteen" (episode # 3.11) 13 November 1953
