
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.
Movie | And the Oscar Goes To... | 2014-02-02 | |
Movie | The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender | 1997-11-01 | |
Movie | Bogart: The Untold Story | 1997-01-05 | |
Movie | Home for the Holidays | Benjamin Morgan | 1974-07-13 |
Movie | Two for the Money | Cody Guilford | 1972-02-27 |
Series | Alias Smith and Jones | Unknown | 1971-01-05 |
Movie | The Over The Hill Gang Rides Again | Nash Crawford | 1970-11-17 |
Movie | The Young Country | Sheriff Matt Fenley | 1970-03-18 |
Movie | The Over-the-Hill Gang | Nash Crawford | 1969-10-07 |
Movie | Support Your Local Sheriff | Pa Danby | 1969-03-26 |
Series | The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour | Unknown | 1969-01-22 |
Movie | The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band | Grandpa Bower | 1968-04-19 |
Movie | Who's Minding The Mint? | Pop Gillis | 1967-09-26 |
Series | The Guns of Will Sonnett | 1967-09-08 | |
Movie | The Gnome-Mobile | D.J. Mulrooney | 1967-07-17 |
Movie | The Oscar | Quentin | 1966-03-04 |
Movie | Those Calloways | Alf Simes | 1965-01-28 |
Movie | How the West Was Won | Col. Jeb Hawkins | 1962-11-01 |
Movie | Shoot Out At Big Sag | 'Preacher' Hawker | 1962-05-31 |
Movie | Rio Bravo | Stumpy | 1959-03-17 |
Movie | Tammy and the Bachelor | John Dinwitty | 1957-06-14 |
Movie | God Is My Partner | Dr. Charles Grayson | 1957-07-01 |
Series | The Real McCoys | Grandpa Amos McCoy | 1957-10-03 |
Series | The Dinah Shore Chevy Show | Unknown | 1956-10-05 |
Movie | The Proud Ones | Jake | 1956-05-15 |
Movie | Good-bye, My Lady | Uncle Jesse Jackson | 1956-05-12 |
Movie | Come Next Spring | Jeffrey Storys | 1956-03-09 |
Movie | Glory | Ned Otis | 1956-01-11 |
Series | Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater | Unknown | 1956-10-05 |
Movie | At Gunpoint | Bob Dennis | 1955-12-25 |
Movie | Bad Day at Black Rock | Doc T.R. Velie Jr. | 1955-01-07 |
Movie | The Far Country | Ben Tatum | 1954-02-12 |
Movie | Four Guns to the Border | Simon Bhumer | 1954-11-03 |
Movie | Drums Across the River | Sam Brannon | 1954-06-01 |
Series | The Academy Awards | Unknown | 1953-03-18 |
Series | This Is Your Life | Unknown | 1952-10-01 |
Series | Cavalcade of America | Unknown | 1952-10-01 |
Movie | Lure of the Wilderness | Jim Harper | 1952-07-16 |
Movie | Return of the Texan | Grandpa Firth Crockett | 1952-02-13 |
Movie | Best of the Badmen | 'Doc' Butcher | 1951-08-09 |
Movie | Along the Great Divide | Timothy 'Pop' Keith | 1951-06-02 |
Series | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Unknown | 1951-10-05 |
Movie | The Wild Blue Yonder | Maj. Gen. Wolfe | 1951-12-05 |
Movie | Surrender | Sheriff Bill Howard | 1950-09-15 |
Movie | The Showdown | Cap MacKellar | 1950-08-15 |
Movie | Curtain Call at Cactus Creek | 1950-05-24 | |
Movie | A Ticket to Tomahawk | Terence Sweeny | 1950-05-19 |
Movie | Singing Guns | Dr. Jonathan Mark | 1950-02-28 |
Movie | The Green Promise | Mr. Matthews | 1949-03-21 |
Movie | Brimstone | Pop Courteen | 1949-08-15 |
Movie | Task Force | Pete Richard | 1949-08-30 |
Movie | Blood on the Moon | Kris Barden | 1948-11-09 |
Movie | Red River | 'Groot' Nadine | 1948-08-26 |
Movie | Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! | Tony Maule | 1948-03-10 |
Movie | Driftwood | Murph | 1947-09-15 |
Movie | My Darling Clementine | Old Man Clanton | 1946-12-03 |
Movie | Nobody Lives Forever | Pop Gruber | 1946-11-01 |
Movie | Centennial Summer | Jesse Rogers | 1946-07-10 |
Movie | A Stolen Life | Eben Folger | 1946-07-06 |
Movie | Dakota | Capt. Bounce of the Riverbird | 1945-12-15 |
Movie | Home in Indiana | J. F. 'Thunder' Bolt | 1944-06-15 |
Movie | To Have and Have Not | Eddie | 1944-10-11 |
Movie | The Princess and the Pirate | Featherhead | 1944-11-10 |
Movie | The North Star | Karp | 1943-11-04 |
Movie | Hangmen Also Die! | Prof. Stephen Novotny | 1943-04-15 |
Movie | Slightly Dangerous | Cornelius Burden | 1943-04-01 |
Movie | Stand by for Action | Chief Yeoman Henry Johnson | 1942-12-31 |
Movie | The Pride of the Yankees | Sam Blake | 1942-07-14 |
Movie | Nice Girl? | Hector Titus | 1941-02-21 |
Movie | Meet John Doe | The Colonel | 1941-03-12 |
Movie | Sergeant York | Pastor Rosier Pile | 1941-07-02 |
Movie | This Woman Is Mine | Captain Jonathan Thorne | 1941-08-22 |
Movie | Swamp Water | Tom Keefer | 1941-10-23 |
Movie | Breakdowns of 1941 | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1941-11-14 |
Movie | Rise and Shine | Grandpa | 1941-11-21 |
Movie | The Westerner | Judge Roy Bean | 1940-09-18 |
Movie | Maryland | William Stewart | 1940-07-19 |
Movie | Northwest Passage | 'Hunk' Marriner | 1940-02-23 |
Movie | Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President | Jim | 1939-12-01 |
Movie | They Shall Have Music | Professor Lawson | 1939-08-18 |
Movie | Stanley and Livingstone | Jeff Slocum | 1939-08-18 |
Movie | The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle | Walter | 1939-03-29 |
Movie | The Buccaneer | Ezra Peavey | 1938-02-04 |
Movie | The Adventures of Tom Sawyer | Muff Potter | 1938-02-11 |
Movie | Mother Carey's Chickens | Ossian Popham | 1938-07-29 |
Movie | The Texans | Chuckawalla | 1938-08-12 |
Movie | Kentucky | Peter Goodwin | 1938-12-30 |
Movie | The Cowboy and the Lady | Sugar | 1938-11-17 |
Movie | Affairs of Cappy Ricks | Cappy Ricks | 1937-05-24 |
Movie | When Love Is Young | Uncle Hugo | 1937-03-26 |
Movie | She's Dangerous | Ote O'Leary | 1937-01-24 |
Movie | These Three | Taxi Driver | 1936-03-18 |
Movie | Three Godfathers | Gus | 1936-03-06 |
Movie | The Moon's Our Home | Lem | 1936-04-10 |
Movie | Fury | 'Bugs' Meyers | 1936-06-05 |
Movie | Come and Get It | Swan Bostrom | 1936-11-06 |
Movie | Banjo on My Knee | Newt Holley | 1936-12-11 |
Movie | Party Wire | Paul - Railroad Telegrapher (uncredited) | 1935-04-27 |
Movie | Biography of a Bachelor Girl | Reporter on Ship (uncredited) | 1935-01-04 |
Movie | Law Beyond the Range | Abner | 1935-02-15 |
Movie | The Wedding Night | Bill Jenkins | 1935-03-08 |
Movie | West Point of the Air | Soldier at Kelly's Wreckage | 1935-03-23 |
Movie | The Bride of Frankenstein | Peasant | 1935-04-21 |
Movie | Northern Frontier | Stuttering Cook | 1935-02-01 |
Movie | Lady Tubbs | Joseph | 1935-07-02 |
Movie | Man on the Flying Trapeze | 'Legs' Garnett | 1935-08-03 |
Movie | We're in the Money | Wedding Witness (uncredited) | 1935-08-17 |
Movie | She Couldn't Take It | Peddler | 1935-10-08 |
Movie | Barbary Coast | Old Atrocity | 1935-10-13 |
Movie | Seven Keys to Baldpate | Station Agent | 1935-12-13 |
Movie | Metropolitan | Grandpa | 1935-11-08 |
Movie | Fugitive Lovers | 2nd Bus Driver (uncredited) | 1934-01-04 |
Movie | Cross Country Cruise | Niagara Falls Boatman | 1934-01-16 |
Movie | Radio Dough | 1934-02-05 | |
Movie | The Poor Rich | Dr. Johnson the Coroner (uncredited) | 1934-02-25 |
Movie | George White's Scandals | Hick (uncredited) | 1934-03-15 |
Movie | Good Dame | Elmer Spicer | 1934-03-16 |
Movie | Riptide | Chauffeur (uncredited) | 1934-03-29 |
Movie | Woman Haters | Train Conductor | 1934-05-05 |
Movie | I'll Tell the World | Otto - Bicycle Repair Man | 1934-04-20 |
Movie | The Life of Vergie Winters | Roscoe (uncredited) | 1934-06-14 |
Movie | Murder in the Private Car | Switchman (uncredited) | 1934-06-29 |
Movie | Whom the Gods Destroy | Clifford (uncredited) | 1934-07-12 |
Movie | Death on the Diamond | Hot Dog Vendor | 1934-09-14 |
Movie | Gridiron Flash | Proprietor of Java Joe's | 1934-10-06 |
Movie | Great Expectations | Prisoner on Ship | 1934-10-22 |
Movie | There's Always Tomorrow | Auto mechanic | 1934-11-01 |
Movie | Man Of Action | Cashier Summers | 1933-01-20 |
Movie | Strange People | The Radio Repairman | 1933-06-16 |
Movie | Goldie Gets Along | Stuttering Waiter | 1933-01-27 |
Movie | Parachute Jumper | Counterman at Jewel Diner (uncredited) | 1933-01-28 |
Movie | Girl Missing | Joe - Garage Attendant (uncredited) | 1933-03-04 |
Movie | The Phantom of the Air | 'Skid' (uncredited) | 1933-05-21 |
Movie | The Invisible Man | Bicycle Owner (uncredited) | 1933-11-13 |
Movie | One Year Later | Man Chuckling at Train Station | 1933-08-24 |
Movie | Golden Harvest | Farmhand at Wedding (uncredited) | 1933-09-21 |
Movie | Saturday's Millions | Reporter | 1933-09-30 |
Movie | Curtain at Eight | Silent Detective | 1933-10-01 |
Movie | My Woman | Man Who Does Animal Sounds | 1933-10-04 |
Movie | King for a Night | Soda Jerk | 1933-12-09 |
Movie | Sensation Hunters | Stuttering Waiter | 1933-08-30 |
Movie | Miss Pinkerton | Police Dispatcher (uncredited) | 1932-06-30 |
Movie | Texas Cyclone | Sheriff Lew Collins (as Walter Brenan) | 1932-02-24 |
Movie | The Airmail Mystery | Holly | 1932-03-28 |
Movie | Scandal for Sale | Newspaperman | 1932-04-01 |
Movie | Two-Fisted Law | Deputy Sheriff Bendix | 1932-06-08 |
Movie | Law and Order | Lanky Smith (uncredited) | 1932-03-01 |
Movie | Speed Madness | Joe | 1932-07-29 |
Movie | The All-American | 1932-10-01 | |
Movie | Once in a Lifetime | Lighting Technician (uncredited) | 1932-10-02 |
Movie | Women Won't Tell | Man in Junkyard | 1932-11-16 |
Movie | Manhattan Tower | Mechanic (uncredited) | 1932-12-01 |
Movie | Merry-Go-Round | Protester Sign Carrier (uncredited) | 1932-12-01 |
Movie | Cornered | Court Bailiff (uncredited) | 1932-08-05 |
Movie | A House Divided | Musician | 1931-12-05 |
Movie | Grief Street | Walt | 1931-10-01 |
Movie | Little Accident | Milkman (uncredited) | 1930-08-03 |
Movie | King of Jazz | Desk Sergeant ('Springtime') / Soldier ('All Noisy on the Eastern Front') / Waiter ('Oh! Forevermore!') / Front End of Horse / Quartet Member ('Nellie') | 1930-04-20 |
Movie | Dames Ahoy | Side Show Barker | 1930-02-10 |
Movie | Flight | Marine Pilot | 1929-09-14 |
Movie | His Lucky Day | Road House Thug (uncredited) | 1929-06-02 |
Movie | The Long, Long Trail | Skinny Rawlins | 1929-10-26 |
Movie | One Hysterical Night | Paul Revere | 1929-10-05 |
Movie | The Last Performance | Clown (uncredited) | 1929-10-13 |
Movie | The Michigan Kid | Minor Role (uncredited) | 1928-10-20 |
Movie | The Ballyhoo Buster | 1928-01-08 | |
Movie | Blake of Scotland Yard | 1927-08-14 | |
Movie | The Ridin' Rowdy | 1927-04-24 | |
Movie | Sensation Seekers | Below Deck Yacht Crewman | 1927-03-21 |
Movie | Tearin' Into Trouble | Billy Martin | 1927-03-19 |
Movie | Lorraine of the Lions | 1925-10-11 |