Walter Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor. He is remembered as one of the premier character actors in motion picture history.
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Early Life and Career
Brennan was born in Swampscott, Massachusetts to Irish emigrants, and studied engineering in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
While in school, he became interested in acting, and began to perform in vaudeville. After serving in World War I (where, according to legend, his vocal cords were damaged by poison gas), he moved to Guatemala and raised pineapples, before settling in Los Angeles, California. During the 1920's he would become involved in the real-estate market where he would make a forture. Unfortunately, he lost most of his money when the market took a sudden downturn after the stock market crash of 1929. Broke, he would begin taking bit parts in as many films as he could get in order to earn money. He also took parts as a stunt men.
In the early 1930s he began receiving more substantial roles as his talent was recognized. This culminated with his receiving the very first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1937 for his role in Come and Get It.
Successful Career as a Character Actor
Throughout his career, Brennan was frequently called upon to play characters considerably older than he was in real life. An accident in 1932 that cost him many of this teeth, his rapidly thinning hair, thin build, and raspy voice all made him appear older than he really was. He was particularly skilled in playing the hero's sidekick or as the "grumpy old man" in a picture. He was hardly ever cast as the villian. One notable exception to this was his role as the heartless Old Man Clanton in the classic 1946 film My Darling Clementine opposite Henry Fonda.
One of the more well received examples of this was Brennan's portrayal of Stumpy in Howard Hawks's Rio Bravo, also starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, and Ricky Nelson. His career never really declined. As he grew older, he simply become more a more familiar figure, whose performances endeared him to new generations of fans. In all, he would appear in more than 230 films and television in a career spanning nearly 50 years.
In the 1950s, he starred in the television series The Real McCoys, and appeared in several other movies and television programs, usually as an eccentric "old-timer" or "prospector". He also made a few recordings, the most popular being "Old Rivers" in 1962.
In 1967, he starred in the television series The Guns of Will Sonnett, where he played a father in search of his gunfighter son, James, with his grandson, Jeff, played by Dack Rambo. After the series went off the air, Brennan continued working in both television and feature films. Among his television appearances at this time were three episodes of Alias Smith and Jones, the western comedy starring Pete Duel and Ben Murphy. Brennan played retired confidence man Silky O'Sullivan in two episodes, and Elmer Gantry, one member of a dwindling trail drive team, in another.
Status in Film History
Film historians and critics have usually regarded Brennan as one of the finest character actors in motion picture history. While the roles Brennan played were extremely diverse, he is often remembered for his portrayals in movie Westerns. He was the first actor to win three Academy Awards. He remains the only person to have won three Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor.
Political Beliefs and Later Life
Brennan was politically conservative, and supported American Independent Party candidate (and former governor of Alabama) George Wallace over Republican Party candidate (and, at the time, former Vice President) Richard Nixon during the 1968 Presidential campaign because he felt Nixon was too liberal.
For his contribution to the television industry, Walter Brennan has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6501 Hollywood Blvd. In 1970, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
On his death from emphysema, aged 80, on September 21, 1974 in Oxnard, California, Walter Brennan was interred in San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Brennan's wife, Ruth, who lived to be 100, is buried next to him. She died in 1997.
Academy Awards
Wins:
- 1936 - Best Supporting Actor in Come and Get It
- 1939 - Best Supporting Actor in Kentucky
- 1941 - Best Supporting Actor in The Westerner
Nominations:
- 1942 - Best Supporting Actor in Sergeant York