Walter Brennan

Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Come and Get It, Kentucky (1938) and The Westerner (1940), making him the only person to win three awards in the supporting actor category. Brennan was also nominated for his performance in Sergeant York (1941). Other noteworthy performances were in To Have and Have Not (1944), My Darling Clementine (1946), Red River (1948) and Rio Bravo (1959). On television, he starred in the sitcom The Real McCoys (1957–1963).

Early life Brennan was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, on July 25, 1894, less than two miles from his family's home in Swampscott. His parents were both Irish immigrants. His father was an engineer and inventor, and young Brennan also studied engineering at Rindge Technical High School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

While working as a bank clerk, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a private with the 101st Field Artillery Regiment in France for two years during World War I. "While there, he suffered an injury to his vocal cords from exposure to mustard gas that left him with his screen trademark: a distinctively reedy, high-pitched voice that became a favorite for celebrity impersonators for decades."

After the war, he worked as a financial reporter for a newspaper in Boston. During the early 1920s, he made a fortune in the real estate market, but lost most of his money during a real estate slump.

His early appearances included Webs of Steel (1925), Lorraine of the Lions (1925) and The Calgary Stampede (1925), a Hoot Gibson Western. Brennan was also in Watch Your Wife (1926), The Ice Flood (1926), Spangles (1926), The Collegians (1926, a short), Flashing Oars (1926, a short), Sensation Seekers (1927), Tearin' Into Trouble (1927), The Ridin' Rowdy (1927), Alias the Deacon (1927), Blake of Scotland Yard (1927) (a serial), Hot Heels (1927), Painting the Town (1928) and The Ballyhoo Buster (1928). The latter was directed by Richard Thorpe who would use Brennan as an extra several times on films.

Brennan had minor roles in The Racket (1928) from Howard Hughes, The Michigan Kid (1928), Silks and Saddles (1929), The Cohens and the Kellys in Atlantic City (1929) and Smilin' Guns (1929) and The Lariat Kid (1929) with Gibson. He also worked as a stand in.

Brennan was in His Lucky Day (1929), Frank Capra's Flight (1929), One Hysterical Night (1929) (a bigger role), The Last Performance (1929), The Long Long Trail (1929) with Gibson and The Shannons of Broadway (1929).

Other Brennan appearances included Dames Ahoy! (1930), Captain of the Guard (1930), King of Jazz (1930) (Brennan said he played nine parts but when he saw the film "I sneezed and I missed myself"),

Goldwyn mostly loaned out Brennan's services to other studios. MGM put him in West Point of the Air (1935). He was reunited with Whale in Bride of Frankenstein (1935), in which he had a brief speaking part and also worked as a stuntman.

Brennan's parts remained small in Party Wire (1935), Spring Tonic (1935), The Gay Lady (1935), Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935) and Welcome Home (1935). He did a short, The Perfect Tribute (1935) and was in George Stevens' Alice Adams (1935), but his scenes were deleted.

He could be seen in We're in the Money (1935) and She Couldn't Take It (1935).

Move to supporting actor Brennan finally earned significant roles with a decent part in Goldwyn's Barbary Coast (1935), directed by Howard Hawks and an uncredited William Wyler. "That really set me up", Brennan said later.

Brennan had his first lead role in Affairs of Cappy Ricks (1937) at Republic Pictures. He followed it with the co-starring part in Fox's Wild and Woolly (1937), billed second after Jane Withers. He was in The Buccaneer (1938), directed by Cecil B. DeMille.

Brennan portrayed town drunk and accused murderer Muff Potter in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938).

Brennan followed it with The Texans (1938), Mother Carey's Chickens (1938) and Goldwyn's The Cowboy and the Lady (1938) with Gary Cooper – the first time Brennan played Cooper's sidekick.

Second Oscar: Kentucky (1938) Brennan won his second Best Supporting Oscar for Kentucky (1938), a horse racing film from 20th Century Fox with Loretta Young.

He supported Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939). Brennan also appeared in Melody of Youth (1939), and Stanley and Livingstone (1939) at Fox. Instead Brennan was top-billed in Fox's Maryland (1940), an attempt to repeat the success of Kentucky. Brennan said he had been working constantly since Christmas 1937. "I'm just plain punch drunk", he said.

Third Oscar: The Westerner (1940) Brennan had one of his best roles in Goldwyn's The Westerner (1940), playing the villainous Judge Roy Bean opposite Gary Cooper. William Wyler directed and the film earned Brennan his third Best Supporting Actor Oscar within a five-year span.

Goldwyn bought Trading Post as a vehicle for Brennan, but the film never materialized.

Brennan next supported Deanna Durbin in Nice Girl? (1941) and then Cooper again in Frank Capra's Meet John Doe (1941) and Hawks' Sergeant York (1941), a role that earned Brennan a fourth Oscar nomination. He could also be seen in This Woman is Mine (1941) as a sea captain.

Brennan played the top-billed lead in Swamp Water (1941), the first American film by director Jean Renoir. He appeared in Rise and Shine (1941) and then played reporter Sam Blake in Pride of the Yankees (1942).

Brennan appeared in the war films Stand By for Action (1942) and Hangmen Also Die! (1943), in which he played a Czech professor. He also appeared in Slightly Dangerous (1943), The Last Will and Testament of Tom Smith (1943) and Goldwyn's Russian war epic The North Star (1943).

He was top-billed in a follow-up to Kentucky and Maryland at Fox, Home in Indiana (1944).

Brennan was particularly skilled in playing the sidekick of the protagonist or the "grumpy old man" in films such as Hawks' To Have and Have Not (1944).

Brennan was a comic pirate in the Bob Hope film The Princess and the Pirate (1944). He was teamed with John Wayne for the first time since both men had obtained stardom in Dakota (1945), directed by Joseph Kane. He supported Bette Davis in A Stolen Life (1946) and appeared in the Fox musical Centennial Summer (1946).

Western roles Brennan returned as a villain as Old Man Clanton in John Ford's My Darling Clementine (1946), opposite Henry Fonda. He followed this with parts in Nobody Lives Forever (1946) at Warner Bros. and Republic's Driftwood (1947).

He appeared in another Americana film at Fox, Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948), and then in one of the greatest films in his career, Red River (1948), playing John Wayne's sidekick.

After supporting Robert Mitchum in Blood on the Moon (1948), he played another kindly father role in The Green Promise (1949). Brennan was billed second to Rod Cameron in Brimstone (1949), and he supported Gary Cooper in Task Force (1949).

Brennan focused on Westerns: Singing Guns (1950), A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950), Curtain Call at Cactus Creek (1950), The Showdown (1950), Surrender (1950), Along the Great Divide (1951), Best of the Badmen (1951) and Return of the Texan (1952).

He appeared in the war films The Wild Blue Yonder (1951) and Lure of the Wilderness (1952), a remake of Swamp Water in which he reprised his role, although with less screen time than in the original film.

Brennan was in Sea of Lost Ships (1953) with John Derek, Drums Across the River (1954) with Audie Murphy, The Far Country (1954) with James Stewart and Four Guns to the Border (1954) with Rory Calhoun. He also appeared in Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) for MGM.

Later work Television Brennan began to work on television, guest-starring on episodes of Screen Directors Playhouse, Lux Video Theatre, Schlitz Playhouse, Ethel Barrymore Theater, Cavalcade of America and The Ford Television Theatre. He played the old outlaw Joe in the 1956 episode "Vengeance Canyon" of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre.

He appeared as himself as a musical judge in the 1953–1954 ABC series Jukebox Jury. Brennan later said that he preferred television to films because there were not "long layoffs between jobs."

He continued to appear in movies such as Gunpoint! (1955) and The Proud Ones (1956) and was in a short film about Israel, Man on a Bus (1955).

Brennan appeared in films such as Glory (1956), Come Next Spring (1956) and Batjac's Good-bye My Lady (1956) with 14-year-old Brandon deWilde, with whom he recorded The Stories of Mark Twain that same year.

He appeared in The Way to the Gold (1957) and played Debbie Reynolds' grandfather in the romantic comedy Tammy and the Bachelor (1957).

Brennan was given another lead role in God Is My Partner (1957), a low-budget film that became a surprise hit.

The Real McCoys

Brennan had resisted overtures to star in a regular TV series but relented for The Real McCoys, a sitcom about a poor West Virginia family that relocated to a farm in Southern California. It was a hit and ran from 1957 to 1963.

Brennan continued to appear in films and other TV shows during the series' run such as Colgate Theatre and another Howard Hawks picture, Rio Bravo (1959), supporting John Wayne and Dean Martin.

After five years on ABC, The Real McCoys switched to CBS for a final season. Brennan joined with series creator Irving Pincus to form Brennan-Westgate Productions.

For Brennan Productions, Brennan starred in Shoot Out at Big Sag (1962). He appeared as a villainous river pirate in MGM's epic How the West Was Won (1963).

Singing career Following Brennan's success with The Real McCoys, he performed on several recordings. The most popular of these was "Old Rivers", a song about an old farmer and his mule. It was released as a single in 1962 by Liberty Records with "The Epic Ride of John H. Glenn" on the flip side. "Old Rivers" peaked at #5 on the U.S. Billboard chart, making the 67 year-old Brennan the oldest living person to have a Top 40 hit at the time. The album Old Rivers peaked at No. 54 nationally. At age 68, Brennan reached the Top 40 again, this time with "Mama Sang a Song" on November 17, 1962.

After The Real McCoys ended, Brennan provided the voice for a cartoon of The Shooting of Dan McGrew.

Other TV roles and Disney Brennan starred as the wealthy executive Walter Andrews in the short-lived 1964–1965 ABC series The Tycoon, with Van Williams.

Brennan had a support part in Those Calloways (1965), his first Disney film, again paired with Brandon deWilde. He had a small role in The Oscar (1966).

In 1967, he starred in another ABC series, The Guns of Will Sonnett (1967–1969), as an older man in search of his gunfighter son. It ran for two seasons.

Brennan was top-billed in Disney's The Gnome-Mobile (1967) and made a pilot for the TV series Horatio Alger Jones, which did not become a series.

After a support role in Who's Minding the Mint? (1967), he returned to Disney for The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968).

Brennan had a part as the villain in Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) with James Garner.

Later career Brennan received top billing over Pat O'Brien in the TV movie The Over-the-Hill Gang (1969) and Fred Astaire in The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again (1970).,

He joined the second season of the CBS sitcom To Rome with Love (1969–1971) with John Forsythe. This was Brennan's last television series as a member of the permanent cast, although he did make a number of appearances on Alias Smith and Jones.

Around this time he also starred in the TV movies The Young Country (1970), Two for the Money (1972) and Home for the Holidays (1972). He was announced for a Western that was not made, One Day in Eden.

Brennan's last screen appearance was in the Western Smoke in the Wind (1975), directed by Joseph Kane.

Personal life

In 1920, Brennan married Ruth Caroline Wells. They had three children in their 54-year marriage: Arthur, Walter, and Ruth.

In 1940, Brennan purchased the 12,000-acre Lightning Creek Ranch, 20 miles north of Joseph, Oregon. He built the Indian Lodge Motel, a movie theater, and a variety store in Joseph, and continued retreating to the ranch between film roles until his death. Some members of his family continue to live in the area.

Religious and political views Brennan, a Roman Catholic, did not publicize his own religious affiliation, but declared in 1964, "I'm too old not to be a religious fella... It appears we are losing something a lot of people made a lot of sacrifices for."

According to his biographer Carl Rollyson, Brennan was fiercely opposed to communism and reportedly branded people as communists if they supported John F. Kennedy. Rollyson wrote that Brennan "thought that the Watts riots could have been stopped 'with a machine gun'." Rollyson also reported that Brennan's home "included a bunker stocked with weapons and food in anticipation of a Soviet invasion." Brennan reportedly expressed satisfaction at the murder of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., much to the shock of the cast and crew of The Guns of Will Sonnett, and also rejoiced in the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. Everett Greenbaum, who wrote 32 episodes of The Real McCoys, described Brennan as a bigot who frequently uttered racist remarks.

A staunch conservative Republican and a member of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, Brennan supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election because Goldwater had voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but Brennan later endorsed George Wallace in 1968, believing that Richard Nixon was too liberal for a Republican. In 1972, Brennan endorsed far-right candidate John Schmitz, who like Brennan, was a member of the John Birch Society. Brennan served as finance chairman and narrated advertisements in support of Schmitz's campaign. Brennan also endorsed Ronald Reagan in the 1966 California gubernatorial election and in his reelection in 1970. He was remembered by The New York Times as "Veteran actor Walter Brennan, who won three Academy Awards." His remains were interred at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Legacy Brennan was one of the greatest character actors in motion picture history. While the roles that he played were diverse, he may be best remembered for his portrayals in Western films such as those of Judge Roy Bean in The Westerner, trail hand Nadine Groot in Red River and Deputy Stumpy in Rio Bravo. He was the first actor to win three Academy Awards and remains the only person to have won the Best Supporting Actor award three times. However, he remained somewhat embarrassed about how he had won the awards; in the early years of the Academy Awards, extras could vote, and Brennan was popular with the extras' union. His third win prompted the disenfranchisement of the union from Oscar voting. Following this change, Brennan failed to win the Oscar for his fourth Best Supporting Actor nomination in 1941 for Sergeant York. (The award went to Donald Crisp for How Green Was My Valley instead.)

Brennan played more than 230 film and television roles during a career that spanned nearly five decades. For his contributions to the film industry, he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6501 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1970, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, where his photograph hangs prominently.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1925 Webs of Steel Performer uncredited Lorraine of the Lions Minor role uncredited The Calgary Stampede Racing spectator uncredited1926 Watch Your Wife Performer The Ice Flood Lumberjack uncredited Spangles Lunch counterman uncredited1927 Sensation Seekers Below deck yacht crewman uncreditedTearin' Into Trouble Billy Martin The Ridin' Rowdy Performer Alias the Deacon Cashier at Cunningham's Rink uncreditedBlake of Scotland Yard Henchman uncreditedHot Heels Pool hall inhabitant uncredited1928 The Ballyhoo Buster Performer The Michigan Kid Minor role uncreditedThe Racket Man in front of barber shop uncredited1929 Silks and Saddles Undetermined role uncreditedThe Cohens and Kellys in Atlantic City Man at police station uncreditedSmilin' Guns Ranch Foreman The Lariat Kid Pat O'Shea His Lucky Day Roadhouse hhug uncreditedFlight Marine pilot uncreditedOne Hysterical Night Paul Revere The Last Performance Clown uncreditedThe Long Long Trail Skinny Rawlins The Shannons of Broadway Hez 1930 Dames Ahoy! Side show barker uncreditedCaptain of the Guard Peasant uncreditedKing of Jazz Various roles The Little Accident Milkman uncreditedSee America Thirst Spumoni bodyguard uncreditedMany a Slip Minor role uncredited1931 Honeymoon Lane Driver Heroes of the Flames Bit Part [Ch. 12] – uncreditedDancing Dynamite Henchman Grief Street Walt Is There Justice? Rollins Neck and Neck Hector Scratch-As-Catch-Can Performer Short film A House Divided Musician uncredited1932 Horse Feathers Football commentator uncreditedTexas Cyclone Sheriff Lew Collins Law and Order Lanky Smith uncreditedThe Impatient Maiden Cigar stand proprietor uncreditedThe Airmail Mystery Holly Scandal for Sale Newspaperman uncreditedTwo-Fisted Law Deputy Sheriff Bendix Hello Trouble A Texas Ranger uncreditedMiss Pinkerton Police dispatcher uncreditedSpeed Madness Joe Cornered Court bailiff uncreditedFighting for Justice Cowhand Fletcher uncreditedThe Fourth Horseman Toothless town drunk uncreditedThe All American News commentator at game uncreditedOnce in a Lifetime Lighting technician uncreditedStrange Justice Eddie – mechanic uncreditedWomen Won't Tell Dump workman uncredited Afraid to Talk Protester sign carrier uncreditedManhattan Tower Mechanic uncredited1933 Sensation Hunters Stuttering waiter Man of Action Cashier Summers Parachute Jumper Counterman at Jewel Diner uncreditedGoldie Gets Along Stuttering waiter uncreditedGirl Missing Joe-garage attendant uncreditedRustlers' Roundup Walt uncreditedThe Cohens and Kellys in Trouble Bit role uncreditedLucky Dog Drunk #2 The Big Cage Tickettaker uncreditedLilly Turner Performer scenes deletedThe Phantom of the Air 'Skid' uncreditedStrange People The radio repairman Sing Sinner Sing Henchman Riordan One Year Later Yokel uncreditedGolden Harvest Farmhand at wedding uncreditedLadies Must Love Flute player uncreditedSaturday's Millions Reporter uncreditedCurtain at Eight Silent detective uncreditedMy Woman Stuttering animal imitator uncreditedThe Invisible Man Bicycle owner uncreditedKing for a Night Soda Jerk uncredited1934 Fugitive Lovers Second bus driver uncreditedTailspin Tommy Hospital Orderly [Ch. 8] – uncreditedCross Country Cruise Niagara Falls boatman uncreditedBeloved Stuttering boarder You Can't Buy Everything Train Vendor uncreditedParadise Valley Farmer Hiram The Poor Rich Dr. Johnson the coroner uncreditedThe Crosby Case Ship's officer uncreditedGeorge White's Scandals Hick uncreditedGood Dame Elmer Spicer uncreditedRiptide Chauffeur uncreditedUncertain Lady Gas station attendant uncreditedI'll Tell the World Otto – Bicycle repairman uncreditedWoman Haters Train Conductor uncredited Short film Half a Sinner Radio announcer The Life of Vergie Winters Roscoe – a gossiper uncreditedMurder in the Private Car Switchman uncreditedWhom the Gods Destroy Clifford uncreditedDeath on the Diamond Hotdog vendor uncreditedGreat Expectations Prisoner on ship uncredited Gridiron Flash Diner Proprietor uncredited There's Always Tomorrow Mechanic uncredited Cheating Cheaters Ship's telegrapher uncredited The Prescott Kid Zeke (stage driver) The Painted Veil Performer scenes deleted1935 Biography of a Bachelor Girl Reporter on ship uncredited Helldorado Pete, the Waiter uncreditedNorthern Frontier Stuttering cook The Mystery of Edwin Drood First gossip uncredited Law Beyond the Range Abner Restless Knights Father uncredited Short filmThe Wedding Night Bill Jenkins West Point of the Air Soldier at Kelly's wreckage uncreditedBride of Frankenstein Neighbor uncreditedParty Wire Paul – railroad telegrapher uncreditedSpring Tonic Bum uncreditedLady Tubbs Joseph uncreditedMan on the Flying Trapeze 'Legs' Garnett Welcome Home Walter uncreditedAlice Adams Performer scenes deletedWe're in the Money Wedding witness uncreditedShe Couldn't Take It Peddler uncreditedBarbary Coast Old Atrocity Metropolitan Grandpa uncreditedSeven Keys to Baldpate Station agent 1936 Three Godfathers Sam "Gus" Barton These Three Taxi driver The Moon's Our Home Lem Fury 'Bugs' Meyers Come and Get It Swan Bostrom Banjo on My Knee Newt Holley 1937 She's Dangerous Ote O'Leary When Love Is Young Uncle Hugo Affairs of Cappy Ricks Cappy Ricks Wild and Woolly Gramp 'Hercules' Flynn 1938 The Buccaneer Ezra Peaves The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Muff Potter The Texans Chuckawalla Mother Carey's Chickens Mr. Ossian Popham The Cowboy and the Lady Sugar Kentucky Peter Goodwin 1939 The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle Walter They Shall Have Music Professor Lawson Stanley and Livingstone Jeff Slocum Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President Jim 1940 Northwest Passage "Hunk" Marriner Maryland William Stewart The Westerner Judge Roy Bean 1941 Nice Girl? Hector Titus Meet John Doe The 'Colonel' Sergeant York Pastor Rosier Pile This Woman Is Mine Capt. Jonathan Thorne Swamp Water Tom Keefer Rise and Shine Grandpa 1942 The Pride of the Yankees Sam Blake Stand By for Action Chief Yeoman Henry Johnson 1943 Hangmen Also Die Prof. Stephen Novotny Slightly Dangerous Cornelius Burden The North Star Karp 1944 Home in Indiana J. F. "Thunder" Bolt To Have and Have Not Eddie The Princess and the Pirate Featherhead 1945 Dakota Capt. Bounce of the Riverbird 1946 A Stolen Life Eben Folger Centennial Summer Jesse Rogers My Darling Clementine Newman Haynes Clanton Nobody Lives Forever Pop Gruber 1947 Driftwood Murph 1948 Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! Tony Maule Red River Nadine Groot Blood on the Moon Kris Barden 1949 The Green Promise Mr. Matthews Brimstone Brimstone "Pop" Courteen Task Force Pete Richard 1950 Singing Guns Dr. Jonathan Mark A Ticket to Tomahawk Terence Sweeny Curtain Call at Cactus Creek Rimrock Thomas The Showdown Cap Mackellar Surrender Sheriff Bill Howard 1951 Along the Great Divide Timothy 'Pop' Keith Best of the Badmen "Doc" Butcher The Wild Blue Yonder Major General Wolfe 1952 Return of the Texan Grandpa Firth Crockett Lure of the Wilderness Jim Harper 1953 Sea of Lost Ships C.P.O. "Chief" O'Malley 1954 Drums Across the River Sam Brannon Four Guns to the Border Simon Bhumer 1955 The Far Country Ben Tatum Bad Day at Black Rock Doc Velie At Gunpoint Doc Lacy 1956 Glory Ned Otis Come Next Spring Jeffrey Storys The Proud Ones Jake 1956 Good-bye, My Lady Uncle Jesse Jackson 1957 The Way to the Gold Uncle George Williams 1957 Tammy and the Bachelor Grandpa 1957 God Is My Partner Dr. Charles Grayson 1959 Rio Bravo Stumpy 1962 Shoot Out at Big Sag "Preacher" Hawker 1962 How the West Was Won Col. Jeb Hawkins 1965 Those Calloways Alf Simes 1966 The Oscar Orrin C. Quentin 1967 The Gnome-Mobile D.J. Mulrooney/Knobby 1967 Who's Minding the Mint? Pop Gillis 1968 The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band Grandpa Bower 1969 Support Your Local Sheriff! Pa Danby 1975 Smoke in the Wind H. P. Kingman final film role (posthumous release)

Television

Radio Year Program Episode Co Star 1944 Lux Radio Theatre "Home in Indiana" w/ Charlotte Greenwood 1945 Lux Radio Theatre "Kentucky" w/ Laraine Day 1955 Lux Radio Theatre "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" w/ Edmund O'Brien

Discography Albums Year Album

Label 1960 Dutchman's Gold

Dot

Old Rivers

Liberty Mama Sang a Song

Liberty Twas the Night Before Christmas... Back Home''

Liberty

Year Single Chart Positions Album US USAC US Country Canada 1960 "Dutchman's Gold" 30 — — 30 Dutchman's Gold 1962 "Old Rivers" 5 2 3 18 Old Rivers 1962 "Houdini" 100 — — — Mama Sang a Song 1962 "Mama Sang a Song" 38 14 — — Mama Sang a Song

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Film Result 1936Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Come and Get It 1938 Kentucky 1940 The Westerner 1941 Sergeant York 1959 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series The Real McCoys