Grant Withers
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| Grant Withers | |
 Grant Withers, circa 1930 |
|
| Birth name | Granville G. Withers |
| Born | January 17, 1905 Pueblo, Colorado, USA |
| Died | March 27, 1959 aged 54 |
| Spouse(s) | Loretta Young Gladys Joyce Walsh Estelita Rodriguez |
| Notable roles | "Jungle Jim" Bradley in Jungle Jim - Serial Captain "Bill" Street in |
Grant Withers, (January 17, 1905, Pueblo, Colorado, USA– March 27, 1959, North Hollywood, California, USA), born Granville G. Withers, was a prolific American film actor with a sizeable body of work.
With early beginnings in the silent era, Withers moved into talkies establishing himself with an impressive list of headlined features as a young and handsome male lead.
As his career progressed, his importance diminished, but he did manage a 10-year contract at Republic Pictures. His friendships with both John Ford and John Wayne secured him a spot in 9 of Wayne's films, but later roles dwindled to supporting parts, mainly as villains in B-movies, serials and finally TV.
His life in film, 5 unsuccessful marriages and a tragic end had all the makings of its own Hollywood drama.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life and career
He had worked as an oil company salesman and newspaper reporter before breaking into movies near the end of the silent era. His more than 30-year acting career took off in the late 1920s, while in his 20s, when his hairy-chested rugged good looks made him the leading man over such rising talent as James Cagney, who made his film debut in the Withers feature Sinners' Holiday (1930). Taller than John Wayne and just as tough, yet capable of sensitivity, it was his early roles for Warner Bros. Pictures/The Vitaphone Corporation that brought him his highest accolades. Withers' early work had him opposite such major talent as W. C. Fields, Buster Keaton, Mae West and Shirley Temple.
[edit] Career
Starring roles in major pictures later dwindled to supporting parts, mainly as villains in B-movies and serials. Notable exceptions included a 12-part Jungle Jim movie serial by Universal Pictures, starring Grant Withers, in 1937 and the recurring role of the brash police Captain Bill Street in Monogram's Mr. Wong series beginning in 1938.
He was under a Republic Term Contract from February, 1944 through April, 1954. Withers' film credits at Republic number about 60 from 1937 - 1957. From 1940 on he was pretty much a character actor as a popular Western tough guy taking numerous supporting roles in television as his demand in film work waned.
All told he appeared in over 200 films.
[edit] Personal life
In 1930, at 26, his elopement to Yuma, Arizona, with a 17-year-old Loretta Young was widely reported and ended in annulment in 1931, just as their second movie together, (ironically titled Too Young to Marry), was released. He was also married to Gladys Joyce Walsh.
Some of Withers' later screen appearances were arranged through the auspices of his friends John Ford and John Wayne He appeared in nine movies with John Wayne, including Fort Apache (1948) and Rio Grande (1950). On Sunday evenings Withers and the "good ol' boys club" met at the John Ford Ranch in the San Fernando Valley. John Ford and John Wayne would be at the Ranch, and some others; Ben Johnson, Chill Wills, Ward Bond, Harry Carey, Jr. and many of the other supporting actors that were usually in all of Wayne's pictures. Sometimes, Lee Marvin would show up. The actors who so frequently appeared in Ford's films were known as The John Ford Stock Company.
Wayne was best man at Withers' fifth marriage; it was to Cuban-born actress Estelita Rodriguez (24) (Rio Bravo), at age 49, in January, 1953, in Reno, Nevada. They too resided in the San Fernando Valley on Woodcliff Avenue in Sherman Oaks, California. Estelita began a night club singing career at the end of her Republic contract. The marriage was not a happy one. They divorced in 1955.[1]
A noticeable weight gain is apparent in his films as his career progresses. In later years, back problems were one of his health issues.
[edit] Death
With failing health Withers worked up until his suicide in 1959, at the age of 54, when he died from an overdose of barbiturates, leaving behind a note in which he apologized to all the people he'd let down during his Hollywood days:
| “ | Please forgive me, my family. I was so unhappy. It's better this way.[1] | ” |
[edit] Trivia
- Note that most biographies have Withers' birth year as 1904, but his burial marker shows 1905.
- Grant Withers headlined over supporting actor James Cagney's first film, Sinner's Holiday (1930), and his third, Other Men's Women (1931). In the 1955 western Run For Cover, the billing would be reversed.
- Although John Wayne's height is listed at 6'4", Withers height, at 6'3", shows him the taller in their films together.
[edit] Select filmography on DVD
- Having worked with Buster Keaton and W. C. Fields in silent films and with over 200 known titles to his name, Grant Withers filmography surpasses that of many more well-known stars, making him almost a daily regular on cable movie channels like Turner Classic Movies. These are among his films known to be released on DVD:
- See complete Grant Withers filmography at IMDB
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1935 | The Fighting Marines | Cpl. Larry Lawrence |
| 1936 | The Arizona Raiders | Monroe Adams |
| 1937 | Jungle Jim - Serial | Jim 'Jungle Jim' Bradley |
| 1937 | Bill Cracks Down | "Tons" Walker |
| 1938 | Mr. Wong - Mr. Wong, Detective | Capt. William 'Bill' Street |
| 1939 | Boy's Reformatory | Doctor Owens |
| 1939 | Mr. Wong - Mr. Wong in Chinatown | Capt. William 'Bill' Street |
| 1939 | Daughter of the Tong | Ralph Dickson |
| 1940 | Mr. Wong - Fatal Hour | Capt. William 'Bill' Street |
| 1940 | Mr. Wong - Doomed to Die | Capt. William 'Bill' Street |
| 1940 | Mr. Wong - Mr. Wong Phanthom of Chinatown | Capt. William 'Bill' Street |
| 1944 | The Fighting Seabees | Whanger Spreckles |
| 1946 | My Darling Clementine | Ike Clanton |
| 1948 | Fort Apache | Silas Meacham |
| 1948 | Wake of the Red Witch | Capt. Wilde Youngeur |
| 1950 | Bells of Coronado | Craig Bennett |
| 1950 | Rio Grande | Deputy Marshal |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Anonymous. Estelita Rodriguez. Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen. Retrieved on August 13, 2006.
