Walter Brennan

Walter Brennan, the country musician and three-time Oscar recipient, came into the world in Swampscott, MA, on July 25, 1894. After serving in the First World War, he launched his professional acting career in 1929. His debut Oscar recognized the supporting performance he delivered in Howard Hawks' Come and Get It, while Kentucky in 1938 and The Westerner in 1940 brought the next two. Already holding more than 100 screen credits, he assumed the widely followed part of Grampa Amos McCoy on the television series The McCoys during the late '50s. The early '60s proved the busiest stretch of his recording work. A collaboration with Billy Vaughn yielded the initial chart entry, "Dutchman's Gold." Two years after that, three further singles—"Old Rivers," "Houdini," and "Mama Sang Me a Song"—appeared on the listings. Emphysema ended his life on September 21, 1974.