Walter Brennan

American actor (1894–1974)
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Walter Andrew Brennan was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Come and Get It (1936), Kentucky (1938) and The Westerner (1940), making him one of only three male actors to win three Academy Awards, and the only male or female actor 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).

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.

Date of Birth25th July 1894
Date of Death21st September 1974
Age at Death80 Years
Zodiac SignLeo
CountryUnited States of America
Current CityLynn
Birth PlaceLynn
Death PlaceOxnard
NationalityUnited States of America
CitizenshipUnited States of America
Education
Cambridge Rindge and Latin School
Occupationactor, character actor, film actor, television actor, songwriter, singer
Awards
  • Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
  • star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Actors from United States of America born in 1894