Walter Brennan (
July 25 1894 –
September 21 1974) was a three-time
Academy Award winning
American actor. He is remembered as one of the premier
character actors in motion picture history.
Early life
Born in
Lynn, Massachusetts less than two miles from his family's home in
Swampscott,
[World War I Draft Records, Essex County, Massachusetts; Roll: 1684678; Draft Board: 24.] to
Irish emigrants, he was christened
Walter Andrew Brennan. His father was an engineer and inventor. Walter Brennan studied
engineering at Rindge Technical High School in
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
While in school, he became interested in acting, and began to perform in
vaudeville. 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 during
World War I.
[WALTER BRENNAN PAPERS, 1895-1974, Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum][World War I Draft Records, Essex County, Massachusetts; Roll: 1684678; Draft Board: 24.] Following the war, he moved to
Guatemala and raised
pineapples, before settling in
Los Angeles. During the 1920s, he became involved in the
real estate market, where he made a fortune. Unfortunately, he lost most of his money when the market took a sudden downturn.
