Walter Brennan

Born in Swampscott, Mass., on July 25, 1894, beloved character actor Walter Brennan won his first Academy Award for Come and Get It (1936) and cemented his reputation for playing sage old men with an Oscar-winning portrayal of an aging horse breeder in his 70s in Kentucky (1938), a part he played when he was just 45 years old.

When Brennan won his third Oscar for The Westerner (1940), he became the first entertainer ever to win a trio of the coveted statuettes, and he topped the honor by nabbing another nomination -- but no win -- for Sergeant York (1941) the following year.

The actor's long list of credits includes many Westerns, among them My Darling Clementine (1946), Red River (1948) and Rio Bravo (1959) on the big screen and "The Real McCoys" (1957-63) and "The Guns of Will Sonnett" (1967-69) on television. He died on Sept. 21, 1974, at the age of 80.

Filmography