Author Carl Rollyson reveals Brennan's consummate mastery of virtually every kind of role, while playing against and often stealing scenes from these and other-luminary stars.

Over the years, with his craggy voice and unmistakable laugh, he supplied support to some of the biggest names in film, including Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Spencer Tracy, Barbara Stanwyck, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. He easily made the transition from film to television with The Real McCoys and was the subject of a Norman Rockwell painting that drew upon his unique roles in Western films. It was a break the young actor seized for all he was worth and, for the next forty-five years, would make the most of.ĭuring those ensuing years, he became one of the greatest character actors in Hollywood history, and between 19, he won three Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor (a record that still stands). Diane Jacobs is the author of Christmas In July: The Life and Art of Preston Sturges and, most recently, Dear Abigail, a biography of Abigail Adams and her two sistersĪ Real American Character: The Life of Walter BrennanĪfter years of uncredited work in the silent film industry of the 1920s, actor Walter Brennan finally got his break as silent films were giving way to new fangled talking motion pictures. Meticulously researched and written in Rollyson’s always fluent and engaging prose, A Real American Character analyzes the many shades of Brennan’s Hollywood persona while giving a clear-eyed view of the three-Oscar-winning actor as both a fanatic anti-communist and family man par excellence.

From the counter at Dad Kelly’s Corned Beef Parlor, where he hung out as a silent extra, to the sound sets of William Wyler, Frank Capra, and Howard Hawks, the man and actor come vibrantly alive in this thoughtful biography. Here at last is an impassioned tribute to the Hollywood character actor, Walter Brennan. Marion Meade, author of The Unruly Life of Woody Allen and Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase

A real Hollywood success story, Brennan and his extraordinary career, which included winning three Oscars, are presented with great sympathy, sensitivity, and admiration.”

“Unsung character actors finally get a long-overdue close-up in A Real American Character, Carl Rollyson’s authoritative portrait of Walter Brennan.

Dear Abigail by Diane Jacobs