Finding himself broke, he began taking extra parts in 1929 and then bit parts in as many films as he could, including The Invisible Man (1933) and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and also worked as a stunt man. In the 1930s, he began appearing in higher-quality films and received more substantial roles as his talent was recognized. This culminated with his receiving the very first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Swan Bostrom in the period film Come and Get It (1936). Two years later he portrayed town drunk and accused murderer Muff Potter in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Throughout his career, Brennan was frequently called upon to play characters considerably older than he was in real life. A 1932 accident that cost him many teeth and his rapidly thinning hair, thin build, and gravelly voice all made him seem older than he really was. He used these physical features to great effect. In many of his film roles, Brennan wore dentures; in Northwest Passage--a film set in the late 18th century, when most people had bad teeth—he wore a special dental prosthesis which made him appear to have rotting and broken teeth. In the 1941 Sergeant York, he played a sympathetic preacher and dry goods store owner who advised the title character played by Gary Cooper. He was particularly skilled in playing the hero's sidekick or as the "grumpy old man" in a picture. Though he was hardly ever cast as the villain, notable exceptions were his roles as Old Man Clanton in the classic 1946 film My Darling Clementine opposite Henry Fonda, the 1962 Cinerama production How the West Was Won as the murderous Colonel Jeb Hawkins, and as Judge Roy Bean in The Westerner, for which he won his third best supporting actor Academy Award, in 1940.
From 1957-1963, he starred in the ABC's television series The Real McCoys, which costarred Richard Crenna, and Kathleen Nolan. The comedy about a poor West Virginia family that relocated to a farm in southern California ran on ABC from 1957 to 1962 before switching to CBS for a final season as The McCoys.
'Real McCoys' Video LINK
Video LINK:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN4d09GSE7U&NR=1
In the last season, Janet De Gore and Butch Patrick joined the cast as a widow and son; she being the new romantic interest of the recently widowed Luke McCoy, played by Richard Crenna. The revised format of The McCoys was no match in the ratings for NBC's powerhouse western series, Bonanza.
Brennan appeared in several other movies and television programs, usually, as an eccentric "old timer" or "prospector". He also made a few recordings, the most popular being "Old Rivers" about an eccentric but much-beloved farmer; it was released as a single in 1962 by Liberty Records with "The Epic Ride Of John H. Glenn" on the flip side, and peaked at number 5 in the U.S. Billboard charts. HIs other similar music records were 'Old Shep', 'Olde Christmas Song', 'Epic Ride of John Glen', 'Suppertime' and 'Mama Would Sing a Song'.
'Old Rivers' Audio LINK
Audio LINK- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDYsw4t2rAI
In his music, Brennan sometimes worked with Allen "Puddler" Harris, a Louisiana native who was a member of the original Ricky Nelson Band.
Brennan starred as wealthy executive Walter Andrews in the short-lived 1964-1965 series The Tycoon, with Van Williams. In 1967, he starred in another series, The Guns of Will Sonnett, in which he played a man in search of his gunfighter son, James, with his grandson, Jeff, played by Dack Rambo. After the series went off the air in 1969, Brennan continued working in both television and feature films. He received top billing over Pat O'Brien in the TV-movie The Over-the-Hill Gang in 1969 and Fred Astaire in The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again the following year. From 1970 to 1971, he was a regular on the show To Rome With Love, which was his last TV show as a member of the permanent cast.
For his contribution to the television industry, Walter Brennan has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6501 Hollywood Blvd. In 1970, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where his photograph adorns a wall.
TWO OTHER Walter Brennan "Waymarks" are:
LINK:
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM84C2_Walter_Brennan_Camarillo_CA
*Life-size bronze statue of Walter Brennan, Camarillo, CA
Mr Brennan dressed as his TV show role, 'Grandpa McCoy'.
N 34.21663 W 119.0394
LINK:
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM7YCW_Movie_Star_Walter_Brennans_home
*Movie Star Walter Brennan’s custom home in 50-70’s, Northridge CA
N 34.22970 W 118.51384