Grant Withers

Grant Withers
Withers (c. 1930)
Born	Granville G. Withers (1904-01-17)January 17, 1904 Pueblo, Colorado, U.S.
Died	March 27, 1959(1959-03-27) (aged 54) North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Suicide
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1925–1959
Spouse(s)	Shirley Paschal (? – ?) Loretta Young (1930–1931) (annulled) Gladys Joyce Walsh (1933–?) Estelita Rodriguez (1953–1955)

Grant Withers (January 17, 1905 – March 27, 1959) was an American film actor. With early beginnings in the silent era, Withers moved into talkies establishing himself with a list of headlined features as a young and handsome male lead. As his career progressed, his importance diminished, but he did manage a 10-year contract at Republic Pictures.

His friendships with both John Ford and John Wayne secured him a spot in nine of Wayne's films, but later roles dwindled to supporting parts, mainly as villains in B-movies, serials, and finally television.

Born Granville G. Withers in Pueblo, Colorado, Withers worked as an oil company salesman and newspaper reporter before breaking into films near the end of the silent era. His more-than-30-year acting career took off in the late 1920s. While in his twenties, his hairy-chested rugged good looks made him the leading man over such rising talent as James Cagney, who made his film debut in the Withers feature Sinners' Holiday (1930), also starring Joan Blondell and released by Warner Brothers.

Taller than John Wayne and just as tough, yet capable of sensitivity, his early roles for Warner Bros. brought him his highest accolades. Withers' early work had him opposite such major talent as W. C. Fields, Buster Keaton, Boris Karloff, Mae West, and Shirley Temple. Appearing in The Red-Haired Alibi (1932) with Temple, he played the role of her first on-screen parent.