Charles Butters best known by his stage name Charles McGraw, was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

, who made his first film in 1942, albeit in a small, uncredited role. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa

Des Moines, Iowa

Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...

.

Career

McGraw developed into a leading man

Leading man

Leading man or leading gentleman is an informal term for the actor who plays a love interest to the leading actress in a film or play. A leading man is usually an all rounder; capable of singing, dancing, and acting at a professional level, but never outshining his female co-star...

, especially in film noir

Film noir

Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...

 classics during the late 1940s and 1950s. His gravelly voice and rugged looks enhanced his appeal in the noir stylistic genre, and provided him many roles as cop or gunman.

Introduced with fellow "heavy" William Conrad

William Conrad

William Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....

 as the two hitmen terrorizing a small town diner in the start of the 1946 film The Killers

The Killers (1946 film)

The Killers is a 1946 American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak. It is based in part on the short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The film features Burt Lancaster in his screen debut, as well as Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, and Sam Levene...

, McGraw's notable roles include: "Honest Joe" insurance investigator turned thief by love interest in the noir classic Roadblock

Roadblock (1951 film)

Roadblock is an American film noir starring Charles McGraw and Joan Dixon. The 73-minute crime thriller was shot on location in Los Angeles, California. The film was directed by Harold Daniels and the cinematography is by Nicholas Musuraca.-Plot:...

(1951); playing the grumpy cop hired to protect Marie Windsor

Marie Windsor

Marie Windsor . Born as Emily Marie Bertelson in Marysvale, Piute County, Utah, Windsor was an actress known as "The Queen of the Bs" because she appeared in so many film noirs and B-movies like Cat-Women of the Moon...

 in the noir B-movie

B-movie

A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....

 The Narrow Margin

The Narrow Margin

The Narrow Margin is a 1952 American film noir directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Earl Felton, based on an unpublished story written by Martin Goldsmith and Jack Leonard. Writers Goldsmith and Leonard were nominated for an Academy Award for their story.The picture stars Charles McGraw,...

(1952); Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...

' gladiator

Gladiator

A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...

 trainer in the epic Spartacus

Spartacus (film)

Spartacus is a 1960 American epic historical drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the novel of the same name by Howard Fast...

; righteous cop Lt. Jim Cordell in the Armored Car Robbery

Armored Car Robbery

Armored Car Robbery is a 1950 American film noir shot in a semi-documentary style, directed by Richard Fleischer, and starring Charles McGraw. The movie was filmed on location in Los Angeles, California....

(1950); and "The Preacher" in the science fiction cult classic

Cult Classic

Cult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...

 A Boy and His Dog

A Boy and His Dog

A Boy and His Dog is a cycle of narratives and films including or stemming from works of science fiction author Harlan Ellison.Ellison began the cycle with the 1969 short story of the same title, and a revised and expanded novella-length version was published in Ellison's story collection The Beast...

(1975).

McGraw is recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...

, located at 6927 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California

Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...

.

Television

He also starred in the television version of Casablanca

Casablanca (film)

Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...

(1955) taking over Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....

's role as Rick.

McGraw biography

In late 2007 Alan K. Rode wrote a biography of McGraw: Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy. The book provides a behind-the-scenes look and anecdotes about his life, including: his long marriage to a Eurasian woman, his World War II military service, his film career, and the story of his death.

Death

Charles McGraw died, aged 66, after slipping and falling through a glass shower door in his Studio City, California home in 1980.

Filmography

• The Undying Monster
  The Undying Monster
  The Undying Monster is a 1942 horror and mystery film, also known as The Hammond Mystery, featuring a werewolf as the primary antagonist...
  
  (1942)
• The Mad Ghoul
  The Mad Ghoul
  The Mad Ghoul is a science fiction horror film featuring George Zucco as Dr. Alfred Morris. It was also known as Mystery of the Ghoul.- Plot :...
  
  (1943)
• Corvette K-225
  Corvette K-225
  Corvette K -225 is a 1943 film starring Randolph Scott and Ella Raines. It was released in the UK as The Nelson Touch. Tony Gaudio was nominated for the 1943 Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on the film....
  
  (1943)
• Destroyer (1943)
• Mechanized Patrolling (1943)
• Two Tickets to London (1943)
• They Came to Blow Up America
  They Came to Blow Up America
  They Came to Blow Up America is a 1943 American war film drama based on Operation Pastorius, directed by Edward Ludwig. It stars George Sanders, Anna Sten and Ward Bond.-Plot:...
  
  (1943)
• Tonight We Raid Calais (1943)
• The Moon Is Down (1943)
• The Seventh Cross
  The Seventh Cross (1944 film)
  The Seventh Cross is a 1944 film starring Spencer Tracy, Hume Cronyn, Ray Collins and Jessica Tandy. Cronyn was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
  
  (1944)
• The Impostor (1944)
• The Killers
  The Killers (1946 film)
  The Killers is a 1946 American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak. It is based in part on the short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The film features Burt Lancaster in his screen debut, as well as Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, and Sam Levene...
  
  (1946)
• T-Men
  T-Men
  T-Men is a semidocumentary style 1947 film noir shot in black-and-white. The film was directed by Anthony Mann with cinematography by noted noir cameraman John Alton....
  
  (1947)
• The Gangster (1947)
• Roses Are Red (1947)
• On the Old Spanish Trail (1947)
• Brute Force
  Brute Force (1947 film)
  Brute Force is a brooding, brutal film noir, starring Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn and Charles Bickford. It was directed by Jules Dassin, with a screenplay by Richard Brooks and the cinematography by William H. Daniels....
  
  (1947)
• The Long Night (1947)
• The Big Fix (1947)
• The Farmer's Daughter (1947)
• Blood on the Moon
  Blood on the Moon
  Blood on the Moon is an RKO black-and-white "psychological" western directed by Robert Wise with cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca. The film, starring Robert Mitchum, Barbara Bel Geddes, and Robert Preston has many film noir elements. It was shot in California and some of the more scenic shots...
  
  (1948)
• Hazard (1948)
• Berlin Express
  Berlin Express
  Berlin Express is a black-and-white drama film directed by Jacques Tourneur. Thrown together by chance, a group of people search a city for a kidnapped peace activist. Set in Allied-occupied Germany, it was shot on location in post-World War II Frankfurt-am-Main and Berlin...
  
  (1948)
• The Hunted (1948)
• The Threat
  The Threat
  The Threat is a 1949 American film noir directed by Felix E. Feist and starring Charles McGraw. The film features Michael O'Shea, Virginia Grey, Charles McGraw, among others.-Plot:...
  
  (1949)
• The Story of Molly X (1949)
• Border Incident
  Border Incident
  Border Incident is a film noir directed by Anthony Mann. The MGM film was written by John C. Higgins and George Zuckerman. The film was shot by cinematographer John Alton who used shadows and lighting effects to involve an audience despite the fact that the film was shot on a low budget...
  
  (1949)
• Reign of Terror (1949)
• Once More, My Darling
  Once More, My Darling
  Once More, My Darling is a 1949 American comedy film directed by and starring Robert Montgomery. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Recording .-Cast:* Robert Montgomery as Collier 'Collie' Laing...
  
  (1949)
• Armored Car Robbery
  Armored Car Robbery
  Armored Car Robbery is a 1950 American film noir shot in a semi-documentary style, directed by Richard Fleischer, and starring Charles McGraw. The movie was filmed on location in Los Angeles, California....
  
  (1950)
• I Was a Shoplifter
  I Was a Shoplifter
  I Was a Shoplifter is a 1950 American crime film directed by Charles Lamont. It stars Scott Brady as the police detective sergeant Jeff Andrews, who is on a case to stop a gang of shoplifters headed by Herb Claxton and Ina Perdue who are exploiting a wealthy socialite, Faye Burton , a...
  
  (1950)
• Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town
  Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town
  Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town is a 1950 comedy film directed by Charles Lamont, it is the third of the ten films and revolves around Ma and Pa Kettle's trip to New York City.-Plot:After winning the house-of-the-future Ma and Pa are content...
  
  (1950)
• Side Street (1950)
• Roadblock
  Roadblock (1951 film)
  Roadblock is an American film noir starring Charles McGraw and Joan Dixon. The 73-minute crime thriller was shot on location in Los Angeles, California. The film was directed by Harold Daniels and the cinematography is by Nicholas Musuraca.-Plot:...
  
  (1951)

• His Kind of Woman
  His Kind of Woman
  His Kind of Woman is a black-and-white 1951 film noir starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell. The film features supporting roles by Vincent Price, Raymond Burr, and Charles McGraw...
  
  (1951)
• Double Crossbones (1951)
• One Minute to Zero
  One Minute to Zero (1952 film)
  One Minute to Zero is a romantic war film starring Robert Mitchum and Ann Blyth set during the Korean War. Victor Young's score includes the first recording of the love theme "When I Fall In Love" , which became a popular hit song recorded by a variety of artists.-Plot:Just prior to the North...
  
  (1952)
• The Narrow Margin
  The Narrow Margin
  The Narrow Margin is a 1952 American film noir directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Earl Felton, based on an unpublished story written by Martin Goldsmith and Jack Leonard. Writers Goldsmith and Leonard were nominated for an Academy Award for their story.The picture stars Charles McGraw,...
  
  (1952)
• Thunder Over the Plains
  Thunder Over the Plains
  Thunder Over The Plains is a 1953 western film directed by André de Toth and starring Randolph Scott and Lex Barker. This was the first film that Lex Barker appeared in after completing a series of 5 Tarzan films...
  
  (1953)
• War Paint
  War Paint (1953 film)
  War Paint is a 1953 Western directed by Lesley Selander, starring Robert Stack and Joan Taylor. A U.S. Cavalry lieutenant is assigned to deliver a peace treaty to a powerful Indian chief, but a band of renegades have vowed to kill the officer before he completes his mission.The film was shot in...
  
  (1953)
• Loophole
  Loophole (1954 film)
  Loophole is a black-and-white B-movie film noir crime drama. The film was directed by editor turned director Harold D. Schuster. Actress Mary Beth Hughes plays the movie's femme fatale.-Plot:...
  
  (1954)
• The Bridges at Toko-Ri
  The Bridges at Toko-Ri
  The Bridges at Toko-Ri is a 1954 film based on a novel by James Michener about a naval aviator assigned to bomb a group of heavily defended bridges during the Korean War. It was made into a motion picture by Paramount Pictures and won the Special Effects Oscar at the 28th Academy Awards...
  
  (1955)
• The Cruel Tower (1956)
• Toward the Unknown
  Toward the Unknown
  Toward the Unknown is a 1956 movie about the dawn of supersonic flight filmed on location at Edwards Air Force Base. Starring William Holden, Lloyd Nolan and Virginia Leith, the film features the screen debut of James Garner. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and written by Beirne Lay, Jr...
  
  (1956)
• Away All Boats
  Away All Boats
  Away All Boats is a 1956 American war film produced by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Joseph Pevney and produced by Howard Christie from a screenplay by Ted Sherdeman based on the 1953 novel by Kenneth M. Dodson....
  
  (1956)
• Joe Dakota (1957)
• Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (1957)
• Joe Butterfly
  Joe Butterfly
  Joe Butterfly is a comedy film directed by Jesse Hibbs and starring Audie Murphy, George Nader, Keenan Wynn, and Burgess Meredith in the title role. The movie follows the staff of Yank magazine, who are among the first American troops in Tokyo after Japan's surrender. They are given the difficult...
  
  (1957)
• Twilight for the Gods (1958)
• The Defiant Ones
  The Defiant Ones
  The Defiant Ones is a 1958 drama film which tells the story of two escaped prisoners, one white and one black, who are shackled together and who must co-operate in order to survive. It stars Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel, Cara Williams, Charles McGraw, and Lon Chaney, Jr...
  
  (1958)
• Saddle the Wind (1958)
• The Wonderful Country (1959)
• The Man in the Net
  The Man in the Net
  The Man in the Net is an American film noir starring Alan Ladd and Carolyn Jones. The taut drama was directed by Michael Curtiz.-Plot:...
  
  (1959)
• Cimarron
  Cimarron (1960 film)
  Cimarron is a 1960 western film based on the Edna Ferber novel Cimarron, featuring Glenn Ford and Maria Schell. It was directed by Anthony Mann, known for his westerns and film noirs....
  
  (1960)
• Spartacus
  Spartacus (film)
  Spartacus is a 1960 American epic historical drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the novel of the same name by Howard Fast...
  
  (1960)
• The Horizontal Lieutenant
  The Horizontal Lieutenant
  The Horizontal Lieutenant is a 1962 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe. It is a military comedy about an unfortunate army intelligence lieutenant who finds himself isolated on a remote Japanese island army outpost during World War II....
  
  (1962)
• It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
  It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
  It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
  
  (1963)
• The Birds
  The Birds (film)
  The Birds is a 1963 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts Bodega Bay, California which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few...
  
  (1963)
• In Cold Blood
  In Cold Blood (film)
  In Cold Blood is a 1967 film based on Truman Capote's book of the same name. Richard Brooks prepared the adaptation and directed the film. Some scenes were filmed on the locations of the original events, in Garden City and Holcomb, Kansas including the Clutter residence...
  
  (1967)
• The Busy Body
  The Busy Body
  The Busy Body is a 1967 comedy film starring Sid Caesar as a member of a crime ring and Robert Ryan as his boss. It was directed and produced by William Castle and was the first film appearance for Richard Pryor....
  
  (1967)
• Hang 'Em High
  Hang 'Em High
  Hang 'Em High is a 1968 American Western film directed by Ted Post and produced and co-written by Leonard Freeman. It stars Clint Eastwood as Jed Cooper, an innocent man who survives a lynching, Inger Stevens as a widow who helps him, Ed Begley as the leader of the gang that lynched him, and Pat...
  
  (1968)
• Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
  Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
  Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here is a Technicolor movie released in 1969, based on the true story of a Paiute Indian named Willie Boy and his run-in with the law in 1909 in Banning, California, United States....
  
  (1969)
• Pendulum (1969)
• Chandler (1971)
• Johnny Got His Gun
  Johnny Got His Gun (film)
  Johnny Got His Gun is a 1971 anti-war film based on the novel of the same name written and directed by Dalton Trumbo and starring Timothy Bottoms, Jason Robards and Donald Sutherland with Diane Varsi...
  
  (1971)
• A Boy and His Dog
  A Boy and His Dog
  A Boy and His Dog is a cycle of narratives and films including or stemming from works of science fiction author Harlan Ellison.Ellison began the cycle with the 1969 short story of the same title, and a revised and expanded novella-length version was published in Ellison's story collection The Beast...
  
  (1975)
• The Killer Inside Me (1976)
• Twilight's Last Gleaming
  Twilight's Last Gleaming
  Twilight's Last Gleaming is a 1977 film directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Burt Lancaster and Richard Widmark.Loosely based on a 1971 novel, Viper Three by Walter Wager, it tells the story of Lawrence Dell, a renegade USAF general, who escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo...
  
  (1977)

External links

• Charles McGraw at Movie Morlocks (TCM web site)
• Charles McGraw's Television schedule at LocateTV