Grady Sutton

Biography

Grady Sutton was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He arrived in California in 1924. He got his first break in Hollywood from director William A. Seiter who used him as an extra in The Mad Whirl (1925) starring May McAvoy. Grady remained a Hollywood staple for the next 55 years. He specialized in playing naive, slightly befuddled young men and country bumpkins, adding comedic bits to many films. His most famous association came from appearing in four movies with W.C. Fields: The Pharmacist (1933), Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935), You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939) and The Bank Dick (1940). He can also be seen in such classics as My Man Godfrey (1936), Stage Door (1937), Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), Angels Wash Their Faces (1939), Anchors Aweigh (1945), White Christmas (1954) and A Star Is Born (1954). He was also a regular on The Egg and I (1951) and The Phyllis Diller Show (1966) television series. In total, he appeared in over 200 feature films and short subjects spanning 1924 to 1979. His final film appearance was in Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979). In 1994 he moved to the Motion Picture and Television Home and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California where he died September 17, 1995, of natural causes.