Born Charles Butters (May 10, 1914, Des Moines, Iowa - July 30, 1980, Studio City, California), square-jawed Charles McGraw become an actor and made his first film in 1942, albeit in a role which did not garner a screen credit.
Gravel voiced, stoney faced & grizzled looking actor Charles McGraw notched up dozens of TV and film appearances often portraying law enforcement figures or military officers, plus the odd shifty gangster. Noted appearances include as dogged cop Det. Sgt. Walter Brown protecting a mob witness in the 1952 noir classic Narrow Margin, The (1952) , as resolute Lt. Jim Cordell pursuing armed bandits in Armored Car Robbery (1950), as the gladiatorial trainer Marcellus taunting slave Kirk Douglas (I) in the epic Spartacus (1960), as William Holden (I) naval commander in the Korean War drama Bridges at Toko-Ri, The (1954) and as jaded police officer Lt. Matthews assisting Spencer Tracy in the all-star comedy, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963). Died in 1980 after a tragic accident in which he slipped and fell through a glass shower door.
