Ed Grady

Who was Ed Grady?

Edward Louis "Ed" Grady was an American stage, film and television actor and teacher. His film credits included A Simple Twist of Fate in 1994, Lolita in 1997, and The Notebook in 2004. His television roles included the 1993 television miniseries, Alex Haley's Queen; the 1993 Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie, To Dance with the White Dog, as well as a string of series, including In the Heat of the Night, I'll Fly Away, Matlock, and Dawson's Creek, in which he had a recurring role as Gramps Ryan.

Grady's theater roles included three seasons at Unto These Hills, an outdoor Cherokee historical drama staged in Cherokee, North Carolina. Grady portrayed Drowning Bear in the play, which follows the story of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Grady was born to Eddie Jones Grady and Maude Clara Grady on August 31, 1923, in Kinston, North Carolina. He graduated from Grainger High School in Kinston. Grady enlisted in the Air Force Cadet during World War II and trained as a cryptographer. He served as Ie Shima during the war, later becoming the recipient of the Soldier's Medal for rescuing a pilot from a P-47 plane which was one fire.