William
Frawley Biography
(1887 - 1966)
William Clement
Frawley was born on February 26, 1887, to
M.A. "Mike" Frawley and Mary
Ellen Brady, in Burlington, Iowa. While
growing up he had a head of "golden
curls" in which his mother loved,
although William did not like them and
had them cut off. William's mother was a
deeply religious woman and did not care
for William's choice of become an
entertainer. She tried to get him to take
a job in Omaha, as a stenographer for the
Union Pacific Railroad, after he
graduated from high school, he took the
job.
At the age of
twenty-one, in Chicago, without his
mother knowledge he took a position, in
the chorus of a musical, The Flirting
Princess. He later formed a
vaudeville act with his brother, Paul,
although the act broke up after only six
months when William's mother ordered Paul
to come home. William moved West, and
stopped in Denver, where he got a
professional engagement to sing at the
Rex Café.
He gained a
reputation while working at the Rex and
the Mozart Café. In 1914, William met
and married Edna Louise Broedt. The two
formed an act called Frawley and Louise,
the act was considered to be one of the
greatest comedy acts of vaudeville,
however their marriage ended in divorced
in 1927.
William got
jobs on Broadway in such shows as The
Gingham Girl, Bye, Bye Bonnie,
Here's Howe!, She's My Baby,
and Sons o' Guns. Shortly
afterward Paramount Pictures signed him
to a contract, were he stayed for eight
years. However, in the late 1940s and
early 1950s William had trouble getting
work so he set out to find it himself.
By 1951,
William had been in 107 movies. In July
1951, William heard that Lucille Ball was
starting her own series "I Love
Lucy," and one night while at
home Lucille received a call from William
Frawley. While on the phone he asked if
there would be a place on the series for
him, Lucille, put Desi Arnaz and series
producer Jess Oppenhiemer to hire him in
the role that would make him forever
remembered as skinflint, landlord, Fred
Mertz. Although, William had to assure
the executives that his alcohol problems
would not interfere with his performance
in "I Love Lucy." At
the start of "I Love Lucy,"
William was paid $350 a week, and never
was absent to the set due to alcohol.
William and co-star Vivian Vance were
offered their own TV series near the end
of "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour"
however the two disliked each other so
much, that they declined on the offer.
After "I
Love Lucy" and "The
Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" ended
their runs, William went on to work in
ABC's new series "My Three Sons"
as Grandpa Bub O'Casey. However, in 1965
he was forced off, "My Three
Sons" due to his declining
health related problems, despite his own
feelings.
A year later
on March 3, 1966 William died of a heart
attack on Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood,
California.
Spouse
Edna Louise
Broedt / 1914 - 1927 (divorced)
Filmography
- Lord
Loveland Discovers America (1916)
... Tony Kidd
- Fancy
That (1929)
- Moonlight
And Pretzels (1933) ... Mack
- Miss
Fane's Baby Is Stolen (1933) ..
Captain Murphy
- Hell And
High Water (1933) ... Milton J.
Bunsey
- The
Witching Hour (1934) ... Jury
Foreman
- Bolero
(1934) ... Mike DeBaere
- Shott
The Works (1934) ... Larry Hale
- Here Is
My Heart (1934) ... James Smith
- The
Lemon Drop Kid (1934) ... The
Professor
- The
Crime Doctor (1934) ... Fraser
- Roberta
(1935) ... Bartender (uncredited)
- Car 99
(1935) ... Sergeant Barrel
- Welcome
Home (1935) ... Painless
- Harmony
Lane (1935) ... E.P.
"Ed" Christy
- Ship
Cafe (1935) ... Briney O'Brien
- Hold 'Em
Yale (1935) ... Sunshine Joe
- College
Scandal (1935) .... Chief of
Police Magoun
- Alibi
Ike (1935) .... Cap
- Strike
Me Pink (1936) .... Mr. Copple
- Desire
(1936) .... Mr. Gibson
- Three
Cheers for Love (1936) ....
Milton Shakespeare
- The
General Died at Dawn (1936) ....
Brighton
- Three
Married Men (1936) .... Bill
Mullins
- Rose
Bowl (1936) .... Soapy Moreland
- The
Princess Comes Across (1936) ....
Benton
- It's a
Great Life (1936) .... Lt.
McNulty
- F-Man
(1936) .... Hogan
- Something
to Sing About (1937) .... Hank
Meyers
- High,
Wide, and Handsome (1937) ....
Mac
- Double
or Nothing (1937) .... Pederson
- Blossoms
on Broadway (1937) .... Frances
X. Rush
- Mad
About Music (1938) .... Dusty
Turner
- Professor
Beware (1938) .... Snoop Donlan
- Touchdown
Army (1938) .... Jack Heffernan
- Sons of
the Legion (1938) .... Uncle
Willie Lee
- Persons
in Hiding (1939) .... Alec Inglis
- The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
(1939) .... Bilgewater, the
"Duke"
- Rose of
Washington Square (1939) ....
Harry Long
- St.
Louis Blues (1939) .... Maj.
Martingale
- Stop,
Look and Love (1939) .... Joe
Haller
- Night
Work (1939) .... Bruiser Brown
- Grand
Jury Secrets (1939) .... Bright
Eyes
- Golden
Gloves (1939) .... Emory Balzar
- Ex-Champ
(1939) .... Mushy Harrington
- Ambush
(1939) .... Inspector J.L. Weber
- Those
Were the Days (1940) (uncredited)
.... Prisoner
- Opened
by Mistake (1940) .... Matt
Kingsley
- One
Night in the Tropics (1940) ....
Roscoe
- Untamed
(1940) .... Les Woodbury
- Sandy
Gets Her Man (1940) .... Police
Chief O'Hara
- Rhythm
on the River (1940) .... Mr.
Westlake
- The
Quarterback (1940) .... Coach
- The
Farmer's Daughter (1940) ....
Scoop Trimble
- Dancing
on a Dime (1940) .... Mac
- Six
Lessons from Madame La Zonga
(1941) .... Beheegan
- Blondie
in Society (1941) .... Waldo
Pincus
- The
Bride Came C.O.D. (1941) ....
Sheriff McGee
- Public
Enemies (1941) .... Bang
- Footsteps
in the Dark (1941) .... Hopkins
- Cracked
Nuts (1941) .... Mitchell
- Treat
'Em Rough (1942) .... Hotfoot
- It
Happened in Flatbush (1942) ....
Sam Sloan
- Give
Out, Sisters (1942) .... Harrison
- Roxie
Hart (1942) .... O'Malley
- Gentleman
Jim (1942) .... Billy Delaney
- Wildcat
(1942) .... Oliver Westbrook
- Moonlight
in Havana (1942) .... Barney
Crane
- We've
Never Been Licked (1943) ....
Traveling Salesman
- Larceny
with Music (1943) .... Mike Simms
- Whistling
in Brooklyn (1943) .... Detective
Ramsey
- The
Fighting Seabees (1944) ....
Eddie Powers
- Going My
Way (1944) .... Max
- Lake
Placid Serenade (1944) ....
Jiggers
- Minstrel
Man (1944)
- Flame of
Barbary Coast (1945) .... Wolf
Wylie
- Hitchhike
to Happiness (1945) .... Sandy
Hill
- Lady on
a Train (1945) .... Police
Sergeant
- Ziegfeld
Follies (1946) .... Mr. Martin
- The
Virginian (1946) .... Honey
Wiggen
- Rendezvous
with Annie (1946) .... General
Trent
- The
Inner Circle (1946) .... Det. Lt.
Webb
- Crime
Doctor's Man Hunt (1946) ....
Inspector Harry B. Manning
- Hit
Parade of 1947 (1947) .... Harry
Holmes
- Miracle
on 34th Street (1947) ....
Charles Halloran
- Mother
Wore Tights (1947) .... Mr.
Schneider
- Down to
Earth (1947) .... Police
Lieutenant
- Monsieur
Verdoux (1947) .... Jean La Salle
- My Wild
Irish Rose (1947) .... William
Scanlon
- I Wonder
Who's Kissing Her Now (1947) ....
Jim Mason
- Blondie's
Anniversary (1947) .... Sharkey
the loan shark
- Good Sam
(1948) .... Tom Moore
- The Babe
Ruth Story (1948) .... Jack Dunn
- Joe
Palooka in Winner Take All (1948)
.... Knobby Walsh
- Texas,
Brooklyn and Heaven (1948) ....
Agent
- The Girl
from Manhattan (1948) .... Mr.
Bernouti
- Chicken
Every Sunday (1948) .... George
Kirby
- Red
Light (1949) .... Hotel Clerk
- The Lone
Wolf and His Lady (1949) ....
Inspector Crane
- The Lady
Takes a Sailor (1949) .... Oliver
Harker
- Home in
San Antone (1949)
- East
Side, West Side (1949) .... Bill
the Bartender
- Blondie's
Hero (1950) .... Marty Greer
- Kiss
Tomorrow Goodbye (1950) ....
Byers
- Pretty
Baby (1950) .... Corcoran
- Kill the
Umpire (1950) .... Jimmy O'Brien
- Abbott
and Costello Meet the Invisible
Man (1951) .... Detective Roberts
- "I
Love Lucy" (1951)
TV Series .... Fred Mertz
- The
Lemon Drop Kid (1951) .... Gloomy
Willie
- Rhubarb
(1951) .... Len Sickles
- Rancho
Notorious (1952) .... Baldy
Gunder
- "The
Lucy-Desi comedy Hour"
(1957) TV Series ... Fred Mertz
- "My
Three Sons" (1960) TV Series
... Michael Franics Aloisius
"Bub" O'Casey (1960-65)
- Safe At
Home (1962) ... Bill Turner
Guest
Appearances
- "Your
Show Time" (1949) episode
"The Lady or the Tiger"
#1.13 aired April 15, 1949
- "The
Silver Theater" (1949)
episode "Papa Romani"
#1.15 aired January 9, 1950
- "The
Silver Theater" (1949)
episode "The First Hundred
Years" #1.31 aired May 1,
1950
- "Westinghouse
Desilu Playhouse" (1958)
episode "The Comeback"
aired February 4, 1959
- "The
Gale Storm Show" (1956)
playing Jim Comstock episode
"The Card Shark" #4.2
aired October 8, 1959
- "Westinghouse
Desilu Playhouse" (1958)
episode "The Desilu
Revue" aired December 11,
1959
- "Bronco"
(1958) episode "The
Immovable Object" #4.17
aired April 16, 1952
- "The
Lucy Show" (1962) episode
"Lucy and the Countess Have
a Horse Guest" #4.6 aired
October 25, 1965
|
