William Demarest
Acting
- Born:
- 1892-02-27
- Died:
- 1983-12-28
- Place of birth:
- Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Carl William Demarest (February 27, 1892 – December 27, 1983) was an American character actor, known for playing Uncle Charley in My Three Sons. A veteran of World War I, Demarest became a prolific film and television actor, appearing in over 140 films, beginning in 1926 and ending in the 1970s. He frequently played crusty but good-hearted roles. Demarest started in show business working in vaudeville, appearing with his wife Estelle Collette (real name Esther Zychlin) as "Demarest and Colette", then moved on to Broadway. Demarest worked regularly with director Preston Sturges, becoming part of a "stock" troupe of actors that Sturges repeatedly cast in his films. He appeared in ten films written by Sturges, eight of which were under his direction, including The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. Demarest was such a familiar figure at the Paramount studio that just his name was used in the movie Sunset Boulevard as a potential star for William Holden's unsold baseball screenplay. Demarest appeared with veteran western film star Roscoe Ates in the 1958 episode "And the Desert Shall Blossom" of CBS's Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In the story line, Ates and Demarest appear as old timers living in the Nevada desert. The local sheriff, played by Ben Johnson, appears with an eviction notice, but he agrees to let the pair stay on their property if they can make a dead rosebush bloom within the next month. In 1959 Demarest was named the lead actor of the 18-week sitcom Love and Marriage on NBC in the 1959–1960 season. Demarest played William Harris, the owner of a failing music company who refuses to handle popular rock and roll music, which presumably might save the firm from bankruptcy. Joining Demarest on the series were Jeanne Bal, Murray Hamilton and Stubby Kaye. Demarest appeared as Police Chief Aloysius of the Santa Rosita Police Department in the film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), as well as on a memorable episode ("What's in the Box") of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone as a hen-pecked husband driven to the murder of his wife. His most famous television role was in the ABC and then CBS sitcom My Three Sons from 1965 to 1972, playing Uncle Charley O'Casey. He replaced William Frawley, whose failing health had made procuring insurance impossible. Demarest had worked with Fred MacMurray previously in the films Hands Across the Table (1935), Pardon My Past (1945), On Our Merry Way (1948), and The Far Horizons (1955) and was a personal friend of MacMurray. Also, he worked with Irene Dunne in Never a Dull Moment (1950).
Known For
Filmography
Television: The First Fifty Years
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
The Millionaire
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
Ellery Queen
The Wild McCullochs
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
McMillan & Wife
That Darn Cat!
Viva Las Vegas
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
The Jerry Lewis Show
Burke's Law
The Greatest Show on Earth
Son of Flubber
Going My Way
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Mike Douglas Show
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
Ben Casey
Dr. Kildare
Twenty Plus Two
King of the Roaring 20's – The Story of Arnold Rothstein
Pepe
My Three Sons
The Rebel
The Twilight Zone
Love and Marriage
Bonanza
Wagon Train
Tales of Wells Fargo
The Rawhide Years
The Mountain
Hell on Frisco Bay
Sincerely Yours
Lucy Gallant
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
The Private War of Major Benson
The Far Horizons
Jupiter's Darling
The Yellow Mountain
The Wonderful World of Disney
Jamboree
Studio 57
Escape from Fort Bravo
Here Come the Girls
Dangerous When Wet
The Lady Wants Mink
The Blazing Forest
What Price Glory
The Red Skelton Show
Behave Yourself!
The Strip
Excuse My Dust
The First Legion
He's a Cockeyed Wonder
Never a Dull Moment
Riding High
When Willie Comes Marching Home
Red, Hot and Blue
Jolson Sings Again
Sorrowful Jones
Whispering Smith
Night Has a Thousand Eyes
The Sainted Sisters
On Our Merry Way
Variety Girl
The Perils of Pauline
The Jolson Story
Our Hearts Were Growing Up
Pardon My Past
Hollywood Victory Caravan
Duffy's Tavern
Along Came Jones
Salty O'Rourke
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
Hail the Conquering Hero
The Great Moment
Once Upon a Time
Nine Girls
True to Life
Dangerous Blondes
Stage Door Canteen
Johnny Doughboy
Life Begins at Eight-Thirty
Behind the Eight Ball
The Palm Beach Story
Pardon My Sarong
My Favorite Spy
True to the Army
All Through the Night
Glamour Boy
Sullivan's Travels
Dressed to Kill
Country Fair
Ride on Vaquero
Rookies on Parade
The Devil and Miss Jones
The Lady Eve
Little Men
Christmas in July
The Golden Fleecing
Comin' Round the Mountain
The Great McGinty
The Farmer's Daughter
Wolf of New York
Laugh It Off
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Miracles for Sale
The Cowboy Quarterback
The Gracie Allen Murder Case
King of the Turf
The Great Man Votes
While New York Sleeps
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
Josette
One Wild Night
Romance on the Run
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Rosalie
Big City
Wake Up and Live
Blonde Trouble
Easy Living
The Great Gambini
The Great Hospital Mystery
The Hit Parade
Oh, Doctor
Don't Tell the Wife
Time Out for Romance
Mind Your Own Business
Charlie Chan at the Opera
Love on the Run
Wedding Present
The Great Ziegfeld
White Lies
Hands Across the Table
Diamond Jim
Bright Lights
The Murder Man
The Casino Murder Case
After Office Hours
Fugitive Lady
Many Happy Returns
Fog Over Frisco
Seeing Things
The Crash
The Butter and Egg Man
Five and Ten Cent Annie
Pay as You Enter
A Girl in Every Port
Sharp Shooters
The Night Court
A Reno Divorce
The Jazz Singer
A Sailor's Sweetheart
The Bush Leaguer
The First Auto
What Happened To Father
The Black Diamond Express
Simple Sis
A Million Bid
Matinee Ladies
The Gay Old Bird
Don't Tell the Wife
Finger Prints