William Frawley
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Roles are weighted by involvement: director 1.0, screenwriter 0.7, lead 0.8, supporting 0.4, crew 0.1.
William Frawley was born in Burlington, Iowa. As a boy he sang at St. Paul's Catholic Church and played at the Burlington Opera House. His first job was as a stenographer for the Union Pacific Railroad. He did vaudeville with his brother Paul, then joined pianist Franz Rath in an act they took to San Francisco in 1910. Four years later he formed a light comedy act with his new wife Edna Louise Broedt, "Frawley and Louise", touring the Orpheum and Keith circuits until they divorced in 1927. He next moved to Broadway and then, in 1932, to Hollywood with Paramount. By 1951, when he contacted Lucille Ball about a part in her TV show I Love Lucy (1951), he had performed in over 100 films. His Fred Mertz role lasted until the show ended in 1960, after which he did a five-year stint on My Three Sons (1960). Poor health forced his retirement. He collapsed of a heart attack on March 3, 1966, aged 79, walking along Hollywood Boulevard after seeing a movie. He is buried in San Fernando Mission Cemetery.
Known for
Credits
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
as Charlie Halloran
Desire (1936)
as Mr. Gibson
Touchdown, Army (1938)
as Jack Heffernan
Good Sam (1948)
as Tom
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
as Jean La Salle
Roxie Hart (1942)
as O'Malley
Down to Earth (1947)
as Police Lieutenant
Going My Way (1944)
as Max Dolan, Publisher (uncredited)
The Virginian (1946)
as Honey Wiggen
The Lady Takes a Sailor (1949)
as Oliver Harker
One Night in the Tropics (1940)
as Roscoe
Ziegfeld Follies (1945)
as Martin (segment "A Sweepstakes Ticket")
Double or Nothing (1937)
as John Pederson
The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)
as Sheriff McGee
The Crime Doctor (1934)
as Fraser
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939)
as The 'Duke'
The Fighting Seabees (1944)
as Eddie Powers
Flame of Barbary Coast (1945)
as Wolf Wylie
East Side, West Side (1949)
as Bill the Bartender
Larceny with Music (1943)
as Mike Simms
The Inner Circle (1946)
as Det. Lt. Webb
Blondie's Hero (1950)
as Marty Greer
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950)
as Byers
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
as Det. Roberts
Gentleman Jim (1942)
as Billy Delaney
Blondie in Society (1941)
as Waldo Pincus
Hell and High Water (1933)
as Milton J. Bunsey
The General Died at Dawn (1936)
as Brighton
Gangs Of The City (1941)
as Bang
Lady on a Train (1945)
as Desk Sgt. Brennan
Lucille Ball: Finding Lucy (2000)
as Self (archive footage)
The Princess Comes Across (1936)
as Benton
Blondie's Anniversary (1947)
as Sharkey the Loen Shark
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now (1947)
as Jim Mason
Rancho Notorious (1952)
as Baldy Gunder
Roberta (1935)
as Bartender (uncredited)
High, Wide and Handsome (1937)
as Mac
Shoot the Works (1934)
as Larry Hale
Three Married Men (1936)
as Bill Mullins
Kill the Umpire (1950)
as Jimmy O'Brien
Alibi Ike (1935)
as Cap
Rose of Washington Square (1939)
as Harry Long
Mother Wore Tights (1947)
as Mr. Schneider
Professor Beware (1938)
as Snoop Donlan
Strike Me Pink (1936)
as Mr. Copple
Rhythm on the River (1940)
as Mr. Westlake
Whistling in Brooklyn (1943)
as Detective Ramsey
Hitchhike to Happiness (1945)
as Sandy Hill
Rendezvous with Annie (1946)
as General Trent
Opened by Mistake (1940)
as Matt Kingsley
The Babe Ruth Story (1948)
as Jack Dunn
Something to Sing About (1937)
as Hank Mayers
The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
as Gloomy Willie
It's a Great Life (1935)
as Lt. McNulty
It Happened in Flatbush (1942)
as Sam Sloan
Footsteps in the Dark (1941)
as Det. 'Hoppy' Hopkins
Here Is My Heart (1934)
as James Smith
I Love Lucy: The Movie (1953)
as Fred Mertz / Self
Harmony Lane (1935)
as Edwin P. 'Ed' Christy
Golden Gloves (1940)
as Emory Balzar
Red Light (1949)
as Hotel Night Clerk
Rhubarb (1951)
as Len Sickles
We've Never Been Licked (1943)
as Traveling Salesman
Mad About Music (1938)
as Dusty Turner
Six Lessons From Madame La Zonga (1941)
as Chauncey Beheegan
St. Louis Blues (1939)
as Major Martingale
The Quarterback (1940)
as Coach
Chicken Every Sunday (1949)
as George Kirby
Ex-Champ (1939)
as Mushy Harrington
Those Were the Days! (1940)
as Prisoner
I Love Lucy Christmas Special (2016)
as Fred Mertz
College Scandal (1935)
as Chief of Police Magoun
Persons in Hiding (1939)
as Alec Inglis
Pretty Baby (1950)
as Corcoran
Car 99 (1935)
as Training Sgt. Barrel
Rose Bowl (1936)
as 'Soapy' Moreland
Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen (1934)
as Captain Murphy
The Witching Hour (1934)
as Jury Foreman
Crime Doctor's Man Hunt (1946)
as Police Inspector Harry B. Manning
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven (1948)
as Agent
The Farmer's Daughter (1940)
as Scoop Trimble
Sons of the Legion (1938)
as Uncle Willie Lee
Moonlight and Pretzels (1933)
as Mac
Blossoms On Broadway (1937)
as Francis X. Rush
Lucy's Really Lost Moments (1956)
as Fred Mertz
The Dirty Look (1954)
Actor
F-Man (1936)
as Detective Rogan
The Lone Wolf and His Lady (1949)
as Inspector Crane
Untamed (1940)
as Les Woodbury
Sandy Gets Her Man (1940)
as Police Chief J. A. O'Hara
My Wild Irish Rose (1947)
as William Scanlon
Cracked Nuts (1941)
as James Mitchell
Bolero (1934)
as Mike DeBaere
Give Out, Sisters (1942)
as Harrison
Grand Jury Secrets (1939)
as Bright Eyes
Hold 'Em Yale (1935)
as Sunshine Joe
The Girl from Manhattan (1948)
as Mr. Bernouti
Home in San Antone (1949)
as O'Fleery
Stop, Look and Love (1939)
as Joe Haller
Lake Placid Serenade (1944)
as Jiggers
Safe at Home! (1962)
as Bill Turner
Ambush (1939)
as Inspector J.L. Weber
Moonlight in Havana (1942)
as Barney Crane
Treat 'Em Rough (1942)
as 'Hotfoot'
Ship Cafe (1935)
as Briney O'Brien
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All (1948)
as Knobby Walsh
Wildcat (1942)
as Oliver Westbrook
Dancing on a Dime (1940)
as Mac
The Lemon Drop Kid (1934)
as William Dunhill aka The Professor
The Yankee Doodler (1942)
Actor
Welcome Home (1935)
as Painless
Night Work (1939)
as Bruiser Brown
Should Husbands Be Watched? (1925)
as Beat Cop
Beautiful Dreamer (1935)
Actor
Ventriloquist (1927)
as 'Hoak' salesman