William Demarest
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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
Credits
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
as Police Chief Aloysius
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
as Bill Griffith
That Darn Cat! (1965)
as Mr. MacDougall
The Jazz Singer (1927)
as Buster Billings (uncredited)
Viva Las Vegas (1964)
as Mr. Martin
The Lady Eve (1941)
as Muggsy
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
as Mr. Jones
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973)
as Mr. Harris
Escape from Fort Bravo (1953)
as Campbell
The Palm Beach Story (1942)
as First Member Ale and Quail Club
The Far Horizons (1955)
as Sgt. Gass
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
as Gene Buck (uncredited)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)
as Henry Kipper
Nine Girls (1944)
as Walter Cummings
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)
as Constable Edmund Kockenlocker
The Mountain (1956)
as Father Belacchi
Hell on Frisco Bay (1955)
as Dan Bianco
Sharp Shooters (1928)
as 'Hi Jack' Murdock
Stage Door Canteen (1943)
as William Demarest
What Price Glory (1952)
as Corporal Kiper
Son of Flubber (1963)
as Mr. Hummel
All Through the Night (1942)
as Sunshine
Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948)
as Lt. Shawn
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line (1997)
as Self (archive footage)
Easy Living (1937)
as Wallace Whistling
Rosalie (1937)
as Army Coach
Variety Girl (1947)
as Barker
The Rawhide Years (1956)
as Brand Comfort
Christmas in July (1940)
as Mr. Bildocker
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976)
as Studio Gatekeeper
Along Came Jones (1945)
as George Fury
Hands Across the Table (1935)
as Regi's Date Natty (uncredited)
Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
as Sgt. Heppelfinger
Dangerous When Wet (1953)
as Pa Higgins
Red, Hot and Blue (1949)
as Charlie Baxter
Television: The First Fifty Years (1999)
as Charlie O'Casey (archive footage)
Pardon My Sarong (1942)
as Detective Kendall
The Yellow Mountain (1954)
as Jackpot Wray
Life Begins at Eight-Thirty (1942)
as Police Officer
Pepe (1960)
as Movie Studio Gateman
Simple Sis (1927)
Actor
Oh, Doctor (1937)
as Marty Short
The Devil and Miss Jones (1941)
as First Detective
Pardon My Past (1945)
as Chuck Gibson
Dressed to Kill (1941)
as Inspector Pierson
When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950)
as Herman Kluggs
Wedding Present (1936)
as 'Smiles' Benson
The Perils of Pauline (1947)
as George 'Mac' McGuire
Salty O'Rourke (1945)
as Smitty
Lucy Gallant (1955)
as Charles Madden
Fugitive Lady (1934)
as Steve Rogers
Little Men (1940)
as Constable Tom Thorpe
King of the Roaring 20's – The Story of Arnold Rothstein (1961)
as Henry Hecht
Once Upon a Time (1944)
as Brandt
Hollywood Victory Caravan (1945)
as Bill, the Security Guard
Jupiter's Darling (1955)
as Mago
On Our Merry Way (1948)
as Floyd
Jamboree (1954)
as Self
Blonde Trouble (1937)
as Paul Sears
Sincerely Yours (1955)
as Sam Dunne
The Strip (1951)
as Fluff
Riding High (1950)
as Happy
The Murder Man (1935)
as 'Red' Maguire
Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)
as Sergeant Kelly
Fog Over Frisco (1934)
as Spike Smith
The Lady Wants Mink (1953)
as Harvey Jones
The Great McGinty (1940)
as Skeeters - The Politician
The Golden Fleecing (1940)
as Swallow
Dangerous Blondes (1943)
as Detective Gatling
The First Legion (1951)
as Monsignor Michael Carey
Big City (1937)
as Mr. Beecher
Time Out for Romance (1937)
as Willoughby Sproggs
After Office Hours (1935)
as Police Detective (uncredited)
My Favorite Spy (1942)
as Flower Pot Policeman
A Girl in Every Port (1928)
as Man in Bombay (uncredited)
Whispering Smith (1948)
as Bill Dansing
The Jolson Story (1946)
as Steve Martin
The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939)
as Police Sgt. Ernest Heath
The Private War of Major Benson (1955)
as John
Sorrowful Jones (1949)
as Regret
True to Life (1943)
as Uncle Jake
The Farmer's Daughter (1940)
as Victor Walsh
Wake Up and Live (1937)
as Radio Center Tour Guide
The Sainted Sisters (1948)
as Vern Tewilliger
Never a Dull Moment (1950)
as Mears
Finger Prints (1927)
as Cuffs Egan
Glamour Boy (1941)
as Papa Doran
He's a Cockeyed Wonder (1950)
as Bob Sears
Wolf of New York (1940)
as Bill Ennis
Diamond Jim (1935)
as Harry Hill
The Great Moment (1944)
as Eben Frost
The Wild McCullochs (1975)
as Father Gurkin
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon (1961)
as Jeb
Excuse My Dust (1951)
as Harvey Bullitt
Rookies on Parade (1941)
as Mike Brady
Behave Yourself! (1951)
as O'Ryan
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus (1938)
as Daro
The Casino Murder Case (1935)
as Auctioneer (uncredited)
The Great Man Votes (1939)
as Charles Dole
Twenty Plus Two (1961)
as Desmond Slocum
Laugh It Off (1939)
as Barney 'Gimpy' Cole
Many Happy Returns (1934)
as Brinker
White Lies (1935)
as Roberts
Miracles for Sale (1939)
as Quinn
Ride on Vaquero (1941)
as Bartender Barney
Duffy's Tavern (1945)
as William Demarest
The Millionaire (1978)
as Oscar Pugh
Country Fair (1941)
as Stogie McPhee
The First Auto (1927)
as The Village Cut-Up
Jolson Sings Again (1949)
as Steve Martin
The Gay Old Bird (1927)
as Mr. Fixit
King of the Turf (1939)
as Arnold
Josette (1938)
as Joe, Diner Owner
Bright Lights (1935)
as Detective
Here Come the Girls (1953)
as Dennis Logan
A Sailor's Sweetheart (1927)
as Detective
True to the Army (1942)
as Sgt. Butts
The Great Hospital Mystery (1937)
as Mr. Beatty
Love on the Run (1936)
as Editor
The Night Court (1927)
as Defense Counsel
Johnny Doughboy (1942)
as Harry Fabian
The Blazing Forest (1952)
as Syd Jessup
The Butter and Egg Man (1928)
as Jack McLure
A Reno Divorce (1927)
as James, the chauffeur
One Wild Night (1938)
as Collins
The Cowboy Quarterback (1939)
as Rusty Walker
What Happened To Father (1927)
as Detective Dibbin
The Hit Parade (1937)
as Parole Officer
The Crash (1928)
as Louie
Five and Ten Cent Annie (1928)
as Briggs
The Black Diamond Express (1927)
as Train Engine Fireman
While New York Sleeps (1938)
as Red Miller
Romance on the Run (1938)
as Police Lt. Eckhardt
Behind the Eight Ball (1942)
as McKenzie
Don't Tell the Wife (1927)
as Ray Valerian
Don't Tell the Wife (1937)
as Larry 'Horace' Tucker
Mind Your Own Business (1936)
as Droopy
Our Hearts Were Growing Up (1946)
as Peanuts Schultz
A Million Bid (1927)
as George Lamont
Matinee Ladies (1927)
as Man About Town
Pay as You Enter (1928)
as 'Terrible Bill' McGovern
The Great Gambini (1937)
as Sergeant Kirby
Comin' Round the Mountain (1940)
as Gutsy Mann
The Bush Leaguer (1927)
as John Gilroy
Seeing Things (1930)
as The Heir