William Frawley
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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
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
as Jean La Salle
Rancho Notorious (1952)
as Baldy Gunder
Desire (1936)
as Mr. Gibson
Going My Way (1944)
as Max Dolan, Publisher (uncredited)
Good Sam (1948)
as Tom
Touchdown, Army (1938)
as Jack Heffernan
Ziegfeld Follies (1945)
as Martin (segment "A Sweepstakes Ticket")
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950)
as Byers
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
as Det. Roberts
One Night in the Tropics (1940)
as Roscoe
Gentleman Jim (1942)
as Billy Delaney
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939)
as The 'Duke'
Down to Earth (1947)
as Police Lieutenant
Roxie Hart (1942)
as O'Malley
The Virginian (1946)
as Honey Wiggen
Flame of Barbary Coast (1945)
as Wolf Wylie
The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
as Gloomy Willie
The Fighting Seabees (1944)
as Eddie Powers
The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)
as Sheriff McGee
Red Light (1949)
as Hotel Night Clerk
Rose of Washington Square (1939)
as Harry Long
The General Died at Dawn (1936)
as Brighton
Mother Wore Tights (1947)
as Mr. Schneider
Footsteps in the Dark (1941)
as Det. 'Hoppy' Hopkins
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now (1947)
as Jim Mason
East Side, West Side (1949)
as Bill the Bartender
The Princess Comes Across (1936)
as Benton
Roberta (1935)
as Bartender (uncredited)
Lady on a Train (1945)
as Desk Sgt. Brennan
Rhubarb (1951)
as Len Sickles
The Lady Takes a Sailor (1949)
as Oliver Harker
The Babe Ruth Story (1948)
as Jack Dunn
Ex-Champ (1939)
as Mushy Harrington
Double or Nothing (1937)
as John Pederson
Professor Beware (1938)
as Snoop Donlan
The Inner Circle (1946)
as Det. Lt. Webb
Blondie's Hero (1950)
as Marty Greer
The Crime Doctor (1934)
as Fraser
Gangs Of The City (1941)
as Bang
Whistling in Brooklyn (1943)
as Detective Ramsey
Chicken Every Sunday (1949)
as George Kirby
Three Married Men (1936)
as Bill Mullins
Here Is My Heart (1934)
as James Smith
Something to Sing About (1937)
as Hank Mayers
The Girl from Manhattan (1948)
as Mr. Bernouti
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven (1948)
as Agent
Those Were the Days! (1940)
as Prisoner
It Happened in Flatbush (1942)
as Sam Sloan
Hold 'Em Yale (1935)
as Sunshine Joe
Shoot the Works (1934)
as Larry Hale
Untamed (1940)
as Les Woodbury
Hitchhike to Happiness (1945)
as Sandy Hill
Rendezvous with Annie (1946)
as General Trent
College Scandal (1935)
as Chief of Police Magoun
Larceny with Music (1943)
as Mike Simms
Bolero (1934)
as Mike DeBaere
Grand Jury Secrets (1939)
as Bright Eyes
Pretty Baby (1950)
as Corcoran
We've Never Been Licked (1943)
as Traveling Salesman
Kill the Umpire (1950)
as Jimmy O'Brien
Mad About Music (1938)
as Dusty Turner
Blondie in Society (1941)
as Waldo Pincus
Lucille Ball: Finding Lucy (2000)
as Self (archive footage)
The Farmer's Daughter (1940)
as Scoop Trimble
My Wild Irish Rose (1947)
as William Scanlon
Rhythm on the River (1940)
as Mr. Westlake
High, Wide and Handsome (1937)
as Mac
Blondie's Anniversary (1947)
as Sharkey the Loen Shark
The Witching Hour (1934)
as Jury Foreman
Strike Me Pink (1936)
as Mr. Copple
Hell and High Water (1933)
as Milton J. Bunsey
Golden Gloves (1940)
as Emory Balzar
It's a Great Life (1935)
as Lt. McNulty
Cracked Nuts (1941)
as James Mitchell
The Lone Wolf and His Lady (1949)
as Inspector Crane
Ship Cafe (1935)
as Briney O'Brien
Blossoms On Broadway (1937)
as Francis X. Rush
Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen (1934)
as Captain Murphy
The Quarterback (1940)
as Coach
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All (1948)
as Knobby Walsh
Sons of the Legion (1938)
as Uncle Willie Lee
Moonlight in Havana (1942)
as Barney Crane
Night Work (1939)
as Bruiser Brown
F-Man (1936)
as Detective Rogan
Ambush (1939)
as Inspector J.L. Weber
Safe at Home! (1962)
as Bill Turner
Welcome Home (1935)
as Painless
Persons in Hiding (1939)
as Alec Inglis
Alibi Ike (1935)
as Cap
Harmony Lane (1935)
as Edwin P. 'Ed' Christy
Opened by Mistake (1940)
as Matt Kingsley
Rose Bowl (1936)
as 'Soapy' Moreland
Dancing on a Dime (1940)
as Mac
I Love Lucy: The Movie (1953)
as Fred Mertz / Self
Treat 'Em Rough (1942)
as 'Hotfoot'
Wildcat (1942)
as Oliver Westbrook
Car 99 (1935)
as Training Sgt. Barrel
The Dirty Look (1954)
Actor
Moonlight and Pretzels (1933)
as Mac
I Love Lucy Christmas Special (2016)
as Fred Mertz
Beautiful Dreamer (1935)
Actor
Crime Doctor's Man Hunt (1946)
as Police Inspector Harry B. Manning
Six Lessons From Madame La Zonga (1941)
as Chauncey Beheegan
Stop, Look and Love (1939)
as Joe Haller
St. Louis Blues (1939)
as Major Martingale
Sandy Gets Her Man (1940)
as Police Chief J. A. O'Hara
Home in San Antone (1949)
as O'Fleery
The Lemon Drop Kid (1934)
as William Dunhill aka The Professor
Lake Placid Serenade (1944)
as Jiggers
Three Cheers for Love (1936)
as Milton Shakespeare
Give Out, Sisters (1942)
as Harrison
The Yankee Doodler (1942)
Actor
Lucy's Really Lost Moments (1956)
as Fred Mertz
Should Husbands Be Watched? (1925)
as Beat Cop
Ventriloquist (1927)
as 'Hoak' salesman