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