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