William Demarest

Biography

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

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

The Lady Eve

Hail the Conquering Hero

Sullivan's Travels

Excuse My Dust

Big City

Easy Living

The Devil and Miss Jones

Acting

1964

Viva Las Vegas

as

Mr. Martin

1939

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

as

Bill Griffith

1941

The Lady Eve

as

Muggsy

1963

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

as

Police Chief Aloysius

1946

The Jolson Story

as

Steve Martin

1942

The Palm Beach Story

as

First Member Ale and Quail Club

1948

Night Has a Thousand Eyes

as

Lt. Shawn

1928

Sharp Shooters

as

'Hi Jack' Murdock

1973

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

as

Mr. Harris

1935

The Murder Man

as

'Red' Maguire

1936

Charlie Chan at the Opera

as

Sergeant Kelly

1940

Christmas in July

as

Mr. Bildocker

1940

The Great McGinty

as

Skeeters - The Politician

1944

The Great Moment

as

Eben Frost

1944

Hail the Conquering Hero

as

Sgt. Heppelfinger

1941

Dressed to Kill

as

Inspector Pierson

1944

The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek

as

Constable Edmund Kockenlocker

1942

All Through the Night

as

Sunshine

1961

King of the Roaring 20's – The Story of Arnold Rothstein

as

Henry Hecht

1949

Jolson Sings Again

as

Steve Martin

1941

Sullivan's Travels

as

Mr. Jones

1928

The Butter and Egg Man

as

Jack McLure

1938

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

as

Harry Kipper

1927

Don't Tell the Wife

as

Ray Valerian

1944

Once Upon a Time

as

Brandt

1930

Seeing Things

as

The Heir

1939

The Gracie Allen Murder Case

as

Police Sgt. Ernest Heath

1951

Excuse My Dust

as

Harvey Bullitt

1937

Big City

as

Mr. Beecher

1945

Along Came Jones

as

George Fury

1960

Pepe

as

Movie Studio Gateman

1952

What Price Glory

as

Corporal Kiper

1955

Hell on Frisco Bay

as

Dan Bianco

1953

Escape from Fort Bravo

as

Campbell

1949

Sorrowful Jones

as

Regret

1956

The Mountain

as

Father Belacchi

1955

The Far Horizons

as

Sgt. Gass

1951

The Strip

as

Fluff

1961

Twenty Plus Two

as

Desmond Slocum

1942

My Favorite Spy

as

Flower Pot Policeman

1936

The Great Ziegfeld

as

Gene Buck (uncredited)

1939

The Cowboy Quarterback

as

Rusty Walker

1938

While New York Sleeps

as

Red Miller

1956

The Rawhide Years

as

Brand Comfort

1927

The Black Diamond Express

as

Train Engine Fireman

1955

The Private War of Major Benson

as

John

1945

Salty O'Rourke

as

Smitty

1950

Riding High

as

Happy

1955

Jupiter's Darling

as

Mago

1947

Variety Girl

as

Barker

1953

Here Come the Girls

as

Dennis Logan

1940

The Golden Fleecing

as

Swallow

1947

The Perils of Pauline

as

George 'Mac' McGuire

1950

He's a Cockeyed Wonder

as

Bob Sears

1940

Wolf of New York

as

Bill Ennis

1927

The Night Court

as

Defense Counsel

1951

Behave Yourself!

as

O'Ryan

1955

Sincerely Yours

as

Sam Dunne

1945

Pardon My Past

as

Chuck Gibson

1938

Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus

as

Daro

1949

Red, Hot and Blue

as

Charlie Baxter

1954

The Yellow Mountain

as

Jackpot Wray

1941

Ride on Vaquero

as

Bartender Barney

1936

Mind Your Own Business

as

Droopy

1937

The Hit Parade

as

Parole Officer

1948

The Sainted Sisters

as

Vern Tewilliger

1939

Miracles for Sale

as

Quinn

1943

True to Life

as

Uncle Jake

1942

Johnny Doughboy

as

Harry Fabian

1953

The Lady Wants Mink

as

Harvey Jones

1952

The Blazing Forest

as

Syd Jessup

1938

Romance on the Run

as

Police Lt. Eckhardt

1951

The First Legion

as

Monsignor Michael Carey

1939

The Great Man Votes

as

Charles Dole

1942

Life Begins at Eight-Thirty

as

Police Officer

1937

Don't Tell the Wife

as

Larry 'Horace' Tucker

1936

Wedding Present

as

'Smiles' Benson

1936

Love on the Run

as

Editor

1927

The First Auto

as

The Village Cut-Up

1975

The Wild McCullochs

as

Father Gurkin

1938

Josette

as

Joe, Diner Owner

1937

Easy Living

as

Wallace Whistling

1978

The Millionaire

as

Oscar Pugh

1953

Dangerous When Wet

as

Pa Higgins

1948

Whispering Smith

as

Bill Dansing

1938

One Wild Night

as

Collins

1934

Fog Over Frisco

as

Spike Smith

1937

The Great Hospital Mystery

as

Mr. Beatty

1941

Glamour Boy

as

Papa Doran

1997

Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line

as

Self (archive footage)

1946

Our Hearts Were Growing Up

as

Peanuts Schultz

1950

Never a Dull Moment

as

Mears

1940

The Farmer's Daughter

as

Victor Walsh

1950

When Willie Comes Marching Home

as

Herman Kluggs

1941

Country Fair

as

Stogie McPhee

1935

After Office Hours

as

Police Detective (uncredited)

1927

The Jazz Singer

as

Buster Billings (uncredited)

1937

The Great Gambini

as

Sergeant Kirby

1928

A Girl in Every Port

as

Man in Bombay (uncredited)

1999

Television: The First Fifty Years

as

Charlie O'Casey (archive footage)

1937

Rosalie

as

Army Coach

1937

Time Out for Romance

as

Willoughby Sproggs

1943

Stage Door Canteen

as

William Demarest

1941

Rookies on Parade

as

Mike Brady

1937

Oh, Doctor

as

Marty Short

1942

Behind the Eight Ball

as

McKenzie

1942

Pardon My Sarong

as

Detective Kendall

1927

A Reno Divorce

as

James, the chauffeur

1928

Five and Ten Cent Annie

as

Briggs

1935

Hands Across the Table

as

Regi's Date Natty (uncredited)

1934

Fugitive Lady

as

Steve Rogers

1927

A Million Bid

as

George Lamont

1940

Little Men

as

Constable Tom Thorpe

1939

Laugh It Off

as

Barney 'Gimpy' Cole

1935

Bright Lights

as

Detective

1963

Son of Flubber

as

Mr. Hummel

1935

Diamond Jim

as

Harry Hill

1955

Lucy Gallant

as

Charles Madden

1961

Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon

as

Jeb

1945

Hollywood Victory Caravan

as

Bill, the Security Guard

1945

Duffy's Tavern

as

William Demarest

1965

That Darn Cat!

as

Mr. MacDougall

1948

On Our Merry Way

as

Floyd

1935

White Lies

as

Roberts

1935

The Casino Murder Case

as

Auctioneer (uncredited)

1942

True to the Army

as

Sgt. Butts

1944

Nine Girls

as

Walter Cummings

1943

Dangerous Blondes

as

Detective Gatling

1928

The Crash

as

Louie

1940

Comin' Round the Mountain

as

Gutsy Mann

1939

King of the Turf

as

Arnold

1927

What Happened To Father

as

Detective Dibbin

1937

Blonde Trouble

as

Paul Sears

1928

Pay as You Enter

as

'Terrible Bill' McGovern

1927

Finger Prints

as

Cuffs Egan

1927

A Sailor's Sweetheart

as

Detective

1927

Simple Sis

as

1941

The Devil and Miss Jones

as

First Detective

1934

Many Happy Returns

as

Brinker

1937

Wake Up and Live

as

Radio Center Tour Guide

1976

Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

as

Studio Gatekeeper

1927

The Bush Leaguer

as

John Gilroy

Burke's Law

as

Charlie Who

My Three Sons

as

Charley O'Casey

Tales of Wells Fargo

as

Jeb Gaine (credit only)

The Twilight Zone

as

Joe Britt

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as

Tom Akins

Going My Way

as

The Rebel

as

Ulysses Bowman

Ben Casey

as

Love and Marriage

as

William Harris

Dr. Kildare

as

Mr. Aimes

The Mike Douglas Show

as

Self

The Red Skelton Show

as

Senator Burnside

Wagon Train

as

Mr. Hennessey

Bonanza

as

Enos Milford

Bonanza

as

Angus Tweedy

Ellery Queen

as

Alexander 'Pop' Denny

McMillan & Wife

as

Cyrus McFee

McMillan & Wife

as

Andy Kenesaw

The Greatest Show on Earth

as

Paul Keller

The Wonderful World of Disney

as

Mr. Hummel (archive footage)

Studio 57

as

The Jerry Lewis Show

as

Self

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

as

Self

Production

Crew

Directing