William Demarest

Also Known As: not available

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).

Department: Acting

Place of Birth: Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA

Birthday: February 26, 1892

Deathday: December 28, 1983

Adult: No

Gender: Male

Popularity:

2.46%

Known For:

Viva Las Vegas
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
The Lady Eve
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
The Jolson Story
The Palm Beach Story
Night Has a Thousand Eyes
Sharp Shooters
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
The Murder Man
Charlie Chan at the Opera
Christmas in July
The Great McGinty
The Great Moment
Hail the Conquering Hero
Dressed to Kill
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
All Through the Night
King of the Roaring 20's – The Story of Arnold Rothstein
Jolson Sings Again
Sullivan's Travels
The Butter and Egg Man
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Don't Tell the Wife
Once Upon a Time
Seeing Things
The Gracie Allen Murder Case
Excuse My Dust
Big City
Along Came Jones
Pepe
What Price Glory
Hell on Frisco Bay
Escape from Fort Bravo
Sorrowful Jones
The Mountain
The Far Horizons
The Strip
Twenty Plus Two
My Favorite Spy
The Great Ziegfeld
The Cowboy Quarterback
While New York Sleeps
The Rawhide Years
The Black Diamond Express
The Private War of Major Benson
Salty O'Rourke
Riding High
Jupiter's Darling
Variety Girl
Here Come the Girls
The Golden Fleecing
The Perils of Pauline
He's a Cockeyed Wonder
Wolf of New York
The Night Court
Behave Yourself!
Sincerely Yours
Pardon My Past
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
Red, Hot and Blue
The Yellow Mountain
Ride on Vaquero
Mind Your Own Business
The Hit Parade
The Sainted Sisters
Miracles for Sale
True to Life
Johnny Doughboy
The Lady Wants Mink
The Blazing Forest
Romance on the Run
The First Legion
The Great Man Votes
Life Begins at Eight-Thirty
Don't Tell the Wife
Wedding Present
Love on the Run
The First Auto
The Wild McCullochs
Josette
Easy Living
The Millionaire
Dangerous When Wet
Whispering Smith
One Wild Night
Fog Over Frisco
The Great Hospital Mystery
Glamour Boy
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line
Our Hearts Were Growing Up
Never a Dull Moment
The Farmer's Daughter
When Willie Comes Marching Home
Country Fair
After Office Hours
The Jazz Singer
The Great Gambini
A Girl in Every Port
Television: The First Fifty Years
Rosalie
Time Out for Romance
Stage Door Canteen
Rookies on Parade
Oh, Doctor
Behind the Eight Ball
Pardon My Sarong
A Reno Divorce
Five and Ten Cent Annie
Hands Across the Table
Fugitive Lady
A Million Bid
Little Men
Laugh It Off
Bright Lights
Son of Flubber
Diamond Jim
Lucy Gallant
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
Hollywood Victory Caravan
Duffy's Tavern
That Darn Cat!
On Our Merry Way
White Lies
The Casino Murder Case
True to the Army
Nine Girls
Dangerous Blondes
The Crash
Comin' Round the Mountain
King of the Turf
What Happened To Father
Blonde Trouble
Pay as You Enter
Finger Prints
A Sailor's Sweetheart
Simple Sis
The Devil and Miss Jones
Many Happy Returns
Wake Up and Live
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
The Bush Leaguer