Job Actor
Years active 1916-1965
Top Roles Sharkey, the Loan Shark, Brighton, Det. 'Hoppy' Hopkins, O'Malley, Baldy Gunder
Top GenresComedy, Drama, Musical, Romance, Crime, Sports
Top TopicsBook-Based, Baseball, Christmas
Top Collaborators (Producer), (Director), (Director),
Shares birthday with Madeleine Carroll, Betty Hutton, Jackie Gleason  see more..

Fan Favorites:
See Full Filmography

The General Died at Dawn

The General Died at ...

Fan rating: 9.50
Alibi Ike

Alibi Ike

Fan rating: 9.00
Miracle on 34th Street

Miracle on 34th Stre...

Fan rating: 8.58

William Frawley Overview:

Character actor, William Frawley, was born William Clement Frawley on Feb 26, 1887 in Burlington, IA. Frawley died at the age of 79 on Mar 3, 1966 in Hollywood, CA .

MINI BIO:

Lovable, cherubic, American character actor who vies with Allen Jenkins and Jesse White in the memory as cigar-chewing gangsters with tough exteriors and soft centres. Overcame an alcohol problem to become a TV star of the early fifties as the irascible Fred Mertz in I Love Lucy then, in the sixties, as Bub in another long-running TV series, My Three Sons. Died from a heart attack.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Film Character Actors: an Illustrated Directory).

HONORS and AWARDS:

.

He was honored with one star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of Motion Pictures. In addition, Frawley was inducted into the TV Hall of Fame .

BlogHub Articles:

By Michele on Jul 22, 2016 From Timeless Hollywood

Most people know as Fred Mertz, the landlord to the Ricardo?s in the long running comedy show I Love Lucy.? However, long before television he got his start in Vaudville. For a time he performed a vaudeville act with his brother Paul.? In 1914 Frawley married Edna Louise Broedt and t... Read full article

See all articles

William Frawley Quotes:

Sheriff McGee: One of you's gonna get married and the other one's going to jail, so you really got a lot in common.

Mike DeBaere: This coal mine is gonna be a nice, peaceful place when you're gone.

Mike DeBaere: [to the fan dancer] Did you ever think about doing that dance with one fan?

read more quotes from William Frawley...



Share this page:
Visit the Classic Movie Hub Blog CMH
ENTER TO WIN Classic Film Tickets, Books and DVDs all year long!
CHECK OUT our Exclusive Interviews with Classic Movie Actors, Authors and more!
BROWSE these Classic Movie Best Sellers on Amazon!
Also a Pisces

Victor Fleming

Victor Fleming
Feb 23, 1889
La Cañada, CA

Merle Oberon

Estelle Merle Thompson
Feb 19, 1911
Bombay, India

David Niven

James David Graham Niven
Mar 1, 1910
London, England

Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor
Feb 27, 1932
Hampstead, London, England

Vincente Minnelli

Lester Anthony Minnelli
Feb 28, 1903
Chicago, IL
See All Pisces >>
William Frawley on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame

6322 Hollywood Blvd.


Ceremony Date: Feb 8, 1960
Category: Motion Pictures
See All Walk of Fame Stars >>
William Frawley Facts
Unable to secure his first choice, Gale Gordon for the role of "Fred Mertz," Desi Arnaz agreed to consider Frawley, who heavily lobbied for the part. Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball had invested everything they had for the pilot and were concerned about Frawley's alcoholism--- which was no secret around Hollywood--- Arnaz made it clear to him that, if he showed up drunk for work more than once, he would not only be fired from the program but blacklisted throughout the entertainment industry. Frawley, despite his lengthy film resume, was virtually unemployable by 1951--- thanks to a combination of his fondness for the bottle, and his disagreeable personality. He readily agreed to Arnaz's condition. He never showed up drunk on the set at all, and, in fact, Arnaz became one of his very few close friends. When Frawley died, Arnaz took out a full-page ad in the trade papers, consisting of Frawley's picture, edged in black, and three words: "Buenas noches, amigo!".
Both he and Vivian Vance had nothing but contempt for each other during the run of "I Love Lucy" (1951), which is probably what filtered into their TV characters and made them work so beautifully. The two were given the opportunity to move into their own "Fred and Ethel" spin-off once "Lucy" had run its course in 1959. Despite his animosity towards her, Frawley saw a lucrative opportunity and was quite game, but Vance nixed the idea, having no interest in ever working with Frawley again. Vance got her own series, "Guestward Ho!" (1960), which failed, but went on to make sporadic appearances on Lucille Ball's sitcoms and in films throughout the 1960's. Frawley hit it big as Bub on "My Three Sons" (1960).
Possessed of a fine singing voice in his younger days, it was supposedly Frawley, not Al Jolson, who introduced the song "My Mammy" to vaudeville audiences.
See All Related Facts >>
Television Hall of Fame

William Frawley


Ceremony # 21
Television Hall of Fame
Also in the Television Hall of Fame

Dinah Shore


Ceremony # 8
Television Hall of Fame

Aaron Spelling


Ceremony # 12
Television Hall of Fame
See All Television Hall of Fame Inductees >>