William Demarest
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).
Acted in
Television: The First Fifty Years
1999
as Charlie O'Casey (archive footage)
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line
1997
as Self (archive footage)
The Millionaire
1978
as Oscar Pugh
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
1976
as Studio Gatekeeper
Ellery Queen
1975
as Alexander 'Pop' Denny
The Wild McCullochs
1975
as Father Gurkin
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
1973
as Mr. Harris
McMillan & Wife
1971
as Andy Kenesaw
McMillan & Wife
1971
as Cyrus McFee
That Darn Cat!
1965
as Mr. MacDougall
Viva Las Vegas
1964
as Mr. Martin
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963
as Police Chief Aloysius
The Jerry Lewis Show
1963
as Self
Burke's Law
1963
as Charlie Who
The Greatest Show on Earth
1963
as Paul Keller
Son of Flubber
1963
as Mr. Hummel
Going My Way
1962
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
1961
as Jeb
Ben Casey
1961
Dr. Kildare
1961
as Mr. Aimes
Twenty Plus Two
1961
as Desmond Slocum
King of the Roaring 20's – The Story of Arnold Rothstein
1961
as Henry Hecht
Pepe
1960
as Movie Studio Gateman
My Three Sons
1960
as Charley O'Casey
The Rebel
1959
as Ulysses Bowman
The Twilight Zone
1959
as Joe Britt
Love and Marriage
1959
as William Harris
Bonanza
1959
as Angus Tweedy
Bonanza
1959
as Enos Milford
Wagon Train
1957
as Mr. Hennessey
Tales of Wells Fargo
1957
as Jeb Gaine (credit only)
The Rawhide Years
1956
as Brand Comfort
The Mountain
1956
as Father Belacchi
Hell on Frisco Bay
1955
as Dan Bianco
Sincerely Yours
1955
as Sam Dunne
Lucy Gallant
1955
as Charles Madden
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Tom Akins
The Private War of Major Benson
1955
as John
The Far Horizons
1955
as Sgt. Gass
Jupiter's Darling
1955
as Mago
The Yellow Mountain
1954
as Jackpot Wray
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
as Mr. Hummel (archive footage)
Studio 57
1954
Escape from Fort Bravo
1953
as Campbell
Here Come the Girls
1953
as Dennis Logan
Dangerous When Wet
1953
as Pa Higgins
The Lady Wants Mink
1953
as Harvey Jones
The Blazing Forest
1952
as Syd Jessup
What Price Glory
1952
as Corporal Kiper
Behave Yourself!
1951
as O'Ryan
The Strip
1951
as Fluff
Excuse My Dust
1951
as Harvey Bullitt
The First Legion
1951
as Monsignor Michael Carey
He's a Cockeyed Wonder
1950
as Bob Sears
Never a Dull Moment
1950
as Mears
Riding High
1950
as Happy
When Willie Comes Marching Home
1950
as Herman Kluggs
Red, Hot and Blue
1949
as Charlie Baxter
Jolson Sings Again
1949
as Steve Martin
Sorrowful Jones
1949
as Regret
Whispering Smith
1948
as Bill Dansing
Night Has a Thousand Eyes
1948
as Lt. Shawn
The Sainted Sisters
1948
as Vern Tewilliger
On Our Merry Way
1948
as Floyd
Variety Girl
1947
as Barker
The Perils of Pauline
1947
as George 'Mac' McGuire
The Jolson Story
1946
as Steve Martin
Our Hearts Were Growing Up
1946
as Peanuts Schultz
Pardon My Past
1945
as Chuck Gibson
Hollywood Victory Caravan
1945
as Bill, the Security Guard
Duffy's Tavern
1945
as William Demarest
Along Came Jones
1945
as George Fury
Salty O'Rourke
1945
as Smitty
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
1944
as Constable Edmund Kockenlocker
Hail the Conquering Hero
1944
as Sgt. Heppelfinger
The Great Moment
1944
as Eben Frost
Once Upon a Time
1944
as Brandt
Nine Girls
1944
as Walter Cummings
True to Life
1943
as Uncle Jake
Dangerous Blondes
1943
as Detective Gatling
Stage Door Canteen
1943
as William Demarest
Johnny Doughboy
1942
as Harry Fabian
Life Begins at Eight-Thirty
1942
as Police Officer
Behind the Eight Ball
1942
as McKenzie
The Palm Beach Story
1942
as First Member Ale and Quail Club
Pardon My Sarong
1942
as Detective Kendall
My Favorite Spy
1942
as Flower Pot Policeman
True to the Army
1942
as Sgt. Butts
All Through the Night
1942
as Sunshine
Glamour Boy
1941
as Papa Doran
Sullivan's Travels
1941
as Mr. Jones
Dressed to Kill
1941
as Inspector Pierson
Country Fair
1941
as Stogie McPhee
Ride on Vaquero
1941
as Bartender Barney
Rookies on Parade
1941
as Mike Brady
The Devil and Miss Jones
1941
as First Detective
The Lady Eve
1941
as Muggsy
Little Men
1940
as Constable Tom Thorpe
Christmas in July
1940
as Mr. Bildocker
The Golden Fleecing
1940
as Swallow
Comin' Round the Mountain
1940
as Gutsy Mann
The Great McGinty
1940
as Skeeters - The Politician
The Farmer's Daughter
1940
as Victor Walsh
Wolf of New York
1940
as Bill Ennis
Laugh It Off
1939
as Barney 'Gimpy' Cole
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939
as Bill Griffith
Miracles for Sale
1939
as Quinn
The Cowboy Quarterback
1939
as Rusty Walker
The Gracie Allen Murder Case
1939
as Police Sgt. Ernest Heath
King of the Turf
1939
as Arnold
The Great Man Votes
1939
as Charles Dole
While New York Sleeps
1938
as Red Miller
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
1938
as Daro
Josette
1938
as Joe, Diner Owner
One Wild Night
1938
as Collins
Romance on the Run
1938
as Police Lt. Eckhardt
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
1938
as Harry Kipper
Rosalie
1937
as Army Coach
Big City
1937
as Mr. Beecher
Wake Up and Live
1937
as Radio Center Tour Guide
Blonde Trouble
1937
as Paul Sears
Easy Living
1937
as Wallace Whistling
The Great Gambini
1937
as Sergeant Kirby
The Great Hospital Mystery
1937
as Mr. Beatty
The Hit Parade
1937
as Parole Officer
Oh, Doctor
1937
as Marty Short
Don't Tell the Wife
1937
as Larry 'Horace' Tucker
Time Out for Romance
1937
as Willoughby Sproggs
Mind Your Own Business
1936
as Droopy
Charlie Chan at the Opera
1936
as Sergeant Kelly
Love on the Run
1936
as Editor
Wedding Present
1936
as 'Smiles' Benson
The Great Ziegfeld
1936
as Gene Buck (uncredited)
White Lies
1935
as Roberts
Hands Across the Table
1935
as Regi's Date Natty (uncredited)
Diamond Jim
1935
as Harry Hill
Bright Lights
1935
as Detective
The Murder Man
1935
as 'Red' Maguire
The Casino Murder Case
1935
as Auctioneer (uncredited)
After Office Hours
1935
as Police Detective (uncredited)
Fugitive Lady
1934
as Steve Rogers
Many Happy Returns
1934
as Brinker
Fog Over Frisco
1934
as Spike Smith
Seeing Things
1930
as The Heir
The Crash
1928
as Louie
The Butter and Egg Man
1928
as Jack McLure
Five and Ten Cent Annie
1928
as Briggs
Pay as You Enter
1928
as 'Terrible Bill' McGovern
A Girl in Every Port
1928
as Man in Bombay (uncredited)
Sharp Shooters
1928
as 'Hi Jack' Murdock
The Night Court
1927
as Defense Counsel
A Reno Divorce
1927
as James, the chauffeur
The Jazz Singer
1927
as Buster Billings (uncredited)
A Sailor's Sweetheart
1927
as Detective
The Bush Leaguer
1927
as John Gilroy
The First Auto
1927
as The Village Cut-Up
What Happened To Father
1927
as Detective Dibbin
The Black Diamond Express
1927
as Train Engine Fireman
Simple Sis
1927
A Million Bid
1927
as George Lamont
Don't Tell the Wife
1927
as Ray Valerian
Finger Prints
1927
as Cuffs Egan