William Demarest
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1892-02-27
Day of Death
1983-12-28 (91 years old)
Place of Birth
Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
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
Acting
(1999)
Television: The First Fifty Years
as Charlie O'Casey (archive footage)
(1997)
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line
as Self (archive footage)
(1978)
The Millionaire
as Oscar Pugh
(1976)
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
as Studio Gatekeeper
(1975)
The Wild McCullochs
as Father Gurkin
(1973)
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
as Mr. Harris
(1965)
That Darn Cat!
as Mr. MacDougall
(1964)
Viva Las Vegas
as Mr. Martin
(1963)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
as Police Chief Aloysius
(1963)
Son of Flubber
as Mr. Hummel
(1961)
Twenty Plus Two
as Desmond Slocum
(1961)
King of the Roaring 20's – The Story of Arnold Rothstein
as Henry Hecht
(1961)
(1960)
Pepe
as Movie Studio Gateman
(1956)
The Mountain
as Father Belacchi
(1956)
The Rawhide Years
as Brand Comfort
(1955)
The Far Horizons
as Sgt. Gass
(1955)
Lucy Gallant
as Charles Madden
(1955)
(1955)
Sincerely Yours
as Sam Dunne
(1955)
Hell on Frisco Bay
as Dan Bianco
(1955)
Jupiter's Darling
as Mago
(1954)
The Yellow Mountain
as Jackpot Wray
(1953)
Escape from Fort Bravo
as Campbell
(1953)
Dangerous When Wet
as Pa Higgins
(1953)
Here Come the Girls
as Dennis Logan
(1953)
The Lady Wants Mink
as Harvey Jones
(1952)
What Price Glory
as Corporal Kiper
(1952)
The Blazing Forest
as Syd Jessup
(1951)
The Strip
as Fluff
(1951)
Behave Yourself!
as O'Ryan
(1951)
The First Legion
as Monsignor Michael Carey
(1951)
Excuse My Dust
as Harvey Bullitt
(1950)
Riding High
as Happy
(1950)
When Willie Comes Marching Home
as Herman Kluggs
(1950)
Never a Dull Moment
as Mears
(1950)
He's a Cockeyed Wonder
as Bob Sears
(1949)
Red, Hot and Blue
as Charlie Baxter
(1949)
Sorrowful Jones
as Regret
(1949)
Jolson Sings Again
as Steve Martin
(1948)
Night Has a Thousand Eyes
as Lt. Shawn
(1948)
Whispering Smith
as Bill Dansing
(1948)
On Our Merry Way
as Floyd
(1948)
The Sainted Sisters
as Vern Tewilliger
(1947)
The Perils of Pauline
as George 'Mac' McGuire
(1947)
Variety Girl
as Barker
(1946)
The Jolson Story
as Steve Martin
(1946)
Our Hearts Were Growing Up
as Peanuts Schultz
(1945)
Along Came Jones
as George Fury
(1945)
Pardon My Past
as Chuck Gibson
(1945)
Salty O'Rourke
as Smitty
(1945)
Hollywood Victory Caravan
as Bill, the Security Guard
(1945)
Duffy's Tavern
as William Demarest
(1944)
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
as Constable Edmund Kockenlocker
(1944)
Once Upon a Time
as Brandt
(1944)
Hail the Conquering Hero
as Sgt. Heppelfinger
(1944)
The Great Moment
as Eben Frost
(1944)
Nine Girls
as Walter Cummings
(1943)
Stage Door Canteen
as William Demarest
(1943)
True to Life
as Uncle Jake
(1943)
Dangerous Blondes
as Detective Gatling
(1942)
The Palm Beach Story
as First Member Ale and Quail Club
(1942)
All Through the Night
as Sunshine
(1942)
Pardon My Sarong
as Detective Kendall
(1942)
My Favorite Spy
as Flower Pot Policeman
(1942)
True to the Army
as Sgt. Butts
(1942)
Life Begins at Eight-Thirty
as Police Officer
(1942)
Johnny Doughboy
as Harry Fabian
(1942)
Behind the Eight Ball
as McKenzie
(1941)
The Lady Eve
as Muggsy
(1941)
Sullivan's Travels
as Mr. Jones
(1941)
The Devil and Miss Jones
as First Detective
(1941)
Dressed to Kill
as Inspector Pierson
(1941)
Country Fair
as Stogie McPhee
(1941)
Ride on Vaquero
as Bartender Barney
(1941)
Glamour Boy
as Papa Doran
(1941)
Rookies on Parade
as Mike Brady
(1940)
Little Men
as Constable Tom Thorpe
(1940)
The Golden Fleecing
as Swallow
(1940)
The Great McGinty
as Skeeters - The Politician
(1940)
Christmas in July
as Mr. Bildocker
(1940)
Wolf of New York
as Bill Ennis
(1940)
The Farmer's Daughter
as Victor Walsh
(1940)
Comin' Round the Mountain
as Gutsy Mann
(1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Bill Griffith
(1939)
The Gracie Allen Murder Case
as Police Sgt. Ernest Heath
(1939)
Miracles for Sale
as Quinn
(1939)
The Great Man Votes
as Charles Dole
(1939)
The Cowboy Quarterback
as Rusty Walker
(1939)
King of the Turf
as Arnold
(1939)
Laugh It Off
as Barney 'Gimpy' Cole
(1938)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
as Harry Kipper
(1938)
Josette
as Joe, Diner Owner
(1938)
(1938)
One Wild Night
as Collins
(1938)
While New York Sleeps
as Red Miller
(1938)
Romance on the Run
as Police Lt. Eckhardt
(1937)
Rosalie
as Army Coach
(1937)
Easy Living
as Wallace Whistling
(1937)
Big City
as Mr. Beecher
(1937)
The Great Gambini
as Sergeant Kirby
(1937)
The Hit Parade
as Parole Officer
(1937)
Don't Tell the Wife
as Larry 'Horace' Tucker
(1937)
Time Out for Romance
as Willoughby Sproggs
(1937)
The Great Hospital Mystery
as Mr. Beatty
(1937)
Wake Up and Live
as Radio Center Tour Guide
(1937)
Oh, Doctor
as Marty Short
(1937)
Blonde Trouble
as Paul Sears
(1936)
The Great Ziegfeld
as Gene Buck (uncredited)
(1936)
Wedding Present
as 'Smiles' Benson
(1936)
Love on the Run
as Editor
(1936)
Charlie Chan at the Opera
as Sergeant Kelly
(1936)
Mind Your Own Business
as Droopy
(1935)
Hands Across the Table
as Regi's Date Natty (uncredited)
(1935)
Diamond Jim
as Harry Hill
(1935)
After Office Hours
as Police Detective (uncredited)
(1935)
The Casino Murder Case
as Auctioneer (uncredited)
(1935)
The Murder Man
as 'Red' Maguire
(1935)
Bright Lights
as Detective
(1935)
White Lies
as Roberts
(1934)
Fog Over Frisco
as Spike Smith
(1934)
Fugitive Lady
as Steve Rogers
(1934)
Many Happy Returns
as Brinker
(1930)
Seeing Things
as The Heir
(1928)
Five and Ten Cent Annie
as Briggs
(1928)
A Girl in Every Port
as Man in Bombay (uncredited)
(1928)
The Crash
as Louie
(1928)
The Butter and Egg Man
as Jack McLure
(1928)
Sharp Shooters
as 'Hi Jack' Murdock
(1928)
Pay as You Enter
as 'Terrible Bill' McGovern
(1927)
The Jazz Singer
as Buster Billings (uncredited)
(1927)
A Million Bid
as George Lamont
(1927)
What Happened To Father
as Detective Dibbin
(1927)
Finger Prints
as Cuffs Egan
(1927)
The First Auto
as The Village Cut-Up
(1927)
The Black Diamond Express
as Train Engine Fireman
(1927)
(1927)
The Bush Leaguer
as John Gilroy
(1927)
A Reno Divorce
as James, the chauffeur
(1927)
Don't Tell the Wife
as Ray Valerian
(1927)
A Sailor's Sweetheart
as Detective
(1927)
The Night Court
as Defense Counsel