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