William Demarest
Known For: Acting
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: February 26, 1892
Day of Death: December 28, 1983 (92 years old)
Place of Birth: Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
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).
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Actor First Member Ale and Quail Club
The Palm Beach Story
Actor Sunshine
All Through the Night
Actor Flower Pot Policeman
My Favorite Spy
Actor Harry Fabian
Johnny Doughboy
Actor Police Officer
Life Begins at Eight-Thirty
Actor Detective Kendall
Pardon My Sarong
Actor McKenzie
Behind the Eight Ball
Actor Sgt. Butts
True to the Army
1941
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1937
Actor Mr. Beecher
Big City
Actor Parole Officer
The Hit Parade
Actor Larry 'Horace' Tucker
Don't Tell the Wife
Actor Wallace Whistling
Easy Living
Actor Mr. Beatty
The Great Hospital Mystery
Actor Sergeant Kirby
The Great Gambini
Actor Army Coach
Rosalie
Actor Willoughby Sproggs
Time Out for Romance
Actor Marty Short
Oh, Doctor
Actor Paul Sears
Blonde Trouble
Actor Radio Center Tour Guide
Wake Up and Live
1936
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1927
Actor Ray Valerian
Don't Tell the Wife
Actor Train Engine Fireman
The Black Diamond Express
Actor Defense Counsel
The Night Court
Actor The Village Cut-Up
The First Auto
Actor Buster Billings (uncredited)
The Jazz Singer
Actor James, the chauffeur
A Reno Divorce
Actor George Lamont
A Million Bid
Actor Detective Dibbin
What Happened To Father
Actor Cuffs Egan
Finger Prints
Actor Detective
A Sailor's Sweetheart
Actor
Simple Sis
Actor John Gilroy
The Bush Leaguer