William Demarest

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

167

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

  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

  • The Mike Douglas Show

    The Mike Douglas Show

  • Bonanza

    Bonanza

  • Bonanza

    Bonanza

  • Wagon Train

    Wagon Train

  • The Twilight Zone

    The Twilight Zone

  • My Three Sons

    My Three Sons

  • Dr. Kildare

    Dr. Kildare

  • The Red Skelton Show

    The Red Skelton Show

  • Burke's Law

    Burke's Law

  • The Rebel

    The Rebel

  • Ben Casey

    Ben Casey

  • Tales of Wells Fargo

    Tales of Wells Fargo

  • Alfred Hitchcock Presents

    Alfred Hitchcock Presents

  • McMillan & Wife

    McMillan & Wife

  • McMillan & Wife

    McMillan & Wife

  • Studio 57

    Studio 57

  • Ellery Queen

    Ellery Queen

  • The Crash

    The Crash

  • Glamour Boy

    Glamour Boy

  • The Strip

    The Strip

  • Riding High

    Riding High

  • Big City

    Big City

  • Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

    Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

  • White Lies

    White Lies

  • The Mountain

    The Mountain

  • Going My Way

    Going My Way

  • Seeing Things

    Seeing Things

  • The Greatest Show on Earth

    The Greatest Show on Earth

  • Nine Girls

    Nine Girls

  • Lucy Gallant

    Lucy Gallant

  • Country Fair

    Country Fair

  • The Jazz Singer

    The Jazz Singer

  • It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

    It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

  • Variety Girl

    Variety Girl

  • The Far Horizons

    The Far Horizons

  • Behave Yourself!

    Behave Yourself!

  • Matinee Ladies

    Matinee Ladies

  • Bright Lights

    Bright Lights

  • Diamond Jim

    Diamond Jim

  • Pepe

    Pepe

  • The Millionaire

    The Millionaire

  • Easy Living

    Easy Living

  • Oh, Doctor

    Oh, Doctor

  • The Butter and Egg Man

    The Butter and Egg Man

  • The Palm Beach Story

    The Palm Beach Story

  • Viva Las Vegas

    Viva Las Vegas

  • Rosalie

    Rosalie

  • Sullivan's Travels

    Sullivan's Travels

  • Little Men

    Little Men

  • Whispering Smith

    Whispering Smith

  • Sincerely Yours

    Sincerely Yours

  • Escape from Fort Bravo

    Escape from Fort Bravo

  • That Darn Cat!

    That Darn Cat!

  • Fugitive Lady

    Fugitive Lady

  • Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

    Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

  • Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

    Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

  • A Girl in Every Port

    A Girl in Every Port

  • The Wonderful World of Disney

    The Wonderful World of Disney

  • The Murder Man

    The Murder Man

  • Son of Flubber

    Son of Flubber

  • When Willie Comes Marching Home

    When Willie Comes Marching Home

  • Wedding Present

    Wedding Present

  • The Gracie Allen Murder Case

    The Gracie Allen Murder Case

  • Johnny Doughboy

    Johnny Doughboy

  • All Through the Night

    All Through the Night

  • Christmas in July

    Christmas in July

  • Mind Your Own Business

    Mind Your Own Business

  • After Office Hours

    After Office Hours

  • The Great McGinty

    The Great McGinty

  • The First Legion

    The First Legion

  • Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon

    Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon

  • Hell on Frisco Bay

    Hell on Frisco Bay

  • Once Upon a Time

    Once Upon a Time

  • Sharp Shooters

    Sharp Shooters

  • Dangerous When Wet

    Dangerous When Wet

  • The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek

    The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek

  • Along Came Jones

    Along Came Jones

  • True to Life

    True to Life

  • Duffy's Tavern

    Duffy's Tavern

  • What Happened To Father

    What Happened To Father

  • The Casino Murder Case

    The Casino Murder Case

  • The Great Gambini

    The Great Gambini

  • Pardon My Sarong

    Pardon My Sarong

  • Behind the Eight Ball

    Behind the Eight Ball

  • My Favorite Spy

    My Favorite Spy

  • Twenty Plus Two

    Twenty Plus Two

  • The Devil and Miss Jones

    The Devil and Miss Jones

  • Finger Prints

    Finger Prints

  • Never a Dull Moment

    Never a Dull Moment

  • The Great Ziegfeld

    The Great Ziegfeld

  • A Reno Divorce

    A Reno Divorce

  • Hail the Conquering Hero

    Hail the Conquering Hero

  • A Sailor's Sweetheart

    A Sailor's Sweetheart

  • The Yellow Mountain

    The Yellow Mountain

  • Rookies on Parade

    Rookies on Parade

  • The Lady Wants Mink

    The Lady Wants Mink

  • The Farmer's Daughter

    The Farmer's Daughter

  • Salty O'Rourke

    Salty O'Rourke

  • The First Auto

    The First Auto

  • The Lady Eve

    The Lady Eve

  • Love on the Run

    Love on the Run

  • The Great Man Votes

    The Great Man Votes

  • Romance on the Run

    Romance on the Run

  • Fog Over Frisco

    Fog Over Frisco

  • The Black Diamond Express

    The Black Diamond Express

  • Excuse My Dust

    Excuse My Dust

  • On Our Merry Way

    On Our Merry Way

  • Wolf of New York

    Wolf of New York

  • The Jolson Story

    The Jolson Story

  • While New York Sleeps

    While New York Sleeps

  • The Blazing Forest

    The Blazing Forest

  • Stage Door Canteen

    Stage Door Canteen

  • Hands Across the Table

    Hands Across the Table

  • What Price Glory

    What Price Glory

  • Charlie Chan at the Opera

    Charlie Chan at the Opera

  • Night Has a Thousand Eyes

    Night Has a Thousand Eyes

  • Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus

    Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus

  • The Rawhide Years

    The Rawhide Years

  • Ride on Vaquero

    Ride on Vaquero

  • The Great Moment

    The Great Moment

  • Five and Ten Cent Annie

    Five and Ten Cent Annie

  • The Private War of Major Benson

    The Private War of Major Benson

  • True to the Army

    True to the Army

  • King of the Roaring 20's – The Story of Arnold Rothstein

    King of the Roaring 20's – The Story of Arnold Rothstein

  • Dressed to Kill

    Dressed to Kill

  • The Wild McCullochs

    The Wild McCullochs

  • Simple Sis

    Simple Sis

  • Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

    Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

  • Jolson Sings Again

    Jolson Sings Again

  • Laugh It Off

    Laugh It Off

  • Jupiter's Darling

    Jupiter's Darling

  • Comin' Round the Mountain

    Comin' Round the Mountain

  • He's a Cockeyed Wonder

    He's a Cockeyed Wonder

  • The Cowboy Quarterback

    The Cowboy Quarterback

  • Here Come the Girls

    Here Come the Girls

  • The Sainted Sisters

    The Sainted Sisters

  • The Gay Old Bird

    The Gay Old Bird

  • Wake Up and Live

    Wake Up and Live

  • A Million Bid

    A Million Bid

  • The Great Hospital Mystery

    The Great Hospital Mystery

  • Pay as You Enter

    Pay as You Enter

  • Love and Marriage

    Love and Marriage

  • One Wild Night

    One Wild Night

  • Don't Tell the Wife

    Don't Tell the Wife

  • Don't Tell the Wife

    Don't Tell the Wife

  • Television: The First Fifty Years

    Television: The First Fifty Years

  • Sorrowful Jones

    Sorrowful Jones

  • The Jerry Lewis Show

    The Jerry Lewis Show

  • Hollywood Victory Caravan

    Hollywood Victory Caravan

  • Pardon My Past

    Pardon My Past

  • Our Hearts Were Growing Up

    Our Hearts Were Growing Up

  • Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line

    Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line

  • Time Out for Romance

    Time Out for Romance

  • The Perils of Pauline

    The Perils of Pauline

  • Josette

    Josette

  • Miracles for Sale

    Miracles for Sale

  • The Golden Fleecing

    The Golden Fleecing

  • Dangerous Blondes

    Dangerous Blondes

  • Red, Hot and Blue

    Red, Hot and Blue

  • Many Happy Returns

    Many Happy Returns

  • King of the Turf

    King of the Turf

  • Life Begins at Eight-Thirty

    Life Begins at Eight-Thirty

  • Blonde Trouble

    Blonde Trouble

  • The Bush Leaguer

    The Bush Leaguer

  • The Hit Parade

    The Hit Parade

  • The Night Court

    The Night Court