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
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).
Born
Feb 27, 1892
Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Died
Dec 28, 1983
Known For
Acting
Movies
145 acting
0 crew
Popularity
1.1
Known For
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963
as Police Chief Aloysius
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939
as Bill Griffith
Sullivan's Travels
1941
as Mr. Jones
Viva Las Vegas
1964
as Mr. Martin
The Great Ziegfeld
1936
as Gene Buck (uncredited)
The Lady Eve
1941
as Muggsy
That Darn Cat!
1965
as Mr. MacDougall
The Jazz Singer
1927
as Buster Billings (uncredited)
The Palm Beach Story
1942
as First Member Ale and Quail Club
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
1973
as Mr. Harris
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