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