Cast
William Frawley
Acting
Cast
William Frawley
Known for
Acting
Born
1887-02-25
From
Burlington, Iowa, USA
Died
1966-03-03
Also known as Bill Frawley, William Clement Frawley
Biography
William Frawley was born in Burlington, Iowa. As a boy he sang at St. Paul's Catholic Church and played at the Burlington Opera House. His first job was as a stenographer for the Union Pacific Railroad. He did vaudeville with his brother Paul, then joined pianist Franz Rath in an act they took to San Francisco in 1910. Four years later he formed a light comedy act with his new wife Edna Louise Broedt, "Frawley and Louise", touring the Orpheum and Keith circuits until they divorced in 1927. He next moved to Broadway and then, in 1932, to Hollywood with Paramount. By 1951, when he contacted Lucille Ball about a part in her TV show I Love Lucy (1951), he had performed in over 100 films. His Fred Mertz role lasted until the show ended in 1960, after which he did a five-year stint on My Three Sons (1960). Poor health forced his retirement. He collapsed of a heart attack on March 3, 1966, aged 79, walking along Hollywood Boulevard after seeing a movie. He is buried in San Fernando Mission Cemetery.
★7.4
MOVIE1947
Miracle on 34th Street
as Charlie Halloran
★7.0
MOVIE1936
Desire
as Mr. Gibson
★7.5
MOVIE1938
Touchdown, Army
as Jack Heffernan
★6.3
MOVIE1948
Good Sam
as Tom
★7.7
MOVIE1947
Monsieur Verdoux
as Jean La Salle
★7.0
MOVIE1942
Roxie Hart
as O'Malley
★6.0
MOVIE1947
Down to Earth
as Police Lieutenant
★6.7
MOVIE1944
Going My Way
as Max Dolan, Publisher (uncredited)
★6.2
MOVIE1946
The Virginian
as Honey Wiggen
★5.7
MOVIE1949
The Lady Takes a Sailor
as Oliver Harker
★5.8
MOVIE1940
One Night in the Tropics
as Roscoe
★6.0
MOVIE1945
Ziegfeld Follies
as Martin (segment "A Sweepstakes Ticket")
★6.7
MOVIE1937
Double or Nothing
as John Pederson
★7.0
MOVIE1941
The Bride Came C.O.D.
as Sheriff McGee
★3.8
MOVIE1934
The Crime Doctor
as Fraser
★6.7
MOVIE1939
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
as The 'Duke'
★6.2
MOVIE1944
The Fighting Seabees
as Eddie Powers
★5.5
MOVIE1945
Flame of Barbary Coast
as Wolf Wylie
★7.1
MOVIE1949
East Side, West Side
as Bill the Bartender
★5.3
MOVIE1943
Larceny with Music
as Mike Simms
★5.7
MOVIE1946
The Inner Circle
as Det. Lt. Webb
★6.8
MOVIE1950
Blondie's Hero
as Marty Greer
★6.8
MOVIE1950
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
as Byers
★6.3
MOVIE1951
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man
as Det. Roberts
★7.2
MOVIE1942
Gentleman Jim
as Billy Delaney
★6.4
MOVIE1941
Blondie in Society
as Waldo Pincus
★7.0
MOVIE1933
Hell and High Water
as Milton J. Bunsey
★6.5
MOVIE1936
The General Died at Dawn
as Brighton
★7.0
MOVIE1941
Gangs Of The City
as Bang
★6.7
MOVIE1945
Lady on a Train
as Desk Sgt. Brennan
★7.0
MOVIE2000
Lucille Ball: Finding Lucy
as Self (archive footage)
★6.3
MOVIE1936
The Princess Comes Across
as Benton
★5.9
MOVIE1947
Blondie's Anniversary
as Sharkey the Loen Shark
★7.5
MOVIE1947
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
as Jim Mason
★6.5
MOVIE1952
Rancho Notorious
as Baldy Gunder
★7.1
MOVIE1935
Roberta
as Bartender (uncredited)
★6.2
MOVIE1937
High, Wide and Handsome
as Mac
★6.7
MOVIE1934
Shoot the Works
as Larry Hale
★8.0
MOVIE1936
Three Married Men
as Bill Mullins
★6.9
MOVIE1950
Kill the Umpire
as Jimmy O'Brien
★6.2
MOVIE1935
Alibi Ike
as Cap
★6.7
MOVIE1939
Rose of Washington Square
as Harry Long
★5.7
MOVIE1947
Mother Wore Tights
as Mr. Schneider
★6.0
MOVIE1938
Professor Beware
as Snoop Donlan
★6.6
MOVIE1936
Strike Me Pink
as Mr. Copple
★6.9
MOVIE1940
Rhythm on the River
as Mr. Westlake
★7.0
MOVIE1943
Whistling in Brooklyn
as Detective Ramsey
★7.0
MOVIE1945
Hitchhike to Happiness
as Sandy Hill
★7.0
MOVIE1946
Rendezvous with Annie
as General Trent
★7.0
MOVIE1940
Opened by Mistake
as Matt Kingsley
★6.1
MOVIE1948
The Babe Ruth Story
as Jack Dunn
★6.2
MOVIE1937
Something to Sing About
as Hank Mayers
★6.5
MOVIE1951
The Lemon Drop Kid
as Gloomy Willie
★9.0
MOVIE1935
It's a Great Life
as Lt. McNulty
★5.4
MOVIE1942
It Happened in Flatbush
as Sam Sloan
★7.0
MOVIE1941
Footsteps in the Dark
as Det. 'Hoppy' Hopkins
★7.3
MOVIE1934
Here Is My Heart
as James Smith
★7.7
MOVIE1953
I Love Lucy: The Movie
as Fred Mertz / Self
★4.5
MOVIE1935
Harmony Lane
as Edwin P. 'Ed' Christy
★6.0
MOVIE1940
Golden Gloves
as Emory Balzar
★5.9
MOVIE1949
Red Light
as Hotel Night Clerk
★5.8
MOVIE1951
Rhubarb
as Len Sickles
★6.5
MOVIE1943
We've Never Been Licked
as Traveling Salesman
★7.0
MOVIE1938
Mad About Music
as Dusty Turner
★5.8
MOVIE1941
Six Lessons From Madame La Zonga
as Chauncey Beheegan
★7.3
MOVIE1939
St. Louis Blues
as Major Martingale
★10.0
MOVIE1940
The Quarterback
as Coach
★6.2
MOVIE1949
Chicken Every Sunday
as George Kirby
★7.3
MOVIE1939
Ex-Champ
as Mushy Harrington
★8.0
MOVIE1940
Those Were the Days!
as Prisoner
★10.0
MOVIE2016
I Love Lucy Christmas Special
as Fred Mertz
★6.8
MOVIE1935
College Scandal
as Chief of Police Magoun
★3.8
MOVIE1939
Persons in Hiding
as Alec Inglis
★6.8
MOVIE1950
Pretty Baby
as Corcoran
★7.5
MOVIE1935
Car 99
as Training Sgt. Barrel
★7.0
MOVIE1936
Rose Bowl
as 'Soapy' Moreland
★6.0
MOVIE1934
Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen
as Captain Murphy
★6.5
MOVIE1934
The Witching Hour
as Jury Foreman
★6.6
MOVIE1946
Crime Doctor's Man Hunt
as Police Inspector Harry B. Manning
★5.8
MOVIE1948
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
as Agent
★5.3
MOVIE1940
The Farmer's Daughter
as Scoop Trimble
★7.5
MOVIE1938
Sons of the Legion
as Uncle Willie Lee
★9.0
MOVIE1933
Moonlight and Pretzels
as Mac
★4.8
MOVIE1937
Blossoms On Broadway
as Francis X. Rush
★6.5
MOVIE1956
Lucy's Really Lost Moments
as Fred Mertz
★7.0
MOVIE1954
The Dirty Look
★7.0
MOVIE1936
F-Man
as Detective Rogan
★6.0
MOVIE1949
The Lone Wolf and His Lady
as Inspector Crane
★5.0
MOVIE1940
Untamed
as Les Woodbury
★6.5
MOVIE1940
Sandy Gets Her Man
as Police Chief J. A. O'Hara
★6.0
MOVIE1947
My Wild Irish Rose
as William Scanlon
★7.0
MOVIE1941
Cracked Nuts
as James Mitchell
★6.4
MOVIE1934
Bolero
as Mike DeBaere
★6.0
MOVIE1942
Give Out, Sisters
as Harrison
★7.0
MOVIE1939
Grand Jury Secrets
as Bright Eyes
★7.0
MOVIE1935
Hold 'Em Yale
as Sunshine Joe
★6.3
MOVIE1948
The Girl from Manhattan
as Mr. Bernouti
★7.0
MOVIE1949
Home in San Antone
as O'Fleery
★6.5
MOVIE1939
Stop, Look and Love
as Joe Haller
★10.0
MOVIE1944
Lake Placid Serenade
as Jiggers
★5.0
MOVIE1962
Safe at Home!
as Bill Turner
★6.0
MOVIE1939
Ambush
as Inspector J.L. Weber
★9.0
MOVIE1942
Moonlight in Havana
as Barney Crane
★8.0
MOVIE1942
Treat 'Em Rough
as 'Hotfoot'
★8.0
MOVIE1935
Ship Cafe
as Briney O'Brien
★7.5
MOVIE1948
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All
as Knobby Walsh
★5.7
MOVIE1942
Wildcat
as Oliver Westbrook
★5.0
MOVIE1940
Dancing on a Dime
as Mac
★6.3
MOVIE1934
The Lemon Drop Kid
as William Dunhill aka The Professor
★5.0
MOVIE1942
The Yankee Doodler
★9.0
MOVIE1935
Welcome Home
as Painless
★8.5
MOVIE1939
Night Work
as Bruiser Brown
★8.0
MOVIE1925
Should Husbands Be Watched?
as Beat Cop
MOVIE1935
Beautiful Dreamer
MOVIE1927
Ventriloquist
as 'Hoak' salesman