William Demarest
143 movies · 17 TV shows
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Feb 27, 1892
- Died
- Dec 28, 1983 (age 91)
- Place of birth
- Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
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.
Read the full biography
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).
Profiles IMDb
Known for
William Demarest: movies and TV shows
Acting (160)
- 1999 Television: The First Fifty Years
as Charlie O'Casey (archive footage)
- 1978 The Millionaire
as Oscar Pugh
- 1976 Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
as Studio Gatekeeper
- 1975
- 1975 The Wild McCullochs
as Father Gurkin
- 1973 Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
as Mr. Harris
- 1971
- 1965 That Darn Cat!
as Mr. MacDougall
- 1964 Viva Las Vegas
as Mr. Martin
- 1963 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
as Police Chief Aloysius
- 1963
- 1963
- 1963 Son of Flubber
as Mr. Hummel
- 1962
- 1961
- 1961
- 1961
- 1961 Twenty Plus Two
as Desmond Slocum
- 1961 King of the Roaring 20's – The Story of Arnold Rothstein
as Henry Hecht
- 1960 Pepe
as Movie Studio Gateman
- 1960
- 1959
- 1959
- 1959
- 1959
- 1957
- 1957
- 1956 The Rawhide Years
as Brand Comfort
- 1956 The Mountain
as Father Belacchi
- 1955 Hell on Frisco Bay
as Dan Bianco
- 1955 Sincerely Yours
as Sam Dunne
- 1955 Lucy Gallant
as Charles Madden
- 1955
- 1955 The Private War of Major Benson
as John
- 1955 The Far Horizons
as Sgt. Gass
- 1955 Jupiter's Darling
as Mago
- 1954 The Yellow Mountain
as Jackpot Wray
- 1954
- 1954
- 1953 Escape from Fort Bravo
as Campbell
- 1953 Here Come the Girls
as Dennis Logan
- 1953 Dangerous When Wet
as Pa Higgins
- 1953 The Lady Wants Mink
as Harvey Jones
- 1952 The Blazing Forest
as Syd Jessup
- 1952 What Price Glory
as Corporal Kiper
- 1951 Behave Yourself!
as O'Ryan
- 1951 The Strip
as Fluff
- 1951 Excuse My Dust
as Harvey Bullitt
- 1951 The First Legion
as Monsignor Michael Carey
- 1950 He's a Cockeyed Wonder
as Bob Sears
- 1950 Never a Dull Moment
as Mears
- 1950 Riding High
as Happy
- 1950 When Willie Comes Marching Home
as Herman Kluggs
- 1949 Red, Hot and Blue
as Charlie Baxter
- 1949 Jolson Sings Again
as Steve Martin
- 1949 Sorrowful Jones
as Regret
- 1948 Whispering Smith
as Bill Dansing
- 1948 Night Has a Thousand Eyes
as Lt. Shawn
- 1948 The Sainted Sisters
as Vern Tewilliger
- 1948 On Our Merry Way
as Floyd
- 1947 Variety Girl
as Barker
- 1947 The Perils of Pauline
as George 'Mac' McGuire
- 1946 The Jolson Story
as Steve Martin
- 1946 Our Hearts Were Growing Up
as Peanuts Schultz
- 1945 Pardon My Past
as Chuck Gibson
- 1945 Hollywood Victory Caravan
as Bill, the Security Guard
- 1945 Duffy's Tavern
as William Demarest
- 1945 Along Came Jones
as George Fury
- 1945 Salty O'Rourke
as Smitty
- 1944 The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
as Constable Edmund Kockenlocker
- 1944 Hail the Conquering Hero
as Sgt. Heppelfinger
- 1944 The Great Moment
as Eben Frost
- 1944 Once Upon a Time
as Brandt
- 1944 Nine Girls
as Walter Cummings
- 1943 True to Life
as Uncle Jake
- 1943 Dangerous Blondes
as Detective Gatling
- 1943 Stage Door Canteen
as William Demarest
- 1942 Johnny Doughboy
as Harry Fabian
- 1942 Life Begins at Eight-Thirty
as Police Officer
- 1942 Behind the Eight Ball
as McKenzie
- 1942 The Palm Beach Story
as First Member Ale and Quail Club
- 1942 Pardon My Sarong
as Detective Kendall
- 1942 My Favorite Spy
as Flower Pot Policeman
- 1942 True to the Army
as Sgt. Butts
- 1942 All Through the Night
as Sunshine
- 1941 Glamour Boy
as Papa Doran
- 1941 Sullivan's Travels
as Mr. Jones
- 1941 Dressed to Kill
as Inspector Pierson
- 1941 Country Fair
as Stogie McPhee
- 1941 Ride on Vaquero
as Bartender Barney
- 1941 Rookies on Parade
as Mike Brady
- 1941 The Devil and Miss Jones
as First Detective
- 1941 The Lady Eve
as Muggsy
- 1940 Little Men
as Constable Tom Thorpe
- 1940 Christmas in July
as Mr. Bildocker
- 1940 The Golden Fleecing
as Swallow
- 1940 Comin' Round the Mountain
as Gutsy Mann
- 1940 The Great McGinty
as Skeeters - The Politician
- 1940 The Farmer's Daughter
as Victor Walsh
- 1940 Wolf of New York
as Bill Ennis
- 1939 Laugh It Off
as Barney 'Gimpy' Cole
- 1939 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Bill Griffith
- 1939 Miracles for Sale
as Quinn
- 1939 The Cowboy Quarterback
as Rusty Walker
- 1939 The Gracie Allen Murder Case
as Police Sgt. Ernest Heath
- 1939 King of the Turf
as Arnold
- 1939 The Great Man Votes
as Charles Dole
- 1938 While New York Sleeps
as Red Miller
- 1938 Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
as Daro
- 1938 Josette
as Joe, Diner Owner
- 1938 One Wild Night
as Collins
- 1938 Romance on the Run
as Police Lt. Eckhardt
- 1938 Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
as Henry Kipper
- 1937 Rosalie
as Army Coach
- 1937 Big City
as Mr. Beecher
- 1937 Wake Up and Live
as Radio Center Tour Guide
- 1937 Blonde Trouble
as Paul Sears
- 1937 Easy Living
as Wallace Whistling
- 1937 The Great Gambini
as Sergeant Kirby
- 1937 The Great Hospital Mystery
as Mr. Beatty
- 1937 The Hit Parade
as Parole Officer
- 1937 Oh, Doctor
as Marty Short
- 1937 Don't Tell the Wife
as Larry 'Horace' Tucker
- 1937 Time Out for Romance
as Willoughby Sproggs
- 1936 Mind Your Own Business
as Droopy
- 1936 Charlie Chan at the Opera
as Sergeant Kelly
- 1936 Love on the Run
as Editor
- 1936 Wedding Present
as 'Smiles' Benson
- 1936 The Great Ziegfeld
as Gene Buck (uncredited)
- 1935 White Lies
as Roberts
- 1935 Hands Across the Table
as Regi's Date Natty (uncredited)
- 1935 Diamond Jim
as Harry Hill
- 1935 Bright Lights
as Detective
- 1935 The Murder Man
as 'Red' Maguire
- 1935 The Casino Murder Case
as Auctioneer (uncredited)
- 1935 After Office Hours
as Police Detective (uncredited)
- 1934 Fugitive Lady
as Steve Rogers
- 1934 Many Happy Returns
as Brinker
- 1934 Fog Over Frisco
as Spike Smith
- 1930 Seeing Things
as The Heir
- 1928 The Crash
as Louie
- 1928 The Butter and Egg Man
as Jack McLure
- 1928 Five and Ten Cent Annie
as Briggs
- 1928 Pay as You Enter
as 'Terrible Bill' McGovern
- 1928 A Girl in Every Port
as Man in Bombay (uncredited)
- 1928 Sharp Shooters
as 'Hi Jack' Murdock
- 1927 The Night Court
as Defense Counsel
- 1927 A Reno Divorce
as James, the chauffeur
- 1927 The Jazz Singer
as Buster Billings (uncredited)
- 1927 A Sailor's Sweetheart
as Detective
- 1927 The Bush Leaguer
as John Gilroy
- 1927 The First Auto
as The Village Cut-Up
- 1927 What Happened To Father
as Detective Dibbin
- 1927 The Black Diamond Express
as Train Engine Fireman
- 1927
- 1927 A Million Bid
as George Lamont
- 1927 Matinee Ladies
as Man About Town
- 1927 The Gay Old Bird
as Mr. Fixit
- 1927 Don't Tell the Wife
as Ray Valerian
- 1927 Finger Prints
as Cuffs Egan
Talk shows and appearances (6)
- 1997
- 1963 The Jerry Lewis Show
1 episode
- 1962 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
8 episodes
- 1961 The Mike Douglas Show
1 episode
- 1954
- 1951 The Red Skelton Show
1 episode