William Demarest
Acting
🎂 1892-02-27
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).
Cast credits(167)
Enos Milford
1959
Angus Tweedy
1959
Self
1962
Mr. Hennessey
1957
Self
1961
Charley O'Casey
1960
Joe Britt
1959
Mr. Aimes
1961
Charlie Who
1963
1961
Senator Burnside
1951
Ulysses Bowman
1959
Jeb Gaine (credit only)
1957
Tom Akins
1955
Alexander 'Pop' Denny
1975
1954
Cyrus McFee
1971
Andy Kenesaw
1971
Police Chief Aloysius
1963
1962
Police Sgt. Ernest Heath
1939
Paul Keller
1963
Mr. Hummel (archive footage)
1954
Mr. Martin
1964
Stogie McPhee
1941
Harvey Jones
1953
Buster Billings (uncredited)
1927
Bill Griffith
1939
Oscar Pugh
1978
Muggsy
1941
Brinker
1934
Sgt. Gass
1955
Mr. MacDougall
1965
Movie Studio Gateman
1960
Barker
1947
Campbell
1953
Mike Brady
1941
Mr. Jones
1941
Mr. Harris
1973
Herman Kluggs
1950
Roberts
1935
Mr. Beecher
1937
George 'Mac' McGuire
1947
Dan Bianco
1955
Police Lt. Eckhardt
1938
William Demarest
1943
Floyd
1948
William Demarest
1945
'Terrible Bill' McGovern
1928
Lt. Shawn
1948
Bill Dansing
1948
Barney 'Gimpy' Cole
1939
Bartender Barney
1941
Peanuts Schultz
1946
Sgt. Heppelfinger
1944
Sam Dunne
1955
Happy
1950
Sergeant Kirby
1937
Steve Martin
1946
Fluff
1951
Train Engine Fireman
1927
O'Ryan
1951
John
1955
George Fury
1945
Monsignor Michael Carey
1951
Flower Pot Policeman
1942
Vern Tewilliger
1948
Harvey Bullitt
1951
Spike Smith
1934
Regret
1949
Bill, the Security Guard
1945
Constable Edmund Kockenlocker
1944
Mago
1955
Gene Buck (uncredited)
1936
Eben Frost
1944
Mr. Hummel
1963
Steve Martin
1949
Brandt
1944
Studio Gatekeeper
1976
Mears
1950
McKenzie
1942
Steve Rogers
1934
Harry Fabian
1942
Brand Comfort
1956
Father Belacchi
1956
Droopy
1936
Parole Officer
1937
The Heir
1930
Sunshine
1942
Detective Kendall
1942
Arnold
1939
Man About Town
1927
1927
Radio Center Tour Guide
1937
Defense Counsel
1927
Harry Kipper
1938
Mr. Bildocker
1940
Dennis Logan
1953
Charles Dole
1939
Skeeters - The Politician
1940
Pa Higgins
1953
Jackpot Wray
1954
Louie
1928
First Member Ale and Quail Club
1942
The Village Cut-Up
1927
Mr. Beatty
1937
Larry 'Horace' Tucker
1937
Smitty
1945
Papa Doran
1941
Victor Walsh
1940
George Lamont
1927
James, the chauffeur
1927
Syd Jessup
1952
Detective Dibbin
1927
Jack McLure
1928
Army Coach
1937
John Gilroy
1927
Jeb
1961
Mr. Fixit
1927
Desmond Slocum
1961
Sergeant Kelly
1936
Charles Madden
1955
Henry Hecht
1961
Walter Cummings
1944
Constable Tom Thorpe
1940
Joe, Diner Owner
1938
Chuck Gibson
1945
Charlie O'Casey (archive footage)
1999
Self (archive footage)
1997
Corporal Kiper
1952
Father Gurkin
1975
Collins
1938
Swallow
1940
Bob Sears
1950
Gutsy Mann
1940
'Hi Jack' Murdock
1928
'Smiles' Benson
1936
Inspector Pierson
1941
Police Detective (uncredited)
1935
Marty Short
1937
Detective
1935
Regi's Date Natty (uncredited)
1935
Wallace Whistling
1937
Ray Valerian
1927
Cuffs Egan
1927
Police Officer
1942
Auctioneer (uncredited)
1935
Editor
1936
Quinn
1939
Daro
1938
Rusty Walker
1939
Sgt. Butts
1942
Detective
1927
Detective Gatling
1943
Bill Ennis
1940
Red Miller
1938
Paul Sears
1937
Harry Hill
1935
Willoughby Sproggs
1937
Briggs
1928
William Harris
1959
Man in Bombay (uncredited)
1928
'Red' Maguire
1935
First Detective
1941
Uncle Jake
1943
Self
1963
Charlie Baxter
1949