William Frawley
Acting
Born 1887-02-25
Died 1966-03-03
Burlington, Iowa, USA
127 credits
Read 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.
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Filmography
— top 60 of 127
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Lucy Show
My Three Sons
I Love Lucy
The Bob Hope Show
This Is Your Life
The Ed Sullivan Show
Miracle on 34th Street
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
The Gale Storm Show
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
Desire
Monsieur Verdoux
Letter to Loretta
The Ed Wynn Show
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
Touchdown, Army
Going My Way
Down to Earth
Rancho Notorious
Good Sam
The Fighting Seabees
The Virginian
Roxie Hart
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Ziegfeld Follies
Double or Nothing
Gentleman Jim
The Bride Came C.O.D.
The Princess Comes Across
Hell and High Water
One Night in the Tropics
Lady on a Train
The Inner Circle
Rose of Washington Square
Flame of Barbary Coast
East Side, West Side
Red Light
The General Died at Dawn
Cracked Nuts
Roberta
Gangs Of The City
My Wild Irish Rose
Larceny with Music
The Yankee Doodler
Ex-Champ
Shoot the Works
Rhubarb
Footsteps in the Dark
The Crime Doctor
High, Wide and Handsome
Lucille Ball: Finding Lucy
Strike Me Pink
The Witching Hour
The Lemon Drop Kid
Whistling in Brooklyn
Rhythm on the River
Car 99
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