William Demarest

William Demarest

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).
Known For: Acting
Birthday: 1892-02-26
Place of Birth: Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Also Known As:

Movies List of William Demarest

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Viva Las Vegas

1964 Movie
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The Lady Eve

1941 Movie
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The Jolson Story

1946 Movie
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The Palm Beach Story

1942 Movie
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Sharp Shooters

1928 Movie
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The Murder Man

1935 Movie
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Christmas in July

1940 Movie
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The Great McGinty

1940 Movie
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The Great Moment

1944 Movie
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Dressed to Kill

1941 Movie
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All Through the Night

1942 Movie
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Jolson Sings Again

1949 Movie
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Sullivan's Travels

1941 Movie
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Don't Tell the Wife

1927 Movie
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Once Upon a Time

1944 Movie
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Seeing Things

1930 Movie
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Excuse My Dust

1951 Movie
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Big City

1937 Movie
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Along Came Jones

1945 Movie
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Pepe

1960 Movie
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What Price Glory

1952 Movie
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Hell on Frisco Bay

1955 Movie
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Sorrowful Jones

1949 Movie
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The Mountain

1956 Movie
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The Far Horizons

1955 Movie
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The Strip

1951 Movie
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Twenty Plus Two

1961 Movie
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My Favorite Spy

1942 Movie
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The Great Ziegfeld

1936 Movie
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While New York Sleeps

1938 Movie
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The Rawhide Years

1956 Movie
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Salty O'Rourke

1945 Movie
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Riding High

1950 Movie
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Jupiter's Darling

1955 Movie
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Variety Girl

1947 Movie
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Here Come the Girls

1953 Movie
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The Golden Fleecing

1940 Movie
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The Perils of Pauline

1947 Movie
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Wolf of New York

1940 Movie
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The Night Court

1927 Movie
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Behave Yourself!

1951 Movie
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Sincerely Yours

1955 Movie
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Pardon My Past

1945 Movie
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Red, Hot and Blue

1949 Movie
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The Yellow Mountain

1954 Movie
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Ride on Vaquero

1941 Movie
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The Hit Parade

1937 Movie
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The Sainted Sisters

1948 Movie
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Miracles for Sale

1939 Movie
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True to Life

1943 Movie
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Johnny Doughboy

1942 Movie
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The Lady Wants Mink

1953 Movie
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The Blazing Forest

1952 Movie
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Romance on the Run

1938 Movie
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The First Legion

1951 Movie
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The Great Man Votes

1939 Movie
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Don't Tell the Wife

1937 Movie
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Wedding Present

1936 Movie
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Love on the Run

1936 Movie
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The First Auto

1927 Movie
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The Wild McCullochs

1975 Movie
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Josette

1938 Movie
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Easy Living

1937 Movie
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The Millionaire

1978 Movie
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Dangerous When Wet

1953 Movie
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Whispering Smith

1948 Movie
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One Wild Night

1938 Movie
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Fog Over Frisco

1934 Movie
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Glamour Boy

1941 Movie
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Never a Dull Moment

1950 Movie
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The Farmer's Daughter

1940 Movie
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Country Fair

1941 Movie
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After Office Hours

1935 Movie
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The Jazz Singer

1927 Movie
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The Great Gambini

1937 Movie
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A Girl in Every Port

1928 Movie
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Rosalie

1937 Movie
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Time Out for Romance

1937 Movie
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Stage Door Canteen

1943 Movie
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Rookies on Parade

1941 Movie
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Oh, Doctor

1937 Movie
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Behind the Eight Ball

1942 Movie
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Pardon My Sarong

1942 Movie
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A Reno Divorce

1927 Movie
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Fugitive Lady

1934 Movie
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A Million Bid

1927 Movie
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Little Men

1940 Movie
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Laugh It Off

1939 Movie
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Bright Lights

1935 Movie
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Son of Flubber

1963 Movie
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Diamond Jim

1935 Movie
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Lucy Gallant

1955 Movie
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Duffy's Tavern

1945 Movie
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That Darn Cat!

1965 Movie
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On Our Merry Way

1948 Movie
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White Lies

1935 Movie
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True to the Army

1942 Movie
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Nine Girls

1944 Movie
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Dangerous Blondes

1943 Movie
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The Crash

1928 Movie
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King of the Turf

1939 Movie
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Blonde Trouble

1937 Movie
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Pay as You Enter

1928 Movie
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Finger Prints

1927 Movie
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A Sailor's Sweetheart

1927 Movie
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Simple Sis

1927 Movie
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Many Happy Returns

1934 Movie
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Wake Up and Live

1937 Movie