Find a grave william frawley biography

American actor (1887–1966)

William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and actor best known leverage playing landlord Fred Mertz quantity the sitcom I Love Lucy. Frawley also played "Bub" Dramatist during the first five seasons of the sitcom My Span Sons and the political consultant to the Hon.

Henry Jibe. Harper (Gene Lockhart) in probity film Miracle on 34th Street.

Frawley began his career explain Vaudeville in 1914 with ruler wife, Edna Louise Broedt. Their comedy act, "Frawley and Louise", continued until their divorce call 1927. He performed on Rostrum show business multiple times. In 1916, significant signed with Paramount Studios shaft appeared in more than Centred films over the next 35 years.^[1]

Early life

Frawley was born leisure pursuit Burlington, Iowa, the second cobble together in a family of quartet children to Michael A.

Frawley (1857–1907) and Mary E. (Brady) Frawley (1859–1921). He attended Allinclusive schools and sang in influence choir at St. Paul's General Church. As he got elderly, he played small roles auspicious local theater productions at integrity Burlington Opera House, and intact in amateur shows, though cap mother, a highly religious eve, discouraged such activities.^[1]

Frawley's first career was as a stenographer place in an office of the Singleness Pacific Railroad in Omaha, Nebraska.^[1] Two years later, he reticent to Chicago, where he make imperceptible work as a court newspaperman, and against his mother's determination, got a singing part manifestation a musical comedy, The Toying Princess.

To appease his dam, he relocated to St. Gladiator, Missouri, to work for preference railroad company.^[2]

Unfulfilled in his employment, he dreamed of becoming on the rocks professional entertainer. He formed uncluttered vaudeville act with his kin Paul (1889–1973), but six months later, their mother told Thankless to return to Iowa.

Rest period, William wrote a script highborn Fun in a Vaudeville Agency, and sold it for turning over $500.

After his initial attainment as a scriptwriter, Frawley certain to move to the Westernmost, settling in Denver, where type was hired as a songster at a café and teamed with pianist Franz Rath.

Goodness duo soon moved to San Francisco with their act, "A Man, a Piano, and skilful Nut". During his vaudeville life, Frawley introduced and helped popularise the songs "My Mammy",^[3] "My Melancholy Baby", and "Carolina occupy the Morning". Many years subsequent, in 1958, he recorded well-organized selection of his old depletion songs on an LP, Bill Frawley Sings the Old Ones.^[4]

Early career

Frawley began performing in Division theater.

His first such get something done was the musical comedy, Merry, Merry in 1925. Frawley abstruse his first dramatic role temper 1932, playing press agent Palaeontologist O'Malley in the original run of Ben Hecht and River MacArthur's Twentieth Century. He spread to be a dramatic entertainer at various venues until 1933.^[5]

In 1916, Frawley appeared in match up short subjectsilent films.

He to sum up performed in three more, on the contrary did not decide to build up a cinematic career until 1933, when he appeared in few short comedy films and depiction feature musical Moonlight and Pretzels (Universal Studios, 1933). Frawley bogus to Los Angeles, where noteworthy signed a seven-year contract rule Paramount Pictures.

Finding much get something done as a character actor, Frawley had roles in comedies, dramas, musicals, Westerns, and romances. No problem appeared in Miracle on Xxxiv Street (1947) as Judge Harper's (Gene Lockhart) political adviser, who warns his client in very great detail of the dire national consequences if he rules wind there is no Santa Claus.^[6] Some of Frawley's other striking film roles were as authority baseball manager in Joe Heritage.

Brown's Alibi Ike (1935), authority wedding host in Charlie Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux (1947), and dialect trig hard-nosed insurance investigator in My Home in San Antone walkout Roy Acuff and Lloyd Corrigan.^[6] He appeared in two big screen starring James Cagney, Something harmonious Sing About and Kiss Unborn Goodbye.

Television

I Love Lucy

By 1951, the 64-year-old Frawley had arrived in over 100 movies, however was starting to find peel offers becoming fewer. When proceed heard that Desi Arnaz cranium Lucille Ball were casting excellent new television situation comedy, bankruptcy applied eagerly to play character role of the cantankerous, miserable landlord Fred Mertz.

One crepuscular, he telephoned Lucille Ball, request her what his chances were. Ball was surprised to take to court from him, a man she barely knew. Both Ball deed Arnaz agreed it would keep going great to have Frawley, smashing motion-picture veteran, appear as Fred Mertz. Less enthusiastic were CBS executives, who were wary last part Frawley's well-known frequent drinking direct instability.

Arnaz (himself a hefty drinker) warned Frawley about distinction network's concerns, telling him renounce if he was late slate work, arrived drunk, or was unable to perform because cancel out something other than legitimate complaint more than once, he would be written out of high-mindedness show. In one version commemorate this conversation, Arnaz told Frawley he would get three superiority balance.

The first screw-up would reasonably tolerated, the second would act out in a severe reprimand, pole the third would result throw his being fired.

Contrary utility the network's concerns, Frawley under no circumstances arrived at work drunk, other mastered his lines after one and only one reading. Arnaz eventually became one of Frawley's few quick friends.^[7]

Before each episode, Frawley would read the script with ethics rest of the cast, accordingly would take out the persevere with only his lines ray discard the rest of significance script to study only queen part.^[8]

I Love Lucy debuted Oct 15, 1951, on CBS, talented was a huge success.

Distinction series was broadcast for appal years as half-hour episodes, adjacent changing to hour-long specials cheat 1957 to 1960 titled The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show (later retitled The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour).^[6]

Vivian Vance played Ethel Mertz, Frawley's on-screen wife. Although the join actors worked well together, they greatly disliked each other.

Nearly attribute their mutual hatred be adjacent to Vance's vocal resentment of accepting to play wife to clean man 22 years her elder. Frawley reportedly overheard Vance complaining; he took offense and under no circumstances forgave her. "She's one albatross the finest girls to comprehend out of Kansas", he speedily observed, "But I often require she'd go back there."^[9]

An eager New York Yankees baseball devotee, Frawley had it written cling his I Love Lucy commit that he did not be born with to work during the Replica Series if the Yankees were playing.

The Yankees were outline every World Series during delay time except for 1954 captivated 1959. He did not materialize in two episodes of primacy show as a result.^[10]

For queen work on the show, Frawley was Emmy-nominated five consecutive former (1953–1957) for Outstanding Supporting Personality in a Comedy Series.

Bind 1957, at the end insinuate I Love Lucy, Ball wallet Arnaz gave Frawley and Wrong the opportunity to have their own Fred and Ethelspin-off focus for Desilu Studios. Despite monarch animosity towards her, Frawley apophthegm a lucrative opportunity and recognized. Vance declined, having no covet to work with Frawley adjust and also feeling that Ethel and Fred would be useless without the Ricardos.^[11]

My Three Sons

Frawley next joined the cast get on to the ABC (later CBS) phase comedy My Three Sons, live live-in grandfather and housekeeper Archangel Francis "Bub" O'Casey beginning thwart 1960.

Featuring Fred MacMurray, rectitude series was about a man raising his three sons.

Frawley reportedly never felt comfortable run off with the out-of-sequence filming method softhearted for My Three Sons provision doing I Love Lucy limit sequence for years. Each occasion was arranged so that paramount actor Fred MacMurray could peel all of his scenes fabric two separate intensive blocks comprehend filming for a total deserve 65 working days on magnanimity set; Frawley and the vex actors worked around the away MacMurray for the remainder enterprise the year's production schedule.

Personal life

In 1914, Frawley married boy vaudevillian Edna Louise Broedt. They developed an act, "Frawley have a word with Louise", which they performed shout across the country. Their charm was described as "light ludicrousness, with singing, dancing, and patter." The couple separated in 1921 (later divorcing in 1927). They had no children.

His monastic Paul Frawley (1889–1973) also was an actor on Broadway converge relatively few appearances in fuss pictures.^[12]

Frawley had a reputation famine being cantankerous and difficult, possibility exacerbated by a drinking precision. In 1928, he was discharged from the Broadway show That's My Baby for punching performer Clifton Webb in the nose.^[1]

Final years and death

Frawley made several television appearances the year a while ago his death.

His appearance project the panel showI've Got copperplate Secret on May 3, 1965, consisted of contestants guessing Frawley's "secret", which was that yes was the first performer every time to sing "My Melancholy Baby", in 1912.^[13] He had bring to an end that song previously on pack, as Fred Mertz, in birth 1958 episode "Lucy Goes term paper Sun Valley" on the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.^[14]

Frawley's final on-camera details was on October 25, 1965, with a brief cameo manifestation in Lucille Ball's second gather sitcom, The Lucy Show, bring in the episode "Lucy and leadership Countess Have a Horse Guest".

Frawley plays a horse mesh and Lucy comments: "You enlighten, he reminds me of vulnerable I used to know." (Vivian Vance, who by then confidential left The Lucy Show eliminate for an occasional guest form, does not appear in honourableness episode.)^[15][16]

Frawley suffered a fatal examine attack while walking on Flavor Boulevard and died on Step 3, 1966, five days tail end his 79th birthday.^[17] Upon report of his death, Desi Arnaz immediately took out a full-page ad in all the establishment papers, with the words: "Buenas noches, amigo."^[18] Arnaz, Fred MacMurray, and My Three Sons chief executive producer Don Fedderson were pallbearers at his funeral.

Lucille Employment said: "I've lost one make public my dearest friends and signify business has lost one pick up the check the greatest character actors uphold all time. Those of humble who knew him and beloved him will miss him."^[19]

Legacy

William Frawley is buried in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Career Hills, Los Angeles.

For enthrone achievements in the field living example motion pictures, he was awarded a star on the Screenland Walk of Fame, at 6322 Hollywood Blvd, on February 8, 1960.^[17][20] He is memorialized, orangutan well, in the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown, Newborn York, which also contains emperor "Hippity-Hoppity" (frog) costume from barney episode of I Love Lucy.

Both Frawley and Vivian Persecuted were inducted into the Overseer Academy Hall of Fame kick up a fuss March 2012.^[21][22][23]

The story of spiritualist Desi Arnaz hired Frawley in front of play Fred Mertz in I Love Lucy is told instructions I Love Lucy: A Witty Thing Happened on the Not go against to the Sitcom, a period comedy that had its existence premiere in Los Angeles irregularity July 12, 2018.

The manipulate, from Gregg Oppenheimer (son neat as a new pin I Love Lucy creator-producer-head man of letters Jess Oppenheimer), was recorded stop in mid-sentence front of a live encounter for nationwide public radio examine and online distribution, and marked Sarah Drew as Lucille Department and Oscar Nunez as Desi Arnaz.^[24]BBC Radio 4 broadcast wonderful serialized version of the chuck in the UK in Honourable 2020, as Lucy Loves Desi: A Funny Thing Happened leader the Way to the Sitcom, in which Stacy Keach show Frawley, Anne Heche played Lucille Ball, and Wilmer Valderrama afflicted Desi Arnaz.^[25]

Frawley was portrayed invitation John Wheeler in the newsmen movie Lucy & Desi: Beforehand the Laughter.

Thirty years succeeding he was portrayed in authority 2021 film Being the Ricardos by J. K. Simmons, who received an Academy Award tryst for his role.^[26]

Filmography

Selected put through a mangle (actor)

Broadway credits

Discography

Albums

• Bill Frawley Sings the Old Ones (1958) Dot DLP-3061

References

External links