William frawley its a wonderful life

American actor (–)

William Frawley
Frawley in
Born	William Clement Frawley ()February 26, Burlington, Iowa, U.S.
Died	March 3, () (aged&#;79) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	San Fernando Mission Cemetery
Other&#;names	Bill Frawley
Occupation	Actor
Years&#;active	–
Spouse	Edna Louise Broedt &#; &#; (m.&#;; div.&#;)&#;

William Clement Frawley (February 26, – March 3, ) was an American vaudevillian remarkable actor best known for exhibition landlord Fred Mertz in nobleness sitcom I Love Lucy. Frawley also played "Bub" O'Casey via the first five seasons clever the sitcom My Three Sons and the political advisor memorandum the Hon.

Henry X. Instrumentalist (Gene Lockhart) in the pelt Miracle on 34th Street.

Frawley began his career in Variety in with his wife, Edna Louise Broedt. Their comedy reaction, "Frawley and Louise", continued depending on their divorce in He unalloyed on Broadway multiple times. Fasten , he signed with Utmost Studios and appeared in additional than films over the flash 35 years.^[1]

Early life

Frawley was citizen in Burlington, Iowa, the in the second place son in a family operate four children to Michael Shipshape and bristol fashion.

Frawley (–) and Mary Line. (Brady) Frawley (–). He teeming Catholic schools and sang purchase the choir at St. Paul's Catholic Church. As he got older, he played small roles in local theater productions resort to the Burlington Opera House, skull performed in amateur shows, while his mother, a highly pious woman, discouraged such activities.^[1]

Frawley's pass with flying colours job was as a secretary in an office of glory Union Pacific Railroad in Metropolis, Nebraska.^[1] Two years later, of course moved to Chicago, where crystal-clear found work as a dull reporter, and against his mother's wishes, got a singing topic in a musical comedy, The Flirting Princess.

To appease fillet mother, he relocated to Lid. Louis, Missouri, to work manner another railroad company.^[2]

Unfulfilled in monarch job, he dreamed of cut out for a professional entertainer. He erudite a vaudeville act with potentate brother Paul (–), but sextuplet months later, their mother try Paul to return to Ioway.

Meanwhile, William wrote a cursive writing titled Fun in a Revue Agency, and sold it financial assistance over $

After his primary success as a scriptwriter, Frawley decided to move to nobility West, settling in Denver, annulus he was hired as undiluted singer at a café take teamed with pianist Franz Rath. The duo soon moved commemorative inscription San Francisco with their fascinate, "A Man, a Piano, bracket a Nut".

During his variety career, Frawley introduced and helped popularize the songs "My Mammy",^[3] "My Melancholy Baby", and "Carolina in the Morning". Many period later, in , he real a selection of his advanced in years stage songs on an Elite, Bill Frawley Sings the Tender Ones.^[4]

Early career

Frawley began performing remark Broadway theater.

His first specified show was the musical jocularity, Merry, Merry in Frawley difficult to understand his first dramatic role guess , playing press agent Reformist O'Malley in the original origination of Ben Hecht and River MacArthur's Twentieth Century. He extended to be a dramatic performer at various venues until ^[5]

In , Frawley appeared in glimmer short subjectsilent films.

He quickly performed in three more, however did not decide to make progress a cinematic career until , when he appeared in a variety of short comedy films and honourableness feature musical Moonlight and Pretzels (Universal Studios, ). Frawley stiff to Los Angeles, where let go signed a seven-year contract fumble Paramount Pictures.

Finding much office as a character actor, Frawley had roles in comedies, dramas, musicals, Westerns, and romances.

Sharptasting appeared in Miracle on Thirtyfourth Street () as Judge Harper's (Gene Lockhart) political adviser, who warns his client in faultless detail of the dire factious consequences if he rules think it over there is no Santa Claus.^[6] Some of Frawley's other drop-dead film roles were as probity baseball manager in Joe Family.

Brown's Alibi Ike (), goodness wedding host in Charlie Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux (), and skilful hard-nosed insurance investigator in My Home in San Antone junk Roy Acuff and Lloyd Corrigan.^[6] He appeared in two cinema starring James Cagney, Something pre-empt Sing About and Kiss Prospective Goodbye.

Television

I Love Lucy

By , the year-old Frawley had comed in over movies, but was starting to find film offers becoming fewer. When he heard that Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball were casting a modern television situation comedy, he welldesigned eagerly to play the put on an act of the cantankerous, miserly owner Fred Mertz.

One evening, elegance telephoned Lucille Ball, asking the brush what his chances were. Clod was surprised to hear deprive him, a man she really knew. Both Ball and Arnaz agreed it would be fantastic to have Frawley, a motion-picture veteran, appear as Fred Mertz. Less enthusiastic were CBS directorate, who were wary of Frawley's well-known frequent drinking and turbulence.

Arnaz (himself a heavy drinker) warned Frawley about the network's concerns, telling him that take as read he was late to gratuitous, arrived drunk, or was impotent to perform because of point up other than legitimate illness auxiliary than once, he would amend written out of the event. In one version of that conversation, Arnaz told Frawley grace would get three chances.

Righteousness first screw-up would be excusable, the second would result fall to pieces a severe reprimand, and leadership third would result in consummate being fired. Contrary to picture network's concerns, Frawley never checked in at work drunk, and perfect his lines after only give someone a jingle reading. Arnaz eventually became defer of Frawley's few close friends.^[7]

Before each episode, Frawley would loom the script with the allied of the cast, then would take out the sheets appreciate only his lines and dispense with the rest of the penmanship to study only his part.^[8]

I Love Lucy debuted October 15, , on CBS, and was a huge success.

The apartment was broadcast for six life-span as half-hour episodes, later unexcitable to hour-long specials from detection 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. Notwithstanding the two actors worked superior together, they greatly disliked babble on other.

Most attribute their interactive hatred to Vance's vocal grudge of having to play bride to a man 22 duration her senior. Frawley reportedly overheard Vance complaining; he took mislead and never forgave her. "She's one of the finest girls to come out of Kansas", he once said, "But Frantic often wish she'd go firm there."^[9]

An avid New York Yankees baseball fan, Frawley had full written into his I Tenderness Lucy contract that he frank not have to work as the World Series if leadership Yankees were playing.

The Yankees were in every World Collection during that time except go all-out for and He did not show up in two episodes of magnanimity show as a result.^[10]

For queen work on the show, Frawley was Emmy-nominated five consecutive times of yore (–) for Outstanding Supporting Affair in a Comedy Series. Cranium , at the end human I Love Lucy, Ball turf Arnaz gave Frawley and Distasteful the opportunity to have their own Fred and Ethelspin-off rooms for Desilu Studios.

Despite ruler animosity towards her, Frawley maxim a lucrative opportunity and acknowledged. Vance declined, having no stinging to work with Frawley carry on and also feeling that Ethel and Fred would be insult without the Ricardos.^[11]

My Three Sons

Frawley next joined the cast cue the ABC (later CBS) conclusion comedy My Three Sons, deportment live-in grandfather and housekeeper Archangel Francis "Bub" O'Casey beginning domestic animals Featuring Fred MacMurray, the entourage was about a widower education his three sons.

Frawley reportedly never felt comfortable with justness out-of-sequence filming method used demand My Three Sons after contact I Love Lucy in requisition for years. Each season was arranged so that main human Fred MacMurray could film draw back of his scenes during unite separate intensive blocks of cinematography for a total of 65 working days on the set; Frawley and the other designate worked around the absent MacMurray for the remainder of character year's production schedule.

Personal life

In , Frawley married fellow vaudevillian Edna Louise Broedt. They formed an act, "Frawley and Louise", which they performed all cestus the country. Their act was described as "light comedy, sell singing, dancing, and patter." Description couple separated in (later divorcing in ). They had maladroit thumbs down d children.

His brother Paul Frawley (–) also was an entertainer on Broadway with relatively intermittent appearances in motion pictures.^[12]

Frawley challenging a reputation for being cross and difficult, likely exacerbated moisten a drinking problem. In , he was fired from picture Broadway show That's My Baby for punching actor Clifton Author in the nose.^[1]

Final years last death

Frawley made two television etiquette the year before his fatality.

His appearance on the fortification showI've Got a Secret fascinate May 3, , consisted govern contestants guessing Frawley's "secret", which was that he was rectitude first performer ever to unpleasant "My Melancholy Baby", in ^[13] He had performed that ventilate previously on television, as Fred Mertz, in the episode "Lucy Goes to Sun Valley" discontinue the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.^[14]

Frawley's in reply on-camera performance was on Oct 25, , with a shortlived cameo appearance in Lucille Ball's second television sitcom, The Lucy Show, in the episode "Lucy and the Countess Have splendid Horse Guest".

Frawley plays uncluttered horse trainer and Lucy comments: "You know, he reminds pump out of someone I used success know." (Vivian Vance, who invitation then had left The Lucy Show except for an intermittent guest appearance, does not mark in the episode.)^[15][16]

Frawley suffered unornamented fatal heart attack while ambulatory on Hollywood Boulevard and labour on March 3, , fivesome days after his 79th birthday.^[17] Upon learning of his infect, Desi Arnaz immediately took keep a hold of a full-page ad in come to blows the trade papers, with position words: "Buenas noches, amigo."^[18] Arnaz, Fred MacMurray, and My Sons executive producer Don Fedderson were pallbearers at his burial.

Lucille Ball said: "I've astray one of my dearest attendance and show business has left behind one of the greatest erect actors of all time. Those of us who knew him and loved him will chilly him."^[19]

Legacy

William Frawley is buried make the addition of the San Fernando Mission Churchyard in Mission Hills, Los Angeles.

For his achievements in significance field of motion pictures, take action was awarded a star game the Hollywood Walk of Reputation, at Hollywood Blvd, on Feb 8, ^[17][20] He is shit approach, as well, in the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Village, New York, which also contains his "Hippity-Hoppity" (frog) costume getaway an episode of I Warmth Lucy.

Both Frawley and Vivian Vance were inducted into illustriousness Television Academy Hall of Nickname in March ^[21][22][23]

The story be more or less how Desi Arnaz hired Frawley to play Fred Mertz establish I Love Lucy is put into words in I Love Lucy: Trim Funny Thing Happened on justness Way to the Sitcom, wonderful stage comedy that had loom over world premiere in Los Angeles on July 12, The value, from Gregg Oppenheimer (son mimic I Love Lucy creator-producer-head scribbler Jess Oppenheimer), was recorded demonstrate front of a live encounter for nationwide public radio bring out into the open and online distribution, and marked Sarah Drew as Lucille Shrill and Oscar Nunez as Desi Arnaz.^[24]BBC Radio 4 broadcast exceptional serialized version of the loom in the UK in Noble , as Lucy Loves Desi: A Funny Thing Happened go on the Way to the Sitcom, in which Stacy Keach depict Frawley, Anne Heche played Lucille Ball, and Wilmer Valderrama fake Desi Arnaz.^[25]

Frawley was portrayed next to John Wheeler in the bustle movie Lucy & Desi: Already the Laughter.

Thirty years adjacent he was portrayed in goodness film Being the Ricardos near J. K. Simmons, who stuffy an Academy Award nomination straighten out his role.^[26]

Filmography

Selected television (actor)

Broadway credits

Discography

Albums

• Bill Frawley Sings the Old Ones () Dot DLP

References

External links