Full Name | William Frawley |
Net Worth | $1.9 Million |
Date Of Birth | February 26, 1887 |
Died | March 3, 1966, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States |
Place Of Birth | Burlington, Iowa, USA |
Height | 1.75 m |
Occupation | Actor |
Profession | Actor, Singer |
Nationality | American |
Spouse | Edna Frawley |
Parents | Mary E. Brady, Michael A. Frawley |
Siblings | Paul Frawley |
Nicknames | William Frawley, Frawley, William |
IMDB | http://imdb.com/name/nm0292433 |
Nominations | Primetime Emmy Award for Best Series Supporting Actor, Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor In A Regular Series, Primetime Emmy Award for Best Continuing Supporting Performance by an Actor - Dramatic or Comedy Series, TV Land Favorite Cantankerous Couple Award, Primetime Emmy Award for Bes... |
Movies | Miracle on 34th Street, Gentleman Jim, Monsieur Verdoux, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, One Night in the Tropics, The Babe Ruth Story, Rancho Notorious, The Fighting Seabees, Something to Sing About, Safe at Home!, Flame of Barbary Coast, It Happened in Flatbush, The Bride Came C.O.D., ... |
TV Shows | My Three Sons, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, I Love Lucy |
Star Sign | Pisces |
# | Fact |
---|
1 | William Frawley won five consecutive Emmy nominations for best supporting actor for _"I Love Lucy (1953)"_ but he never won. |
2 | In 1912, he was the first person to sing the classic, 'My Melancholy Baby.' He was appearing at the Mozart Cafe in Denver, Colorado. He happened to visit a pub on Curtis Street, where he knew the proprietor. Knowing Bill was looking for a new song for his act, the proprietor directed him to the pub's back room, where George Norton and Ernie Burnett were in the process of composing 'My Melancholy Baby.' He introduced the song that very night at the Mozart Cafe. In the audience that night was writer Damon Runyan, well-known for his drinking. After he introduced the song, Runyan, drunk and maudlin, called out 'Get Frawley to sing 'Melancholy Baby'!' repeatedly throughout the rest of the evening. Bill sang many encores. The comedy staple of a drunk requesting 'My Melancholy Baby' actually has a basis in fact!. |
3 | He said he introduced the classic song "(Nothing Could Be Finer Than to Be in) Carolina in the Morning" in the Broadway Musical Revue "The Passing Show of 1922", which ran at the Winter Garden Theater in New York September 20 - December 2, 1922. As of this writing (May 2008), this has not been positively confirmed, as he is not listed in the Internet Broadway Database as being a cast member of that show. |
4 | When he died in 1966, his gross estate totaled $92,446, and his assets were on track to grow after he died. He had a residual deal for I Love Lucy (1951), which was unique to performers of the day; he was to be paid in perpetuity. His estate and heirs were paid for decades for rerun revenues. |
5 | Is portrayed by John Wheeler in Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter (1991) |
6 | In early 1928, he was fired from Broadway show 'She's My Baby' starring Beatrice Lillie for punching Clifton Webb in the nose. |
7 | Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 168-169. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387 |
8 | Despite the fact that they played husband and wife on I Love Lucy (1951), Frawley and Vivian Vance disliked each other intensely. Part of it was the real life age difference between the two (Frawley was 22 years Vance's senior), but essentially it was a clash of two driving, strong personalities. Vance and her fourth husband were dining out when they heard Frawley had died. Upon receiving the news, Vance reportedly shouted, "Champagne for everybody!". |
9 | Unable to secure his first choice, Gale Gordon for the role of "Fred Mertz," Desi Arnaz agreed to consider Frawley, who heavily lobbied for the part. Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball had invested everything they had for the pilot and were concerned about Frawley's alcoholism--- which was no secret around Hollywood--- Arnaz made it clear to him that, if he showed up drunk for work more than once, he would not only be fired from the program but blacklisted throughout the entertainment industry. Frawley, despite his lengthy film resume, was virtually unemployable by 1951--- thanks to a combination of his fondness for the bottle, and his disagreeable personality. He readily agreed to Arnaz's condition. He never showed up drunk on the set at all, and, in fact, Arnaz became one of his very few close friends. When Frawley died, Arnaz took out a full-page ad in the trade papers, consisting of Frawley's picture, edged in black, and three words: "Buenas noches, amigo!". |
10 | By almost all accounts, Frawley's off-screen personality was not all that much different from his on-screen one. A notorious misanthrope, with one brief failed marriage behind him and a fondness for the bottle, he lived in the same bachelor apartment for most of his years in Hollywood. |
11 | Possessed of a fine singing voice in his earlier days, it was supposedly William Frawley, not Al Jolson, that introduced Jolson popular hit song, "My Mammy" to vaudeville audiences. |
12 | Both he and Vivian Vance had nothing but contempt for each other during the run of I Love Lucy (1951), which is probably what filtered into their TV characters and made them work so beautifully. The two were given the opportunity to move into their own "Fred and Ethel" spin-off once "Lucy" had run its course in 1959. Despite his animosity towards her, Frawley saw a lucrative opportunity and was quite game, but Vance nixed the idea, having no interest in ever working with Frawley again. Vance got her own series, Guestward Ho! (1960), which failed, but went on to make sporadic appearances on Lucille Ball's sitcoms and in films throughout the 1960's. Frawley hit it big as Bub on My Three Sons (1960). |
13 | Never felt comfortable with the out-of-sequence filming method used on My Three Sons (1960) after doing I Love Lucy (1951) in sequence for years. |
14 | Interred at San Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, California, USA. |
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|
The Lucy Show | 1965 | TV Series | The Trainer |
My Three Sons | 1960-1965 | TV Series | Michael Francis 'Bub' O'Casey |
My Living Doll | 1964 | TV Series | Det. Gladwin |
Summer Playhouse | 1964 | TV Series | Cameo |
Safe at Home! | 1962 | | Bill Turner |
No Place Like Home | 1960/I | TV Movie | |
The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour | 1957-1960 | TV Series | Fred Mertz |
The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna | 1959 | TV Series | Jim Comstock |
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse | 1959 | TV Series | Joe Grady |
The Red Skelton Hour | 1958 | TV Series | Mr. Thomas |
I Love Lucy | 1951-1957 | TV Series | Fred Mertz |
Damon Runyon Theater | 1955 | TV Series | |
Shower of Stars | 1955 | TV Series | Gabby Mullins |
The Loretta Young Show | 1954 | TV Series | Sam |
Texaco Star Theatre | 1954 | TV Series | Fred Mertz |
The Dirty Look | 1954 | Short | |
I Love Lucy | 1953 | | Fred Mertz / Himself |
Rancho Notorious | 1952 | | Baldy Gunder |
Rhubarb | 1951 | | Len Sickles |
The Bigelow Theatre | 1950-1951 | TV Series | Pinto |
The Lemon Drop Kid | 1951 | | Gloomy Willie |
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man | 1951 | | Detective Roberts |
Pretty Baby | 1950 | | Corcoran |
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye | 1950 | | Byers |
The Silver Theatre | 1950 | TV Series | Pinto |
Kill the Umpire | 1950 | | Jimmy O'Brien |
Blondie's Hero | 1950 | | Marty Greer |
East Side, West Side | 1949 | | Bill the Bartender |
The Lady Takes a Sailor | 1949 | | Oliver Harker |
Red Light | 1949 | | Hotel Night Clerk |
Home in San Antone | 1949 | | O'Fleery |
Your Show Time | 1949 | TV Series | |
The Lone Wolf and His Lady | 1949 | | Inspector J.D. Crane |
Chicken Every Sunday | 1949 | | George Kirby |
The Girl from Manhattan | 1948 | | Mr. Bernouti |
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All | 1948 | | Knobby Walsh |
Good Sam | 1948 | | Tom |
The Babe Ruth Story | 1948 | | Jack Dunn |
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven | 1948 | | Agent |
My Wild Irish Rose | 1947 | | William Scanlon |
Blondie's Anniversary | 1947 | | Sharkey, the Loan Shark |
Down to Earth | 1947 | | Police Lieutenant |
Mother Wore Tights | 1947 | | Mr. Schneider |
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now | 1947 | | Jim Mason |
Miracle on 34th Street | 1947 | | Charlie Halloran |
Monsieur Verdoux | 1947 | | Jean La Salle |
Hit Parade of 1947 | 1947 | | Harry Holmes |
Crime Doctor's Man Hunt | 1946 | | Inspector Harry B. Manning |
The Inner Circle | 1946 | | Det. Lt. Webb |
Rendezvous with Annie | 1946 | | Gen. Trent |
The Virginian | 1946 | | Honey Wiggen |
Ziegfeld Follies | 1945 | | Martin ('A Sweepstakes Ticket') |
Lady on a Train | 1945 | | Police Sergeant Christie |
Hitchhike to Happiness | 1945 | | Sandy Hill |
Flame of Barbary Coast | 1945 | | 'Smooth' Wylie |
Lake Placid Serenade | 1944 | | Jiggers |
Going My Way | 1944 | | Max Dolan - the Publisher (uncredited) |
The Fighting Seabees | 1944 | | Eddie Powers |
Whistling in Brooklyn | 1943 | | Detective Ramsey |
Larceny with Music | 1943 | | Mike Simms |
We've Never Been Licked | 1943 | | Traveling Salesman |
Gentleman Jim | 1942 | | Billy Delaney |
Moonlight in Havana | 1942 | | Barney Crane |
Wildcat | 1942 | | Oliver Westbrook |
Give Out, Sisters | 1942 | | Harrison |
It Happened in Flatbush | 1942 | | Sam Sloan |
Roxie Hart | 1942 | | O'Malley |
Treat 'Em Rough | 1942 | | 'Hotfoot' |
The Yankee Doodler | 1942 | Short | |
Public Enemies | 1941 | | Bang |
The Bride Came C.O.D. | 1941 | | Sheriff McGee |
Cracked Nuts | 1941 | | James Mitchell |
Blondie in Society | 1941 | | Waldo Pincus |
Footsteps in the Dark | 1941 | | Hopkins |
Six Lessons from Madame La Zonga | 1941 | | Chauncey Beheegan |
Sandy Gets Her Man | 1940 | | Police Chief J. A. O'Hara |
Dancing on a Dime | 1940 | | Mac |
One Night in the Tropics | 1940 | | Roscoe |
The Quarterback | 1940 | | Coach |
Rhythm on the River | 1940 | | Mr. Westlake |
Golden Gloves | 1940 | | Emory Balzar |
Untamed | 1940 | | Les Woodbury |
Those Were the Days! | 1940 | | Prisoner (uncredited) |
Opened by Mistake | 1940 | | Matt Kingsley |
The Farmer's Daughter | 1940 | | Scoop Trimble |
Stop, Look and Love | 1939 | | Joe Haller |
Night Work | 1939 | | Bruiser Brown, the Family Friend?? |
Grand Jury Secrets | 1939 | | Bright Eyes |
Ex-Champ | 1939 | | Mushy Harrington |
Rose of Washington Square | 1939 | | Harry Long |
Persons in Hiding | 1939 | | Alec Inglis |
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | 1939 | | The 'Duke' |
St. Louis Blues | 1939 | | Maj. Martingale |
Ambush | 1939 | | Inspector J.L. Weber |
Touchdown, Army | 1938 | | Jack Heffernan |
Sons of the Legion | 1938 | | Uncle Willie Lee |
Professor Beware | 1938 | | Snoop Donlan |
Mad About Music | 1938 | | Dusty Turner |
Blossoms on Broadway | 1937 | | Frances X. Rush |
Something to Sing About | 1937 | | Hank Meyers |
Double or Nothing | 1937 | | John Pederson |
High, Wide, and Handsome | 1937 | | Mac |
Rose Bowl | 1936 | | Soapy Moreland |
Three Married Men | 1936 | | Bill Mullins |
The General Died at Dawn | 1936 | | Brighton |
Three Cheers for Love | 1936 | | Milton Shakespeare |
The Princess Comes Across | 1936 | | Benton |
F-Man | 1936 | | Detective Rogan |
Desire | 1936 | | Mr. Gibson |
Strike Me Pink | 1936 | | Mr. Copple |
Ship Cafe | 1935 | | Briney O'Brien |
It's a Great Life | 1935 | | Lt. McNulty |
Harmony Lane | 1935 | | Edwin P. 'Ed' Christy |
Welcome Home | 1935 | | Painless |
College Scandal | 1935 | | Chief of Police Magoun |
Alibi Ike | 1935 | | Cap |
In Caliente | 1935 | | Gentleman at Bar (uncredited) |
Hold 'Em Yale | 1935 | | Sunshine Joe |
Car 99 | 1935 | | Training Sgt. Barrel |
Here Is My Heart | 1934 | | James Smith |
The Lemon Drop Kid | 1934 | | William Dunhill |
Shoot the Works | 1934 | | Larry Hale |
The Witching Hour | 1934 | | Jury Foreman |
The Crime Doctor | 1934 | | Fraser |
Bolero | 1934 | | Mike DeBaere |
Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen | 1934 | | Captain Murphy |
Hell and High Water | 1933 | | Milton J. Bunsey |
Moonlight and Pretzels | 1933 | | Mac |
Fancy That | 1929 | Short | Percy |
Turkey for Two | 1929 | Short | Convict |
Ventriloquist | 1927 | Short | 'Hoak' salesman |
Should Husbands Be Watched? | 1925 | Short | Beat Cop (unconfirmed) |
Persistent Percival | 1916 | Short | Billy |
Lord Loveland Discovers America | 1916 | | Tony Kidd |
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|
I Love Lucy's 50th Anniversary Special | 2001 | TV Movie documentary performer: "Carolina in the Morning" - uncredited | |
The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show | 1957 | TV Series performer - 1 episode | |
I Love Lucy | 1951-1954 | TV Series performer - 5 episodes | |
Good Sam | 1948 | performer: "There's No Place Like Home Home, Sweet Home" - uncredited | |
The Fighting Seabees | 1944 | performer: "Ireland Must Be Heaven, for My Mother Came from There" - uncredited | |
High, Wide, and Handsome | 1937 | performer: "Will You Marry Me Tomorrow, Maria ?" | |
Fancy That | 1929 | Short performer: "Dearest One" | |
ncG1vNJzZmimlanEsL7Toaeoq6RjvLOzjqecrWWnpL%2B1tI6woKWkmZa6brLRmq6lnaliu6bAjLCmq6yYZA%3D%3D