Acting · Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA · Born February 27, 1892
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).
Television: The First Fifty Years
1999
as Charlie O'Casey (archive footage)
MovieBarbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
1997
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Millionaire
1978
as Oscar Pugh
MovieWon Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
1976
as Studio Gatekeeper
TVEllery Queen
1975
as Alexander 'Pop' Denny
MovieThe Wild McCullochs
1975
as Father Gurkin
MovieDon't Be Afraid of the Dark
1973
as Mr. Harris
TVMcMillan & Wife
1971
as Cyrus McFee
MovieThat Darn Cat!
1965
as Mr. MacDougall
MovieViva Las Vegas
1964
as Mr. Martin
MovieIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963
as Police Chief Aloysius
TVThe Jerry Lewis Show
1963
as Self
TVBurke's Law
1963
as Charlie Who
The Greatest Show on Earth
1963
as Paul Keller
MovieSon of Flubber
1963
as Mr. Hummel
TVGoing My Way
1962
TVThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Self
TVThe Mike Douglas Show
1961
as Self
MovieGunfight at Black Horses Canyon
1961
as Jeb
TVBen Casey
1961
TVDr. Kildare
1961
as Mr. Aimes
MovieTwenty Plus Two
1961
as Desmond Slocum
MovieKing of the Roaring 20's – The Story of Arnold Rothstein
1961
as Henry Hecht
MoviePepe
1960
as Movie Studio Gateman
TVMy Three Sons
1960
as Charley O'Casey
TVThe Rebel
1959
as Ulysses Bowman
TVThe Twilight Zone
1959
as Joe Britt
Love and Marriage
1959
as William Harris
TVBonanza
1959
as Enos Milford
TVWagon Train
1957
as Mr. Hennessey
TVTales of Wells Fargo
1957
as Jeb Gaine (credit only)
MovieThe Rawhide Years
1956
as Brand Comfort
MovieThe Mountain
1956
as Father Belacchi
MovieHell on Frisco Bay
1955
as Dan Bianco
MovieSincerely Yours
1955
as Sam Dunne
MovieLucy Gallant
1955
as Charles Madden
TVAlfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Tom Akins
MovieThe Private War of Major Benson
1955
as John
MovieThe Far Horizons
1955
as Sgt. Gass
MovieJupiter's Darling
1955
as Mago
MovieThe Yellow Mountain
1954
as Jackpot Wray
TVThe Wonderful World of Disney
1954
as Mr. Hummel (archive footage)
MovieJamboree
1954
as Self
TVStudio 57
1954
MovieEscape from Fort Bravo
1953
as Campbell
MovieHere Come the Girls
1953
as Dennis Logan
MovieDangerous When Wet
1953
as Pa Higgins
MovieThe Lady Wants Mink
1953
as Harvey Jones
MovieThe Blazing Forest
1952
as Syd Jessup
MovieWhat Price Glory
1952
as Corporal Kiper
TVThe Red Skelton Show
1951
as Senator Burnside
MovieBehave Yourself!
1951
as O'Ryan
MovieThe Strip
1951
as Fluff
MovieExcuse My Dust
1951
as Harvey Bullitt
MovieThe First Legion
1951
as Monsignor Michael Carey
MovieHe's a Cockeyed Wonder
1950
as Bob Sears
MovieNever a Dull Moment
1950
as Mears
MovieRiding High
1950
as Happy
MovieWhen Willie Comes Marching Home
1950
as Herman Kluggs
MovieRed, Hot and Blue
1949
as Charlie Baxter
MovieJolson Sings Again
1949
as Steve Martin
MovieSorrowful Jones
1949
as Regret
MovieWhispering Smith
1948
as Bill Dansing
MovieNight Has a Thousand Eyes
1948
as Lt. Shawn
MovieThe Sainted Sisters
1948
as Vern Tewilliger
MovieOn Our Merry Way
1948
as Floyd
MovieVariety Girl
1947
as Barker
MovieThe Perils of Pauline
1947
as George 'Mac' McGuire
MovieThe Jolson Story
1946
as Steve Martin
MovieOur Hearts Were Growing Up
1946
as Peanuts Schultz
MoviePardon My Past
1945
as Chuck Gibson
MovieHollywood Victory Caravan
1945
as Bill, the Security Guard
MovieDuffy's Tavern
1945
as William Demarest
MovieAlong Came Jones
1945
as George Fury
MovieSalty O'Rourke
1945
as Smitty
MovieThe Miracle of Morgan's Creek
1944
as Constable Edmund Kockenlocker
MovieHail the Conquering Hero
1944
as Sgt. Heppelfinger
MovieThe Great Moment
1944
as Eben Frost
MovieOnce Upon a Time
1944
as Brandt
MovieNine Girls
1944
as Walter Cummings
MovieTrue to Life
1943
as Uncle Jake
MovieDangerous Blondes
1943
as Detective Gatling
MovieStage Door Canteen
1943
as William Demarest
MovieJohnny Doughboy
1942
as Harry Fabian
MovieLife Begins at Eight-Thirty
1942
as Police Officer
MovieBehind the Eight Ball
1942
as McKenzie
MovieThe Palm Beach Story
1942
as First Member Ale and Quail Club
MoviePardon My Sarong
1942
as Detective Kendall
MovieMy Favorite Spy
1942
as Flower Pot Policeman
MovieTrue to the Army
1942
as Sgt. Butts
MovieAll Through the Night
1942
as Sunshine
MovieGlamour Boy
1941
as Papa Doran
MovieSullivan's Travels
1941
as Mr. Jones
MovieDressed to Kill
1941
as Inspector Pierson
MovieCountry Fair
1941
as Stogie McPhee
MovieRide on Vaquero
1941
as Bartender Barney
MovieRookies on Parade
1941
as Mike Brady
MovieThe Devil and Miss Jones
1941
as First Detective
MovieThe Lady Eve
1941
as Muggsy
MovieLittle Men
1940
as Constable Tom Thorpe
MovieChristmas in July
1940
as Mr. Bildocker
MovieThe Golden Fleecing
1940
as Swallow
MovieComin' Round the Mountain
1940
as Gutsy Mann
MovieThe Great McGinty
1940
as Skeeters - The Politician
MovieThe Farmer's Daughter
1940
as Victor Walsh
Wolf of New York
1940
as Bill Ennis
Laugh It Off
1939
as Barney 'Gimpy' Cole
MovieMr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939
as Bill Griffith
MovieMiracles for Sale
1939
as Quinn
MovieThe Cowboy Quarterback
1939
as Rusty Walker
MovieThe Gracie Allen Murder Case
1939
as Police Sgt. Ernest Heath
MovieKing of the Turf
1939
as Arnold
MovieThe Great Man Votes
1939
as Charles Dole
MovieWhile New York Sleeps
1938
as Red Miller
MoviePeck's Bad Boy with the Circus
1938
as Daro
MovieJosette
1938
as Joe, Diner Owner
MovieOne Wild Night
1938
as Collins
MovieRomance on the Run
1938
as Police Lt. Eckhardt
MovieRebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
1938
as Henry Kipper
MovieRosalie
1937
as Army Coach
MovieBig City
1937
as Mr. Beecher
MovieWake Up and Live
1937
as Radio Center Tour Guide
MovieBlonde Trouble
1937
as Paul Sears
MovieEasy Living
1937
as Wallace Whistling
MovieThe Great Gambini
1937
as Sergeant Kirby
MovieThe Great Hospital Mystery
1937
as Mr. Beatty
MovieThe Hit Parade
1937
as Parole Officer
MovieOh, Doctor
1937
as Marty Short
MovieDon't Tell the Wife
1937
as Larry 'Horace' Tucker
MovieTime Out for Romance
1937
as Willoughby Sproggs
MovieMind Your Own Business
1936
as Droopy
MovieCharlie Chan at the Opera
1936
as Sergeant Kelly
MovieLove on the Run
1936
as Editor
MovieWedding Present
1936
as 'Smiles' Benson
MovieThe Great Ziegfeld
1936
as Gene Buck (uncredited)
MovieWhite Lies
1935
as Roberts
MovieHands Across the Table
1935
as Regi's Date Natty (uncredited)
MovieDiamond Jim
1935
as Harry Hill
MovieBright Lights
1935
as Detective
MovieThe Murder Man
1935
as 'Red' Maguire
MovieThe Casino Murder Case
1935
as Auctioneer (uncredited)
MovieAfter Office Hours
1935
as Police Detective (uncredited)
MovieFugitive Lady
1934
as Steve Rogers
MovieMany Happy Returns
1934
as Brinker
MovieFog Over Frisco
1934
as Spike Smith
Seeing Things
1930
as The Heir
MovieThe Crash
1928
as Louie
MovieThe Butter and Egg Man
1928
as Jack McLure
MovieFive and Ten Cent Annie
1928
as Briggs
MoviePay as You Enter
1928
as 'Terrible Bill' McGovern
MovieA Girl in Every Port
1928
as Man in Bombay (uncredited)
MovieSharp Shooters
1928
as 'Hi Jack' Murdock
MovieThe Night Court
1927
as Defense Counsel
MovieA Reno Divorce
1927
as James, the chauffeur
MovieThe Jazz Singer
1927
as Buster Billings (uncredited)
MovieA Sailor's Sweetheart
1927
as Detective
MovieThe Bush Leaguer
1927
as John Gilroy
MovieThe First Auto
1927
as The Village Cut-Up
MovieWhat Happened To Father
1927
as Detective Dibbin
MovieThe Black Diamond Express
1927
as Train Engine Fireman
MovieSimple Sis
1927
MovieA Million Bid
1927
as George Lamont
MovieMatinee Ladies
1927
as Man About Town
MovieThe Gay Old Bird
1927
as Mr. Fixit
MovieDon't Tell the Wife
1927
as Ray Valerian
MovieFinger Prints
1927
as Cuffs Egan
