Acting · Burlington, Iowa, USA · Born February 25, 1887
William Frawley was born in Burlington, Iowa. As a boy he sang at St. Paul's Catholic Church and played at the Burlington Opera House. His first job was as a stenographer for the Union Pacific Railroad. He did vaudeville with his brother Paul, then joined pianist Franz Rath in an act they took to San Francisco in 1910. Four years later he formed a light comedy act with his new wife Edna Louise Broedt, "Frawley and Louise", touring the Orpheum and Keith circuits until they divorced in 1927. He next moved to Broadway and then, in 1932, to Hollywood with Paramount. By 1951, when he contacted Lucille Ball about a part in her TV show I Love Lucy (1951), he had performed in over 100 films. His Fred Mertz role lasted until the show ended in 1960, after which he did a five-year stint on My Three Sons (1960). Poor health forced his retirement. He collapsed of a heart attack on March 3, 1966, aged 79, walking along Hollywood Boulevard after seeing a movie. He is buried in San Fernando Mission Cemetery.
MovieI Love Lucy Christmas Special
2016
as Fred Mertz
Lucille Ball: Finding Lucy
2000
as Self (archive footage)
TVThe Lucy Show
1962
as Trainer
TVThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Self
MovieSafe at Home!
1962
as Bill Turner
TVMy Three Sons
1960
as Bub O'Casey
TVWestinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
TVThe Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
1957
as Fred Mertz
The Gale Storm Show
1956
as Jim Comstock
MovieLucy's Really Lost Moments
1956
as Fred Mertz
MovieThe Dirty Look
1954
TVLetter to Loretta
1953
as Sam
MovieI Love Lucy: The Movie
1953
as Fred Mertz / Self
TVThis Is Your Life
1952
as Self
MovieRancho Notorious
1952
as Baldy Gunder
TVI Love Lucy
1951
as Fred Mertz
MovieRhubarb
1951
as Len Sickles
MovieThe Lemon Drop Kid
1951
as Gloomy Willie
MovieBud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man
1951
as Det. Roberts
MoviePretty Baby
1950
as Corcoran
MovieKiss Tomorrow Goodbye
1950
as Byers
MovieKill the Umpire
1950
as Jimmy O'Brien
TVThe Bob Hope Show
1950
as Self
MovieBlondie's Hero
1950
as Marty Greer
MovieEast Side, West Side
1949
as Bill the Bartender
MovieThe Lady Takes a Sailor
1949
as Oliver Harker
The Ed Wynn Show
1949
as Self
MovieRed Light
1949
as Hotel Night Clerk
MovieThe Lone Wolf and His Lady
1949
as Inspector Crane
MovieHome in San Antone
1949
as O'Fleery
MovieChicken Every Sunday
1949
as George Kirby
MovieThe Girl from Manhattan
1948
as Mr. Bernouti
MovieJoe Palooka in Winner Take All
1948
as Knobby Walsh
MovieThe Babe Ruth Story
1948
as Jack Dunn
MovieGood Sam
1948
as Tom
MovieTexas, Brooklyn & Heaven
1948
as Agent
TVThe Ed Sullivan Show
1948
as Self
MovieMy Wild Irish Rose
1947
as William Scanlon
MovieBlondie's Anniversary
1947
as Sharkey the Loen Shark
MovieMonsieur Verdoux
1947
as Jean La Salle
MovieDown to Earth
1947
as Police Lieutenant
MovieMother Wore Tights
1947
as Mr. Schneider
MovieI Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
1947
as Jim Mason
MovieMiracle on 34th Street
1947
as Charlie Halloran
MovieCrime Doctor's Man Hunt
1946
as Police Inspector Harry B. Manning
MovieThe Inner Circle
1946
as Det. Lt. Webb
MovieRendezvous with Annie
1946
as General Trent
MovieThe Virginian
1946
as Honey Wiggen
MovieZiegfeld Follies
1945
as Martin (segment "A Sweepstakes Ticket")
MovieLady on a Train
1945
as Desk Sgt. Brennan
MovieHitchhike to Happiness
1945
as Sandy Hill
MovieFlame of Barbary Coast
1945
as Wolf Wylie
MovieLake Placid Serenade
1944
as Jiggers
MovieThe Fighting Seabees
1944
as Eddie Powers
MovieGoing My Way
1944
as Max Dolan, Publisher (uncredited)
MovieWhistling in Brooklyn
1943
as Detective Ramsey
MovieLarceny with Music
1943
as Mike Simms
MovieWe've Never Been Licked
1943
as Traveling Salesman
MovieGentleman Jim
1942
as Billy Delaney
MovieThe Yankee Doodler
1942
MovieMoonlight in Havana
1942
as Barney Crane
MovieWildcat
1942
as Oliver Westbrook
MovieGive Out, Sisters
1942
as Harrison
MovieIt Happened in Flatbush
1942
as Sam Sloan
MovieRoxie Hart
1942
as O'Malley
Treat 'Em Rough
1942
as 'Hotfoot'
Gangs Of The City
1941
as Bang
MovieBlondie in Society
1941
as Waldo Pincus
MovieThe Bride Came C.O.D.
1941
as Sheriff McGee
MovieCracked Nuts
1941
as James Mitchell
MovieFootsteps in the Dark
1941
as Det. 'Hoppy' Hopkins
MovieSix Lessons From Madame La Zonga
1941
as Chauncey Beheegan
MovieOne Night in the Tropics
1940
as Roscoe
MovieSandy Gets Her Man
1940
as Police Chief J. A. O'Hara
MovieDancing on a Dime
1940
as Mac
MovieThe Quarterback
1940
as Coach
MovieRhythm on the River
1940
as Mr. Westlake
MovieGolden Gloves
1940
as Emory Balzar
MovieUntamed
1940
as Les Woodbury
MovieThose Were the Days!
1940
as Prisoner
MovieOpened by Mistake
1940
as Matt Kingsley
MovieThe Farmer's Daughter
1940
as Scoop Trimble
MovieStop, Look and Love
1939
as Joe Haller
MovieNight Work
1939
as Bruiser Brown
MovieGrand Jury Secrets
1939
as Bright Eyes
MovieEx-Champ
1939
as Mushy Harrington
MovieRose of Washington Square
1939
as Harry Long
MovieThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
1939
as The 'Duke'
MoviePersons in Hiding
1939
as Alec Inglis
MovieSt. Louis Blues
1939
as Major Martingale
MovieAmbush
1939
as Inspector J.L. Weber
MovieSons of the Legion
1938
as Uncle Willie Lee
MovieTouchdown, Army
1938
as Jack Heffernan
MovieProfessor Beware
1938
as Snoop Donlan
MovieMad About Music
1938
as Dusty Turner
MovieBlossoms On Broadway
1937
as Francis X. Rush
MovieSomething to Sing About
1937
as Hank Mayers
MovieDouble or Nothing
1937
as John Pederson
MovieHigh, Wide and Handsome
1937
as Mac
MovieRose Bowl
1936
as 'Soapy' Moreland
MovieThe General Died at Dawn
1936
as Brighton
MovieThree Married Men
1936
as Bill Mullins
MovieThe Princess Comes Across
1936
as Benton
MovieF-Man
1936
as Detective Rogan
MovieDesire
1936
as Mr. Gibson
MovieStrike Me Pink
1936
as Mr. Copple
Beautiful Dreamer
1935
MovieShip Cafe
1935
as Briney O'Brien
MovieHarmony Lane
1935
as Edwin P. 'Ed' Christy
MovieIt's a Great Life
1935
as Lt. McNulty
MovieWelcome Home
1935
as Painless
MovieCollege Scandal
1935
as Chief of Police Magoun
MovieAlibi Ike
1935
as Cap
MovieHold 'Em Yale
1935
as Sunshine Joe
MovieRoberta
1935
as Bartender (uncredited)
MovieCar 99
1935
as Training Sgt. Barrel
MovieHere Is My Heart
1934
as James Smith
MovieThe Lemon Drop Kid
1934
as William Dunhill aka The Professor
MovieShoot the Works
1934
as Larry Hale
MovieThe Witching Hour
1934
as Jury Foreman
MovieThe Crime Doctor
1934
as Fraser
MovieBolero
1934
as Mike DeBaere
MovieMiss Fane's Baby Is Stolen
1934
as Captain Murphy
Hell and High Water
1933
as Milton J. Bunsey
MovieMoonlight and Pretzels
1933
as Mac
Ventriloquist
1927
as 'Hoak' salesman
MovieShould Husbands Be Watched?
1925
as Beat Cop
