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Naked Photos of William Frawley are available at MaleStars.com. They currently feature over 65,000 Nude Pics, Biographies, Video Clips, Articles, and Movie Reviews of famous stars.

 

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Actresses who appeared with William Frawley on screen:

Natalie Wood
Betty Davis
Bette Davis
Lucille Ball
Ava Gardener
Ava Gardner
Olivia de Havilland
Rita Hayworth
Leslie Hope
James Cagney
Barbara Stanwyck
Marlene Dietrich
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rodgers
Carole Lombard
Jane Wyman


William Frawley
Birthday: December 31, 1969

Birth Place: Burlington, Iowa, USA
Height: 5' 5"

Below is a complete filmography (list of movies he's appeared in) for William Frawley. If you have any corrections or additions, please email us at corrections@actorsofhollywood.com. We'd also be interested in any trivia or other information you have.

 

Biography

William Frawley was born in Burlington, Iowa. As a boy he sang at St. Pauls' 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. After four years, in 1914 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, 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." Poor health forced his retirement. He collapsed of a heart attack on March 3, 1966, aged seventy-nine, walking along Hollywood Boulevard after seeing a movie. He is buried in San Fernando Mission Cemetary.

Movie Credits
The Ballad of Lissa Stratmeyer (1964)
[ Fred MacMurray ]
Safe at Home! (1962)
No Place Like Home (1960)
The Ricardos Go to Japan (1959)
[ Desi Arnaz ]
Milton Berle Hides at the Ricardos (1959)
[ Desi Arnaz ]
Lucy Wants a Career (1959)
[ Desi Arnaz ]
The Comeback (1959)
Lucy Makes Room for Danny (1958)
[ Desi Arnaz ]
Lucy Goes to Mexico (1958)
Lucy Raises Tulips (1957)
[ Desi Arnaz ]
Country Club Dance (1957)
[ Desi Arnaz ]
Building a Bar-B-Q (1957)
[ Desi Arnaz ]
Housewarming (1957)
I Love Lucy Christmas Show (1956)
[ Desi Arnaz ]
The Dirty Look (1954)
[ Robert Altman ]
I Love Lucy (1953)
[ Desi Arnaz ]
Rancho Notorious (1952)
[ Fritz Lang ][ George Reeves ][ Jack Elam ][ Mel Ferrer ]
Rhubarb (1951)
[ Leonard Nimoy ][ Ray Milland ][ Strother Martin ]
The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
[ Bob Hope ]
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
[ Bud Abbott ][ Lou Costello ]
Pretty Baby (1950)
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950)
[ Ward Bond ]
Papa Romani (1950)
Kill the Umpire (1950)
[ William Bendix ]
Blondie's Hero (1950)
East Side, West Side (1949)
[ James Mason ]
The Lady Takes a Sailor (1949)
[ Jack Lemmon ]
Red Light (1949)
[ Harry Morgan ][ Raymond Burr ]
Home in San Antone (1949)
The Lone Wolf and His Lady (1949)
Chicken Every Sunday (1949)
The Girl from Manhattan (1948)
[ Charles Laughton ]
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All (1948)
The Babe Ruth Story (1948)
[ William Bendix ]
Good Sam (1948)
[ Gary Cooper ]
Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven (1948)
[ Guy Madison ]
My Wild Irish Rose (1947)
Blondie's Anniversary (1947)
Down to Earth (1947)
Mother Wore Tights (1947)
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now (1947)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
[ Maureen O'Hara ][ Jack Albertson ]
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
[ Charles Chaplin ]
Hit Parade of 1947 (1947)
[ Edward Albert ][ Eddie Albert ]
The Virginian (1946)
[ Joel McCrea ]
Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
[ Fred Astaire ][ Gene Kelly ][ Van Johnson ][ William Powell ][ Hume Cronyn ]
Crime Doctor's Man Hunt (1946)
[ Harry Morgan ]
The Inner Circle (1946)
Rendezvous with Annie (1946)
[ Edward Albert ][ Eddie Albert ]
Lady on a Train (1945)
[ Ralph Bellamy ]
Hitchhike to Happiness (1945)
Flame of Barbary Coast (1945)
[ John Wayne ]
Lake Placid Serenade (1944)
Minstrel Man (1944)
Going My Way (1944)
[ Bing Crosby ]
The Fighting Seabees (1944)
[ John Wayne ]
Whistling in Brooklyn (1943)
Larceny with Music (1943)
We've Never Been Licked (1943)
[ Robert Mitchum ][ Cliff Robertson ]
It Happened in Flatbush (1942)
Roxie Hart (1942)
Treat 'Em Rough (1942)
[ Edward Albert ][ Eddie Albert ]
Gentleman Jim (1942)
[ Errol Flynn ][ Ward Bond ]
Moonlight in Havana (1942)
Wildcat (1942)
Give Out, Sisters (1942)
Public Enemies (1941)
Cracked Nuts (1941)
The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)
Blondie in Society (1941)
Footsteps in the Dark (1941)
[ Errol Flynn ][ Ralph Bellamy ]
Six Lessons from Madame La Zonga (1941)
Those Were the Days! (1940)
[ William Holden ][ Alan Ladd ]
Opened by Mistake (1940)
The Farmer's Daughter (1940)
Sandy Gets Her Man (1940)
Dancing on a Dime (1940)
One Night in the Tropics (1940)
[ Bud Abbott ][ Lou Costello ]
The Quarterback (1940)
Rhythm on the River (1940)
[ Billy Wilder ][ Bing Crosby ]
Golden Gloves (1940)
[ Robert Ryan ]
Untamed (1940)
[ Ray Milland ]
Stop, Look and Love (1939)
Night Work (1939)
Grand Jury Secrets (1939)
Ex-Champ (1939)
Rose of Washington Square (1939)
[ Tyrone Power ]
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939)
[ Mickey Rooney ]
Persons in Hiding (1939)
St. Louis Blues (1939)
Ambush (1939)
Touchdown, Army (1938)
Sons of the Legion (1938)
Professor Beware (1938)
[ Ward Bond ]
Mad About Music (1938)
Blossoms on Broadway (1937)
Something to Sing About (1937)
Double or Nothing (1937)
[ Bing Crosby ]
High, Wide, and Handsome (1937)
[ Randolph Scott ]
Rose Bowl (1936)
[ Lon Chaney Jr. ]
Three Married Men (1936)
The General Died at Dawn (1936)
[ Gary Cooper ]
Three Cheers for Love (1936)
The Princess Comes Across (1936)
[ Fred MacMurray ]
F-Man (1936)
Desire (1936)
[ Gary Cooper ]
Strike Me Pink (1936)
College Scandal (1935)
Alibi Ike (1935)
Hold 'Em Yale (1935)
[ Lon Chaney Jr. ][ Cesar Romero ]
Roberta (1935)
[ Fred Astaire ][ Randolph Scott ]
Car 99 (1935)
[ Fred MacMurray ]
Ship Cafe (1935)
Harmony Lane (1935)
It's a Great Life (1935)
Welcome Home (1935)
[ Walter Brennan ]
Here Is My Heart (1934)
[ Bing Crosby ]
The Lemon Drop Kid (1934)
Shoot the Works (1934)
The Witching Hour (1934)
The Crime Doctor (1934)
Bolero (1934)
[ Ray Milland ]
Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen (1934)
Hell and High Water (1933)
Moonlight and Pretzels (1933)
Fancy That (1929)
Turkey for Two (1929)
Should Husbands Be Watched? (1925)
Lord Loveland Discovers America (1916)

Trivia

  • Interred at San Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, California, USA.
  • Never felt comfortable with the out-of-sequence filming method used on "My Three Sons" after doing "I Love Lucy" in sequence for years.
  • Both he and Vivian Vance had nothing but contempt for each other during the run of "I Love Lucy", which is probably what filtered into their TV characters and made them work so beautifully. The two co-stars 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 Ms. Vance nixed the idea, having no interest in ever working with Frawley again. Vance got her own series "Guestward Ho!", which failed. Frawley hit it big as Bub on "My Three Sons".
  • Possessed of a fine singing voice in his younger days, it was supposedly Frawley, not Al Jolson, who introduced the song "My Mammy" to vaudeville audiences.
  • 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 spare bachelor apartment for most of his years in Hollywood.
  • When hiring Frawley for the role of Fred Mertz on "I Love Lucy," Desi 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, whom no one would hire at that point because of a combination of his general disposition and fondness for the bottle, readily agreed. 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: "Buenos noches, amigo!"
  • 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 twenty-two years Vance's senior), but essentially, it was a clash of two driving, strong personalities. Vance and her second husband were dining out when they heard Frawley had died. Upon receiving the news, Vance reportedly shouted, "Champagne for everybody!"
  • Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 168-169. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387
  • Fired from 'She's My Baby' (1928) for punching Clifton Webb in the nose.
  • Best remembered as Ricky and Lucy's landlord and friend, Fred Mertz, from "I Love Lucy".
  • Is portrayed by John Wheeler in Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter (1991) (TV)

Naked Photos of William Frawley are available at MaleStars.com. They currently feature over 65,000 Nude Pics, Biographies, Video Clips, Articles, and Movie Reviews of famous stars.

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