William Demarest

William Demarest
Demarest with Cheryl Walker in the film Stage Door Canteen (1943)
Born	Carl William Demarest February 27, 1892(1892-02-27) St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	December 28, 1983(1983-12-28) (aged 91) Palm Springs, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1926–1978
Spouse	Estelle Collette (?-?) Lucile Thayer (1939–1983) (his death)

Carl William Demarest (February 27, 1892 – December 28, 1983) was an American character actor. He frequently played crusty but good-hearted roles.

Early life and career

Demarest with Don Grady in My Three Sons, 1969.

He was born Carl William Demarest in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Samuel and Wilhelmina (nee Lindgren) Demarest. He moved to New Bridge, a hamlet in Bergen County, New Jersey, in infancy. A veteran of World War I. Demarest was a prolific film and television actor, having worked on over 140 films.

He started in show business working in vaudeville, appearing with his wife as "Demarest and Colette", then moved on to Broadway. His film career began in 1926 and spanned the decades up to the 1970s. 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. His most famous TV 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. William Demarest had worked with Fred MacMurray previously in the 1935 film Hands Across the Table, the 1945 film Pardon My Past, the 1948 film On Our Merry Way and the 1955 film The Far Horizons and was a personal friend of MacMurray.

Prior to My Three Sons, 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 to bloom within the next month. In 1959, Demarest was named the lead actor of the 18-week Love and Marriage sitcom 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.

He also appeared on a memorable episode of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone co-starring as a hen-pecked husband driven to the murder of his wife.

Demarest received a single Academy Award nomination, for his supporting role in The Jolson Story, playing Al Jolson's fictional mentor. He had previously shared the screen with the real Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer. Demarest also received an Emmy nomination for the 1968–1969 season of My Three Sons as Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy role. His favorite recreations were hunting, fishing, golf and playing the cello.

Mr. Demerest has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to motion pictures.

Death

Demarest died in Palm Springs, California and was interred in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery. At the time of his death he was suffering from prostate cancer and pneumonia. He passed on the same date as Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson.

Partial filmography

Features

• When the Wife's Away (1926)
• Finger Prints (1927)
• Don't Tell the Wife (1927)
• The Gay Old Bird (1927)
• Matinee Ladies (1927)
• A Million Bid (1927)
• Simple Sis (1927)
• The Black Diamond Express (1927)
• What Happened to Father? (1927)
• The First Auto (1927)
• The Bush Leaguer (1927)
• A Sailor's Sweetheart (1927)
• The Jazz Singer (1927)
• A Reno Divorce (1927)
• Sharp Shooters (1928)
• A Girl in Every Port (1928)
• The Escape (1928)
• Pay as You Enter (1928)
• Five and Ten Cent Annie (1928)
• The Butter and Egg Man (1928)
• The Crash (1928)
• Fog Over Frisco (1934)
• Many Happy Returns (1934)
• The Circus Clown (1934) (scenes deleted)
• Fugitive Lady (1934)
• After Office Hours (1935)
• The Casino Murder Case (1935)
• The Murder Man (1935)
• Bright Lights (1935)
• Diamond Jim (1935)
• Hands Across the Table (1935)
• White Lies (1935)
• The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
• Wedding Present (1936)
• Love on the Run (1936)
• Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)
• Mind Your Own Business (1936)
• Time Out for Romance (1937)
• Don't Tell the Wife (1937)
• Oh Doctor (1937)
• Hit Parade of 1937 (1937)
• The Great Hospital Mystery (1937)
• The Great Gambini (1937)
• Easy Living (1937)
• Blonde Trouble (1937)
• Wake Up and Live (1937)
• Big City (1937)
• Rosalie (1937)
• Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)
• Romance on the Run (1938)
• One Wild Night (1938)
• Josette (1938)
• Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus (1938)
• While New York Sleeps (1938)
• The Great Man Votes (1939)
• King of the Turf (1939)
• Miracles for Sale (1939)
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
• Little Men (1940)
• The Lady Eve (1941)
• All Through the Night (1941)
• Sullivan's Travels (1942)
• The Palm Beach Story (1942)
• Life Begins at Eight-Thirty (1942)
• The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)
• Once Upon a Time (1944)
• Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
• Pardon My Past (1945)
• Along Came Jones (1945)
• The Jolson Story (1946)
• The Perils of Pauline (1947)
• The Sainted Sisters (1948)
• On Our Merry Way (1948)
• Jolson Sings Again (1949)
• Red, Hot and Blue (1949)
• When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950)
• The Strip (1951)
• Excuse My Dust (1951)
• Escape from Fort Bravo (1953)
• Here Come the Girls (1953)
• Jupiter's Darling (1955)
• The Private War of Major Benson (1955)
• Hell on Frisco Bay (1955)
• The Far Horizons (1955)
• Lucy Gallant (1955)
• It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
• Viva Las Vegas (1964) – Mr. Martin
• That Darn Cat (1965) – Mr. MacDougall

Short subjects

• A Night at Coffee Dan's (1927)
• Amateur Night (1927)
• The Night Court (1927)
• Seeing Things (1930)
• The Run Around (1932)

Television

• Make Room for Daddy as Mr. Daly in 5 episodes (1957–1958)
• Love and Marriage as William Harris (1959-1960)
• Bonanza as Enos Milford in the episode "The Hayburner" (1963)
• Bonanza as Angus Tweedy in the episode "Old Sheba" (1964)
• The Twilight Zone as Joe Britt in the episode "What's in the Box?" (1964)
• My Three Sons as Uncle Charley (1965-1972)

External links

• William Demarest at the Internet Movie Database
• William Demarest at the Internet Broadway Database
• William Demarest at Find a Grave