Loading amazing content...
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
February 27, 1892
Died
December 28, 1983
Place of Birth
Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
William Demarest
0.6 Popularity
Biography
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).
Known For
🎬
0.0
Charlie O'Casey (archive footage)
Television: The First Fifty Years
1999
7.5
Self (archive footage)
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line
1997
0.0
Oscar Pugh
The Millionaire
1978
4.1
Studio Gatekeeper
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
1976
7.4
Alexander 'Pop' Denny
Ellery Queen
1975
3.7
Father Gurkin
The Wild McCullochs
1975
6.1
Mr. Harris
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
1973
6.9
Andy Kenesaw
McMillan & Wife
1971
6.9
Cyrus McFee
McMillan & Wife
1971
6.6
Mr. MacDougall
That Darn Cat!
1965
Credits
🎬
Television: The First Fifty Years
as Charlie O'Casey (archive footage)
1999
0.0
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line
as Self (archive footage)
1997
7.5
The Millionaire
as Oscar Pugh
1978
0.0
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
as Studio Gatekeeper
1976
4.1
Ellery Queen
as Alexander 'Pop' Denny
1975
7.4
The Wild McCullochs
as Father Gurkin
1975
3.7
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
as Mr. Harris
1973
6.1
McMillan & Wife
as Andy Kenesaw
1971
6.9
McMillan & Wife
as Cyrus McFee
1971
6.9
That Darn Cat!
as Mr. MacDougall
1965
6.6
Viva Las Vegas
as Mr. Martin
1964
6.2
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
as Police Chief Aloysius
1963
7.0
The Jerry Lewis Show
as Self
1963
7.0
Burke's Law
as Charlie Who
1963
6.0
🎬
The Greatest Show on Earth
as Paul Keller
1963
5.0
Son of Flubber
as Mr. Hummel
1963
6.0
Going My Way
1962
5.7
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
1962
7.5
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self
1961
5.4
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
as Jeb
1961
5.6
Ben Casey
1961
5.6
Dr. Kildare
as Mr. Aimes
1961
5.5
Twenty Plus Two
as Desmond Slocum
1961
6.2
King of the Roaring 20's – The Story of Arnold Rothstein
as Henry Hecht
1961
6.0
Pepe
as Movie Studio Gateman
1960
6.3
My Three Sons
as Charley O'Casey
1960
6.5
The Rebel
as Ulysses Bowman
1959
4.7
The Twilight Zone
as Joe Britt
1959
8.5
🎬
Love and Marriage
as William Harris
1959
0.0
Bonanza
as Angus Tweedy
1959
7.5
Bonanza
as Enos Milford
1959
7.5
Wagon Train
as Mr. Hennessey
1957
6.6
Tales of Wells Fargo
as Jeb Gaine (credit only)
1957
6.9
The Rawhide Years
as Brand Comfort
1956
5.5
The Mountain
as Father Belacchi
1956
6.9
Hell on Frisco Bay
as Dan Bianco
1955
4.8
Sincerely Yours
as Sam Dunne
1955
5.8
Lucy Gallant
as Charles Madden
1955
7.0
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Tom Akins
1955
7.8
The Private War of Major Benson
as John
1955
6.6
The Far Horizons
as Sgt. Gass
1955
6.2
Jupiter's Darling
as Mago
1955
4.3
The Yellow Mountain
as Jackpot Wray
1954
5.2
The Wonderful World of Disney
as Mr. Hummel (archive footage)
1954
7.8
Studio 57
1954
0.0
Escape from Fort Bravo
as Campbell
1953
6.2
Here Come the Girls
as Dennis Logan
1953
4.1
Dangerous When Wet
as Pa Higgins
1953
5.9
The Lady Wants Mink
as Harvey Jones
1953
6.0
The Blazing Forest
as Syd Jessup
1952
6.0
What Price Glory
as Corporal Kiper
1952
5.5
The Red Skelton Show
as Senator Burnside
1951
7.4
Behave Yourself!
as O'Ryan
1951
6.0
The Strip
as Fluff
1951
5.6
Excuse My Dust
as Harvey Bullitt
1951
7.2
The First Legion
as Monsignor Michael Carey
1951
6.8
He's a Cockeyed Wonder
as Bob Sears
1950
3.3
Never a Dull Moment
as Mears
1950
5.4
Riding High
as Happy
1950
5.8
When Willie Comes Marching Home
as Herman Kluggs
1950
6.8
Red, Hot and Blue
as Charlie Baxter
1949
5.8
Jolson Sings Again
as Steve Martin
1949
6.0
Sorrowful Jones
as Regret
1949
6.1
Whispering Smith
as Bill Dansing
1948
6.6
Night Has a Thousand Eyes
as Lt. Shawn
1948
6.7
The Sainted Sisters
as Vern Tewilliger
1948
7.0
On Our Merry Way
as Floyd
1948
5.6
Variety Girl
as Barker
1947
6.1
The Perils of Pauline
as George 'Mac' McGuire
1947
6.2
The Jolson Story
as Steve Martin
1946
6.6
Our Hearts Were Growing Up
as Peanuts Schultz
1946
6.2
Pardon My Past
as Chuck Gibson
1945
6.0
Hollywood Victory Caravan
as Bill, the Security Guard
1945
5.2
Duffy's Tavern
as William Demarest
1945
6.1
Along Came Jones
as George Fury
1945
5.6
Salty O'Rourke
as Smitty
1945
5.3
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
as Constable Edmund Kockenlocker
1944
6.8
Hail the Conquering Hero
as Sgt. Heppelfinger
1944
7.0
The Great Moment
as Eben Frost
1944
5.6
Once Upon a Time
as Brandt
1944
5.7
Nine Girls
as Walter Cummings
1944
5.3
True to Life
as Uncle Jake
1943
6.0
Dangerous Blondes
as Detective Gatling
1943
6.0
Stage Door Canteen
as William Demarest
1943
6.1
Johnny Doughboy
as Harry Fabian
1942
5.4
Life Begins at Eight-Thirty
as Police Officer
1942
6.5
Behind the Eight Ball
as McKenzie
1942
4.7
The Palm Beach Story
as First Member Ale and Quail Club
1942
7.0
Pardon My Sarong
as Detective Kendall
1942
6.4
My Favorite Spy
as Flower Pot Policeman
1942
5.2
True to the Army
as Sgt. Butts
1942
0.0
All Through the Night
as Sunshine
1942
6.8
Glamour Boy
as Papa Doran
1941
6.0
Sullivan's Travels
as Mr. Jones
1941
7.4
Dressed to Kill
as Inspector Pierson
1941
6.3
Country Fair
as Stogie McPhee
1941
0.0
Ride on Vaquero
as Bartender Barney
1941
4.2
Rookies on Parade
as Mike Brady
1941
0.0
The Devil and Miss Jones
as First Detective
1941
7.7
The Lady Eve
as Muggsy
1941
7.2
Little Men
as Constable Tom Thorpe
1940
5.6
Christmas in July
as Mr. Bildocker
1940
6.9
Comin' Round the Mountain
as Gutsy Mann
1940
0.0
The Golden Fleecing
as Swallow
1940
5.3
The Great McGinty
as Skeeters - The Politician
1940
6.9
The Farmer's Daughter
as Victor Walsh
1940
4.6
🎬
Wolf of New York
as Bill Ennis
1940
7.0
🎬
Laugh It Off
as Barney 'Gimpy' Cole
1939
2.0
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Bill Griffith
1939
7.8
Miracles for Sale
as Quinn
1939
6.4
The Cowboy Quarterback
as Rusty Walker
1939
5.5
The Gracie Allen Murder Case
as Police Sgt. Ernest Heath
1939
5.6
King of the Turf
as Arnold
1939
7.0
The Great Man Votes
as Charles Dole
1939
6.1
While New York Sleeps
as Red Miller
1938
0.0
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
as Daro
1938
4.8
Josette
as Joe, Diner Owner
1938
6.5
One Wild Night
as Collins
1938
5.5
Romance on the Run
as Police Lt. Eckhardt
1938
6.0
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
as Harry Kipper
1938
6.7
Rosalie
as Army Coach
1937
5.5
Big City
as Mr. Beecher
1937
7.4
Wake Up and Live
as Radio Center Tour Guide
1937
5.3
Blonde Trouble
as Paul Sears
1937
0.0
Easy Living
as Wallace Whistling
1937
7.1
The Great Gambini
as Sergeant Kirby
1937
6.0
The Great Hospital Mystery
as Mr. Beatty
1937
4.0
The Hit Parade
as Parole Officer
1937
5.0
Oh, Doctor
as Marty Short
1937
0.0
Don't Tell the Wife
as Larry 'Horace' Tucker
1937
5.0
Time Out for Romance
as Willoughby Sproggs
1937
5.6
Mind Your Own Business
as Droopy
1936
0.0
Charlie Chan at the Opera
as Sergeant Kelly
1936
6.8
Love on the Run
as Editor
1936
6.4
Wedding Present
as 'Smiles' Benson
1936
6.5
The Great Ziegfeld
as Gene Buck (uncredited)
1936
6.3
White Lies
as Roberts
1935
6.0
Hands Across the Table
as Regi's Date Natty (uncredited)
1935
6.9
Diamond Jim
as Harry Hill
1935
6.0
Bright Lights
as Detective
1935
4.2
The Murder Man
as 'Red' Maguire
1935
6.9
The Casino Murder Case
as Auctioneer (uncredited)
1935
6.5
After Office Hours
as Police Detective (uncredited)
1935
6.4
Fugitive Lady
as Steve Rogers
1934
6.0
Many Happy Returns
as Brinker
1934
5.3
Fog Over Frisco
as Spike Smith
1934
6.2
🎬
Seeing Things
as The Heir
1930
0.0
The Crash
as Louie
1928
0.0
The Butter and Egg Man
as Jack McLure
1928
0.0
Five and Ten Cent Annie
as Briggs
1928
0.0
Pay as You Enter
as 'Terrible Bill' McGovern
1928
0.0
A Girl in Every Port
as Man in Bombay (uncredited)
1928
6.1
Sharp Shooters
as 'Hi Jack' Murdock
1928
0.0
The Night Court
as Defense Counsel
1927
0.0
A Reno Divorce
as James, the chauffeur
1927
0.0
The Jazz Singer
as Buster Billings (uncredited)
1927
6.1
A Sailor's Sweetheart
as Detective
1927
7.0
The Bush Leaguer
as John Gilroy
1927
0.0
The First Auto
as The Village Cut-Up
1927
4.5
What Happened To Father
as Detective Dibbin
1927
0.0
The Black Diamond Express
as Train Engine Fireman
1927
0.0
Simple Sis
1927
0.0
A Million Bid
as George Lamont
1927
0.0
Matinee Ladies
as Man About Town
1927
0.0
The Gay Old Bird
as Mr. Fixit
1927
0.0
Don't Tell the Wife
as Ray Valerian
1927
0.0
Finger Prints
as Cuffs Egan
1927
0.0