William frawley biography vivian vance biography

American actor (1887–1966)

William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and device best known for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the sitcom I Attachment Lucy. Frawley also played "Bub" Dramatist during the first five seasons be the owner of the sitcom My Three Sons sports ground the political advisor to the Hon. Henry X. Harper (Gene Lockhart) space the film Miracle on 34th Street.

Frawley began his career in Burlesque in 1914 with his wife, Edna Louise Broedt. Their comedy act, "Frawley and Louise", continued until their disband in 1927. He performed on Status multiple times. In 1916, he undiluted with Paramount Studios and appeared interpose more than 100 films over high-mindedness next 35 years.^[1]

Early life

Frawley was home-grown in Burlington, Iowa, the second individual in a family of four descendants to Michael A. Frawley (1857–1907) avoid Mary E. (Brady) Frawley (1859–1921). Noteworthy attended Catholic schools and sang relish the choir at St. Paul's Wide Church. As he got older, elegance played small roles in local fleeting productions at the Burlington Opera Do, and performed in amateur shows, despite the fact that his mother, a highly religious lassie, discouraged such activities.^[1]

Frawley's first job was as a stenographer in an make public of the Union Pacific Railroad propitious Omaha, Nebraska.^[1] Two years later, operate moved to Chicago, where he fragment work as a court reporter, ray against his mother's wishes, got elegant singing part in a musical funniness, The Flirting Princess. To appease dominion mother, he relocated to St. Prizefighter, Missouri, to work for another dragoon company.^[2]

Unfulfilled in his job, he dreamed of becoming a professional entertainer. No problem formed a vaudeville act with circlet brother Paul (1889–1973), but six months later, their mother told Paul show return to Iowa. Meanwhile, William wrote a script titled Fun in spruce up Vaudeville Agency, and sold it aspire over $500.

After his initial triumph as a scriptwriter, Frawley decided enhance move to the West, settling slot in Denver, where he was hired rightfully a singer at a café careful teamed with pianist Franz Rath. Say publicly duo soon moved to San Francisco with their act, "A Man, spruce Piano, and a Nut". During king vaudeville career, Frawley introduced and helped popularize the songs "My Mammy",^[3] "My Melancholy Baby", and "Carolina in greatness Morning". Many years later, in 1958, he recorded a selection of king old stage songs on an Full, Bill Frawley Sings the Old Ones.^[4]

Early career

Frawley began performing in Broadway dramaturgy. His first such show was nobility musical comedy, Merry, Merry in 1925. Frawley had his first dramatic function in 1932, playing press agent Reformist O'Malley in the original production slow Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's Twentieth Century. He continued to be systematic dramatic actor at various venues while 1933.^[5]

In 1916, Frawley appeared in digit short subjectsilent films. He subsequently bring to an end in three more, but did cry decide to develop a cinematic continuance until 1933, when he appeared be glad about some short comedy films and rectitude feature musical Moonlight and Pretzels (Universal Studios, 1933). Frawley moved to Los Angeles, where he signed a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures.

Finding unwarranted work as a character actor, Frawley had roles in comedies, dramas, musicals, Westerns, and romances. He appeared develop Miracle on 34th Street (1947) bit Judge Harper's (Gene Lockhart) political coach, who warns his client in unadulterated detail of the dire political cheese-paring if he rules that there practical no Santa Claus.^[6] Some of Frawley's other memorable film roles were gorilla the baseball manager in Joe Family. Brown's Alibi Ike (1935), the combination host in Charlie Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux (1947), and a hard-nosed insurance officer in My Home in San Antone with Roy Acuff and Lloyd Corrigan.^[6] He appeared in two movies important James Cagney, Something to Sing About and Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.

Television

I Liking Lucy

By 1951, the 64-year-old Frawley abstruse appeared in over 100 movies, nevertheless was starting to find film offers becoming fewer. When he heard defer Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball were casting a new television situation drollery, he applied eagerly to play significance role of the cantankerous, miserly hotel-keeper Fred Mertz. One evening, he telephoned Lucille Ball, asking her what dominion chances were. Ball was surprised hear hear from him, a man she barely knew. Both Ball and Arnaz agreed it would be great appoint have Frawley, a motion-picture veteran, engrave as Fred Mertz. Less enthusiastic were CBS executives, who were wary loom Frawley's well-known frequent drinking and pandemonium. Arnaz (himself a heavy drinker) warned Frawley about the network's concerns, impressive him that if he was limitless to work, arrived drunk, or was unable to perform because of concerning other than legitimate illness more amaze once, he would be written have a view of of the show. In one variant of this conversation, Arnaz told Frawley he would get three chances. Representation first screw-up would be tolerated, glory second would result in a remorseless reprimand, and the third would appear in in his being fired. Contrary rap over the knuckles the network's concerns, Frawley never checked in at work drunk, and mastered ruler lines after only one reading. Arnaz eventually became one of Frawley's sporadic close friends.^[7]

Before each episode, Frawley would read the script with the pull towards you of the cast, then would help yourself to out the sheets with only coronate lines and discard the rest match the script to study only ruler part.^[8]

I Love Lucy debuted October 15, 1951, on CBS, and was a-ok huge success. The series was announce for six years as half-hour episodes, later changing to hour-long specials outsider 1957 to 1960 titled The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show (later retitled The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour).^[6]

Vivian Vance played Ethel Mertz, Frawley's on-screen wife. Although birth two actors worked well together, they greatly disliked each other. Most feature their mutual hatred to Vance's oral resentment of having to play bride to a man 22 years senior. Frawley reportedly overheard Vance complaining; he took offense and never forgave her. "She's one of the first-rate girls to come out of Kansas", he once observed, "But I over and over again wish she'd go back there."^[9]

An devouring New York Yankees baseball fan, Frawley had it written into his I Love Lucy contract that he sincere not have to work during loftiness World Series if the Yankees were playing. The Yankees were in every so often World Series during that time coat for 1954 and 1959. He frank not appear in two episodes illustrate the show as a result.^[10]

For realm work on the show, Frawley was Emmy-nominated five consecutive times (1953–1957) yen for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Funniness Series. In 1957, at the pole of I Love Lucy, Ball reprove Arnaz gave Frawley and Vance influence opportunity to have their own Fred and Ethelspin-off series for Desilu Studios. Despite his animosity towards her, Frawley saw a lucrative opportunity and force. Vance declined, having no desire cope with work with Frawley again and likewise feeling that Ethel and Fred would be unsuccessful without the Ricardos.^[11]

My Unite Sons

Frawley next joined the cast emulate the ABC (later CBS) situation clowning My Three Sons, playing live-in grandad and housekeeper Michael Francis "Bub" Dramatist beginning in 1960. Featuring Fred MacMurray, the series was about a widowman raising his three sons.

Frawley reportedly never felt comfortable with the out-of-sequence filming method used for My Team a few Sons after doing I Love Lucy in sequence for years. Each seasoned was arranged so that main someone Fred MacMurray could film all help his scenes during two separate thorough-going blocks of filming for a in one piece of 65 working days on influence set; Frawley and the other bent worked around the absent MacMurray be thinking of the remainder of the year's making schedule.

Personal life

In 1914, Frawley mated fellow vaudevillian Edna Louise Broedt. They developed an act, "Frawley and Louise", which they performed all across character country. Their act was described style "light comedy, with singing, dancing, with the addition of patter." The couple separated in 1921 (later divorcing in 1927). They locked away no children. His brother Paul Frawley (1889–1973) also was an actor compress Broadway with relatively few appearances acquit yourself motion pictures.^[12]

Frawley had a reputation expend being cantankerous and difficult, likely exacerbated by a drinking problem. In 1928, he was fired from the Manoeuvre show That's My Baby for go through actor Clifton Webb in the nose.^[1]

Final years and death

Frawley made two exert pressure appearances the year before his kill. His appearance on the panel showI've Got a Secret on May 3, 1965, consisted of contestants guessing Frawley's "secret", which was that he was the first performer ever to ratification "My Melancholy Baby", in 1912.^[13] Yes had performed that song previously deformity television, as Fred Mertz, in nobility 1958 episode "Lucy Goes to Sunna Valley" on the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.^[14]

Frawley's final on-camera performance was on Oct 25, 1965, with a brief wood appearance in Lucille Ball's second news services sitcom, The Lucy Show, in greatness episode "Lucy and the Countess Have to one`s name a Horse Guest". Frawley plays wonderful horse trainer and Lucy comments: "You know, he reminds me of beneficent I used to know." (Vivian Wrong, who by then had left The Lucy Show except for an intermittent guest appearance, does not appear feature the episode.)^[15][16]

Frawley suffered a fatal sordid attack while walking on Hollywood Thoroughfare up one`s and died on March 3, 1966, five days after his 79th birthday.^[17] Upon learning of his death, Desi Arnaz immediately took out a full-page ad in all the trade chronicles, with the words: "Buenas noches, amigo."^[18] Arnaz, Fred MacMurray, and My Pair Sons executive producer Don Fedderson were pallbearers at his funeral. Lucille Urgent said: "I've lost one of livid dearest friends and show business has lost one of the greatest natural feeling actors of all time. Those embodiment us who knew him and idolized him will miss him."^[19]

Legacy

William Frawley attempt buried in the San Fernando Coldness Cemetery in Mission Hills, Los Angeles. For his achievements in the inclusion of motion pictures, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Run of Fame, at 6322 Hollywood Blvd, on February 8, 1960.^[17][20] He admiration memorialized, as well, in the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown, Recent York, which also contains his "Hippity-Hoppity" (frog) costume from an episode reminiscent of I Love Lucy. Both Frawley near Vivian Vance were inducted into position Television Academy Hall of Fame make happen March 2012.^[21][22][23]

The story of how Desi Arnaz hired Frawley to play Fred Mertz in I Love Lucy equitable told in I Love Lucy: Unembellished Funny Thing Happened on the Put on the right track to the Sitcom, a stage jesting that had its world premiere welcome Los Angeles on July 12, 2018. The play, from Gregg Oppenheimer (son of I Love Lucy creator-producer-head man of letters Jess Oppenheimer), was recorded in facing of a live audience for countrywide public radio broadcast and online incrimination, and starred Sarah Drew as Lucille Ball and Oscar Nunez as Desi Arnaz.^[24]BBC Radio 4 broadcast a serialized version of the play in probity UK in August 2020, as Lucy Loves Desi: A Funny Thing Case in point on the Way to the Sitcom, in which Stacy Keach portrayed Frawley, Anne Heche played Lucille Ball, instruct Wilmer Valderrama played Desi Arnaz.^[25]

Frawley was portrayed by John Wheeler in say publicly television movie Lucy & Desi: Formerly the Laughter. Thirty years later why not? was portrayed in the 2021 lp Being the Ricardos by J. Puerile. Simmons, who received an Academy Purse nomination for his role.^[26]

Filmography

Selected television (actor)

Broadway credits

Discography

Albums

• Bill Frawley Sings the Old Ones (1958) Mark DLP-3061

References

External links