William Frawley
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.
Miracle on 34th Street
as Charlie HalloranKris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow...
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Rancho Notorious
as Baldy GunderA man in search of revenge infiltrates a ranch, hidden in an inhospitable region, where its...
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Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
as Det. RobertsAs novice detectives, Bud and Lou come face to face with the Invisible Man.
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Monsieur Verdoux
as Jean La SalleThe film is about an unemployed banker, Henri Verdoux, and his sociopathic methods of attaining...
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Gentleman Jim
as Billy DelaneyAs bare-knuckled boxing enters the modern era, brash extrovert Jim Corbett uses new rules and...
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Going My Way
as Max Dolan (Publisher) (uncredited)Youthful Father Chuck O'Malley led a colorful life of sports, song, and romance before joining...
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Pretty Baby
as CorcoranA young woman living in Manhattan pretends to be the mother of an infant in order to get a seat...
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Roberta
as BartenderFootball player John Kent tags along as Huck Haines and the Wabash Indianians travel to an...
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Ziegfeld Follies
as Mr. Martin (segment A Sweepstakes Ticket)The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in...
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The Fighting Seabees
as Eddie PowersConstruction workers in World War II in the Pacific are needed to build military sites, but the...
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The Virginian
as Honey WiggenArriving at Medicine Bow, eastern schoolteacher Molly Woods meets two cowboys, irresponsible...
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Desire
as Mr. GibsonMadeleine steals a string of pearls in Paris and uses American engineer Tom, who is driving on...
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Good Sam
as TomSam Clayton has a good heart and likes to help out people in need. In fact, he likes to help...
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Roxie Hart
as O'MalleyA café in Chicago, 1942. On a rainy night, veteran reporter Homer Howard tells an increasing...
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Blondie's Hero
as Marty GreerDagwood enters the Army Reserve and Blondie visits only to discover that he has caused all sorts...
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
as The 'Duke'Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes...
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Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
as AgentEddie Tayloe's grandfather leaves him six thousand dollars and the money belt it came in,...
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Cracked Nuts
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Down to Earth
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One Night in the Tropics
as RoscoeJim "Lucky" Moore, an insurance salesman, comes up with a novel policy for his friend, Steve: a...
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Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
as ByersRalph Cotter, a ruthless criminal, escapes violently from a farm prison. Then, he seduces a dead...
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Red Light
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East Side, West Side
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Rose of Washington Square
as Harry LongRose Sargent, a Roaring '20s singer, becomes a Ziegfeld Follies star as her criminal husband...
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Untamed
as Les WoodburyA courageous doctor braves a fierce blizzard in the Canadian wilderness to save a remote...
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The General Died at Dawn
as BrightonChina, 1930s, during the ravaging civil war. General Pen entrusts O'Hara, an intrepid American...
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Wildcat
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Lady on a Train
as Desk Sgt. BrennanWhile watching from her train window, Nikki Collins witnesses a murder in a nearby building....
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Flame of Barbary Coast
as Wolf WylieDuke Fergus falls for Ann 'Flaxen' Tarry in the Barbary Coast in turn-of-the-century San...
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F-Man
as Detective RoganJohnny Dime has aspiration of becoming a "G-Man" , gums up the work of Rogan, an actual...
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Rhubarb
as Len SicklesRich, eccentric T.J. Banner adopts a feral cat who becomes an affectionate pet he names Rhubarb....
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Strike Me Pink
as Mr. CoppleMeek Eddie Pink becomes manager of an amusement park beset by mobsters.
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Mother Wore Tights
as Mr. SchneiderIn this chronicle of a vaudeville family, Myrtle McKinley (class of 1900) goes to San Francisco...
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Hold 'Em Yale
as Sunshine JoeA pretty young socialite falls for a charming but shady hustler, who abandons her when he finds...
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Professor Beware
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Rendezvous with Annie
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Mad About Music
as Dusty TurnerA young woman at a girl's school in Switzerland makes up stories about and writes herself...
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Golden Gloves
as Emory BalzarAn amateur boxer's girlfriend inspires him to face a ring pro entered by a gangster.
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Alibi Ike
as CapIdiosyncratic new recruit Francis "Ike" Farrell tries to help the Cubs to the pennant with his...
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The Lemon Drop Kid
as Gloomy WillieWhen the Lemon Drop Kid accidentally cheats gangster Moose Moran out of his track winnings, the...
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The Bride Came C.O.D.
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Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen
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The Princess Comes Across
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Here Is My Heart
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The Witching Hour
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The Inner Circle
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Grand Jury Secrets
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Larceny with Music
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Double or Nothing
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Car 99
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My Wild Irish Rose
as William ScanlonMusical biography of Irish 19th century tenor Chauncey Olcott.
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The Girl from Manhattan
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Rose Bowl
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Whistling in Brooklyn
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Footsteps in the Dark
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Ambush
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Three Married Men
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Welcome Home
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Something to Sing About
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I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
as Jim MasonA biopic of the career of Joe Howard (12 Feb.,1878 - 19 May, 1961), famous songwriter of the...
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Shoot the Works
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High, Wide and Handsome
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The Lady Takes a Sailor
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College Scandal
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St. Louis Blues
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The Farmer's Daughter
as Scoop TrimbleBroadway producer Nickie North and press agent Scoop Trimble find an investor for their next...
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Night Work
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We've Never Been Licked
as Traveling SalesmanYoung Brad Craig enters the military school with a chip on his shoulder which upperclassmen...
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Ex-Champ
as Mushy HarringtonA former prizefighter tries to help his son pay off his gambling debts.
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Blossoms On Broadway
as Francis X. RushA young singer hopes to become a success on Broadway.
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The Crime Doctor
as FraserWhen he finds out that his wife is having an affair, a criminologist commits the perfect...
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Six Lessons From Madame La Zonga
as Chauncey BeheeganThe brash, opinionated owner of a nightclub manages to drive everybody crazy on a boat trip to...
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Home in San Antone
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Joe Palooka in Winner Take All
as Knobby WalshJoe is scheduled for the big fight as usual. This one has more fight sequences than plot.
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Moonlight and Pretzels
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Lucy's Really Lost Moments
as Fred MertzThe legendary Lucille Ball as you've never seen her before! Laugh along with Lucy and Desi in...
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Sons of the Legion
as Uncle Willie LeeSons of The Legion is a film about a group of young men looking to start a squadron in their...
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Lake Placid Serenade
as JiggersOn a peaceful, pre-war winter in Czechoslovakia, the genial godfather, Jaroslav Haschek, of Vera...
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Stop, Look and Love
as Joe HallerDaughter has trouble holding onto boyfriends because of her critical mother until understanding...
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Bolero
as Mike DeBaereThe complicated relationship between an ambitious, ruthless nightclub dancer and the woman he loves.
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Rhythm on the River
as Mr. WestlakePopular songwriter Oliver Courtney has been getting by for years using one ghost writer for his...
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Chicken Every Sunday
as George KirbyA woman takes in boarders to support her husband's harebrained financial schemes.
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The Lone Wolf and His Lady
as Inspector CraneA newspaper man, and former jewel thief, is accused of gem theft.
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Persons in Hiding
as Alec InglisDuring a stick-up, a woman is excited by the criminal and joins him on his crime spree.
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It Happened in Flatbush
as Sam SloanA washed up baseball player returns to Brooklyn to manage his old team but an old sports...
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Opened by Mistake
as Matt KingsleyA wise-guy reporter and a tippling sportswriter acquire an unclaimed trunk with a corpse inside.
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Safe at Home!
as Bill TurnerA Florida boy (Bryan Russell) tells his Little League buddies that his father knows two New York...
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Harmony Lane
as Edwin P. 'Ed' ChristyThe life and loves of composer Stephen Foster, from his early success through his decline,...
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Blondie in Society
as Waldo PincusDagwood brings home a pedigreed Great Dane which an important company client wants and which...
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The Quarterback
as CoachA comedy featuring Morris in a dual role as a dumb twin and a star football player, and a smart...
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Blondie's Anniversary
as Sharkey the Loen SharkBlondie finds a valuable watch that has been hidden by hubby Dagwood. She assumes that it's a...
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It's a Great Life
as Lt. McNultyDesperate for work, Johnny Barclay leaves Ma and Grandpop to join the newly formed Civilian...
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Kill the Umpire
as Jimmy O'BrienEx-baseball player Bill Johnson, failing at many jobs when his ball-playing days are over,...
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Give Out, Sisters
as HarrisonThe Andrews Sisters headline this musical. They play the lead act at a popular nightclub. The...
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Those Were the Days!
as PrisonerAt a family gathering, an elderly man reflects on the follies of his youth during his freshman...
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I Love Lucy: The Movie
as Fred MertzThe film plays out, with three first-season episodes edited together into a single story: "The...
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The Lemon Drop Kid
as William Dunhill aka The ProfessorThe Lemon Drop Kid is a fast-talking racetrack bum who swindles $100 from an old, ailing man. He...
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Should Husbands Be Watched?
as Beat CopMr. Jump has come into some money and informs his wife that they can now hire a maid and won't...
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Sandy Gets Her Man
as Police Chief J. A. O'HaraA young widow lets her baby be the deciding factor as to which eligible bachelor she should marry.
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Crime Doctor's Man Hunt
as Police Inspector Harry B. ManningA criminal psychologist investigates the murder of a veteran with amnesia.
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Hitchhike to Happiness
as Sandy HillAn aspiring playwright gets a job in a New York City restaurant favored by celebrities in hopes...
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Moonlight in Havana
as Barney CraneAllan Jones stars as hotshot baseball player Johnny Norton, in Havana for spring training. It...
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Dancing on a Dime
as MacDirector Ted Brooks and comedians Jack Norcross, Dandy Joslyn and Phil Miller are part of a...
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I Love Lucy Christmas Special
as uncreditedCelebrate the holidays with the I LOVE LUCY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, a new one-hour special featuring...
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The Babe Ruth Story
as Jack DunnThe baseball player goes from wayward youth to Boston Red Sox pitcher to New York Yankees...
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The Dirty Look
as uncreditedThe Dirty Look is a 1954 comedy-short film, directed by Robert Altman, with Leonard Belove and...
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The Yankee Doodler
as uncreditedAncestors of music videos, YANKEE DOODLER, ROSIE THE RIVETER, and DEAR ARABELLA were made during...
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The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as SelfThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight...
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The Lucy Show
as TrainerThe Lucy Show is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962–68. It was Lucille Ball's...
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I Love Lucy
as Fred MertzCuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife....
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My Three Sons
as Bub O'CaseyA widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas raises three sons with the help of his...
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The Bob Hope Show
as SelfThe Bob Hope Show hosted by Bob Hope, debuted on April 9, 1950. During the 1952-1953 season, NBC...
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The Ed Sullivan Show
as SelfThe Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...
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Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
as uncreditedWestinghouse Desilu Playhouse is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu...
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This Is Your Life
as SelfThis Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally...
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The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
as Fred MertzThe Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour is a collection of thirteen one-hour specials airing occasionally from...
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Letter to Loretta
as SamLetter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to...
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