William Frawley

William Frawley married Edna Louise Broedt in 1914 and the couple developed their vaudeville act ‘Frawley and Louise’. They separated in 1921, but continued working on their act until their divorce in 1927.

He became close friends with Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball during their days on the sets of ‘I Love Lucy’.

On March 3, 1966, Frawley was returning home from a movie when he collapsed after suffering a heart attack. He died on the same day and was later buried in San Fernando Mission Cemetery.

William Clement Frawley was born in Burlington, Iowa, on February 26, 1887 to Michael A. Frawley and Mary E. (Brady) Frawley. He was the second of four siblings. He went to a Catholic school for his early education and also sang in the choir.

While in school, he also performed in local amateur shows and acted at the Burlington Opera House in different productions. However, his mother, being a highly religious and traditional lady, did not approve of this.

William Frawley started his career working as a stenographer in an office of the Union Pacific Railroad in Omaha, Nebraska, but his love for acting never went away. When he left this position to work as a court reporter in Chicago, he signed for a role in a musical comedy, ‘The Flirting Princess’, which his mother did not approve at all.

He then took a job in a railway company in St. Louis, Missouri in order to please his mother. But this was not the life he wanted. Eventually he, along with his brother Paul, formed a vaudeville act and started working as an entertainer. He also wrote a script named ‘Fun in a Vaudeville Agency’ and earned 500 dollars for it.

Frawley continued working in vaudeville and collaborated with pianist Franz Rath to build their own act ‘A Man, a Piano, and a Nut’. He was also passionate about singing and performed many songs.

He joined the Broadway theater and appeared in several acts including the musical comedy ‘Merry, Merry’ in 1925, and Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's drama ‘Twentieth Century’ in 1932.

Frawley appeared in a short comedy film ‘Moonlight and Pretzels’ in 1933 and subsequently signed a seven-year contract with the Paramount Pictures.

In 1951, Frawley started appearing in ‘I Love Lucy’, an American sitcom, starring Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and Lucille Ball besides him. He portrayed the character of ‘Fred Mertz’, a cantankerous and miserly landlord, and was critically praised for his work. The show won five Emmy Awards as well as several nominations in other prestigious award functions.

In 1960, he signed for the American sitcom ‘My Three Sons’ to portray the character of ‘Michael Francis "Bub" O'Casey’. He was a regular between 1960 and 1965 and was later replaced by William Demarest when he fell sick. The show could not obtain insurance for him due to his health issues and had to drop him from the future seasons.