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).
as Charlie O'Casey (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Oscar Pugh
as Studio Gatekeeper
as Alexander 'Pop' Denny(1 ep)
as Father Gurkin
as Mr. Harris
as Cyrus McFee(1 ep)
as Andy Kenesaw(1 ep)
as Mr. MacDougall
as Mr. Martin
as Police Chief Aloysius
as Self(1 ep)
as Charlie Who(1 ep)
as Paul Keller(1 ep)
as Mr. Hummel
as Self(8 eps)
as Self(1 ep)
as Mr. Aimes(1 ep)
as Desmond Slocum
as Henry Hecht
as Movie Studio Gateman
as Charley O'Casey(232 eps)
as Ulysses Bowman(1 ep)
as Joe Britt(1 ep)
as William Harris(26 eps)
as Enos Milford(1 ep)
as Angus Tweedy(1 ep)
as Mr. Hennessey(1 ep)
as Jeb Gaine (credit only)(1 ep)
as Brand Comfort
as Father Belacchi
as Dan Bianco
as Sam Dunne
as Charles Madden
as Tom Akins(1 ep)
as Sgt. Gass
as Mago
as Jackpot Wray
as Mr. Hummel (archive footage)(1 ep)
as Self
as Campbell
as Dennis Logan
as Pa Higgins
as Harvey Jones
as Syd Jessup
as Corporal Kiper
as Senator Burnside(1 ep)
as O'Ryan
as Fluff
as Harvey Bullitt
as Monsignor Michael Carey
as Bob Sears
as Mears
as Happy
as Herman Kluggs
as Charlie Baxter
as Steve Martin
as Regret
as Bill Dansing
as Lt. Shawn
as Vern Tewilliger
as Floyd
as Barker
as George 'Mac' McGuire
as Steve Martin
as Peanuts Schultz
as Chuck Gibson
as Bill, the Security Guard
as William Demarest
as George Fury
as Smitty
as Constable Edmund Kockenlocker
as Sgt. Heppelfinger
as Eben Frost
as Brandt
as Walter Cummings
as Uncle Jake
as Detective Gatling
as William Demarest
as Harry Fabian
as Police Officer
as McKenzie
as First Member Ale and Quail Club
as Detective Kendall
as Flower Pot Policeman
as Sgt. Butts
as Sunshine
as Papa Doran
as Mr. Jones
as Inspector Pierson
as Stogie McPhee
as Bartender Barney
as Mike Brady
as First Detective
as Muggsy
as Constable Tom Thorpe
as Mr. Bildocker
as Swallow
as Gutsy Mann
as Skeeters - The Politician
as Victor Walsh
as Bill Ennis
as Barney 'Gimpy' Cole
as Bill Griffith
as Quinn
as Rusty Walker
as Police Sgt. Ernest Heath
as Arnold
as Charles Dole
as Red Miller
as Joe, Diner Owner
as Collins
as Police Lt. Eckhardt
as Henry Kipper
as Army Coach
as Mr. Beecher
as Radio Center Tour Guide
as Paul Sears
as Wallace Whistling
as Sergeant Kirby
as Mr. Beatty
as Parole Officer
as Marty Short
as Larry 'Horace' Tucker
as Willoughby Sproggs
as Droopy
as Sergeant Kelly
as Editor
as 'Smiles' Benson
as Gene Buck (uncredited)
as Roberts
as Regi's Date Natty (uncredited)
as Harry Hill
as Detective
as 'Red' Maguire
as Auctioneer (uncredited)
as Police Detective (uncredited)
as Steve Rogers
as Brinker
as Spike Smith
as The Heir
as Louie
as Jack McLure
as Briggs
as 'Terrible Bill' McGovern
as Man in Bombay (uncredited)
as 'Hi Jack' Murdock
as Defense Counsel
as James, the chauffeur
as Buster Billings (uncredited)
as Detective
as John Gilroy
as The Village Cut-Up
as Detective Dibbin
as Train Engine Fireman
as George Lamont
as Man About Town
as Mr. Fixit
as Ray Valerian
as Cuffs Egan
