William Demarest


Actor
William Demarest

About

Birth Place
St Paul, Minnesota, USA
Born
February 27, 1892
Died
December 28, 1983
Cause of Death
Heart Attack

Biography

Prolific character player of the 1930s and 40s, later on TV, typically in cranky but endearing comedy roles. Appeared in all of Preston Sturges' Paramount films of the 1940s, most memorably as Officer Kockenlocker in "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" and as the tough Marine sergeant in "Hail the Conquering Hero" (both 1944). Well known as Uncle Charley on the long-running TV series "My Thr...

Photos & Videos

Biography

Prolific character player of the 1930s and 40s, later on TV, typically in cranky but endearing comedy roles. Appeared in all of Preston Sturges' Paramount films of the 1940s, most memorably as Officer Kockenlocker in "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" and as the tough Marine sergeant in "Hail the Conquering Hero" (both 1944). Well known as Uncle Charley on the long-running TV series "My Three Sons."

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

The Millionaire (1978)
The McCullochs (1975)
Father Gurkin
Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark (1973)
Harris--The Handyman
That Darn Cat (1965)
Mr. MacDougall
Viva Las Vegas (1964)
Mr. Martin
Son of Flubber (1963)
Mr. Hummel
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
Chief of police
King of the Roaring 20's--The Story of Arnold Rothstein (1961)
Hecht
Twenty Plus Two (1961)
Slocum
Pepe (1961)
Guard at studio
The Mountain (1956)
Father Belacchi
Hell on Frisco Bay (1956)
Dan Bianco
The Rawhide Years (1956)
Brand Comfort
Jupiter's Darling (1955)
Mago
The Far Horizons (1955)
Sgt. Cass
The Private War of Major Benson (1955)
John
Lucy Gallant (1955)
Charlie Madden
Sincerely Yours (1955)
Sam Dunne
The Yellow Mountain (1954)
Jackpot Wray
Jamboree (1954)
Himself
Here Come the Girls (1953)
Dennis Logan
Dangerous When Wet (1953)
Pa Higgins
The Lady Wants Mink (1953)
Harvey Jones
Escape from Fort Bravo (1953)
Campbell
What Price Glory (1952)
Cpl. Kiper
The Blazing Forest (1952)
Syd Jessup
Behave Yourself! (1951)
O'Ryan
The Strip (1951)
Fluff
Excuse My Dust (1951)
Harvey Bullitt
The First Legion (1951)
Monsignor [Michael] Carey
Jolson Sings Again (1950)
Steve Martin
Never a Dull Moment (1950)
Mears
He's a Cockeyed Wonder (1950)
Bob Sears
When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950)
Pa Kluggs
Riding High (1950)
Happy [Oscar Maguire]
Sorrowful Jones (1949)
Regret
Red, Hot and Blue (1949)
Charlie Baxter
Whispering Smith (1949)
Bill Dansing
On Our Merry Way (1948)
Floyd
Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948)
Lieut. Shawn
The Sainted Sisters (1948)
Vern Tewilliger
Variety Girl (1947)
Barker
The Jolson Story (1947)
Steve Martin
The Perils of Pauline (1947)
George "Mac" McGuire
Our Hearts Were Growing Up (1946)
Peanuts Schultz
Salty O'Rourke (1945)
Smitty
Along Came Jones (1945)
George Fury
Pardon My Past (1945)
Chuck Gibson
Duffy's Tavern (1945)
Nine Girls (1944)
Walter Cummings
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)
Officer Kockenlocker
Once Upon a Time (1944)
Brant
The Great Moment (1944)
Eben Frost
Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
Sgt. Julius Heffelfinger
Stage Door Canteen (1943)
Dangerous Blondes (1943)
Detective Gatling
True to Life (1943)
Jake
The Palm Beach Story (1942)
First member Ale and Quail Club
Behind the Eight Ball (1942)
McKenzie
Pardon My Sarong (1942)
Detective Kendall
All Through the Night (1942)
Sunshine
Life Begins at Eight-Thirty (1942)
Officer
My Favorite Spy (1942)
Flower pot cop
Johnny Doughboy (1942)
Harry Fabian
Sullivan's Travels (1942)
Mr. Jones
True to the Army (1942)
Sergeant Butes
Ride on Vaquero (1941)
Barney
Rookies on Parade (1941)
Mike Brady
The Devil and Miss Jones (1941)
First detective
Glamour Boy (1941)
Papa Doran
Country Fair (1941)
Stogie McPhee
Dressed to Kill (1941)
Inspector Pierson
The Lady Eve (1941)
Muggsy
Little Men (1941)
Constable
The Farmer's Daughter (1940)
Victor Walsh
Christmas in July (1940)
Mr. Bildocker
The Great McGinty (1940)
The politician
Wolf of New York (1940)
Bill Ennis
The Golden Fleecing (1940)
Swallow
Comin' Round the Mountain (1940)
Gusty Mann
Miracles for Sale (1939)
Quinn
The Great Man Votes (1939)
Charles Dale
Laugh It Off (1939)
Barney [Gimpy] Cole
The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939)
Sergeant Heath
While New York Sleeps (1939)
Red Miller
King of the Turf (1939)
Arnold
Cowboy Quarterback (1939)
Rusty Walker
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Bill Griffith
Josette (1938)
Bill
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus (1938)
Daro
One Wild Night (1938)
Editor Collins
Romance on the Run (1938)
Eckhart
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)
Henry Kipper
Charlie Chan at the Opera (1937)
Sergeant Kelly
The Hit Parade (1937)
Parole officer
Big City (1937)
Beecher
Easy Living (1937)
Wallace Whistling
Time Out for Romance (1937)
Willoughby Sproggs
Don't Tell the Wife (1937)
Larry Tucker
The Great Gambini (1937)
Sergeant Kirby
Oh, Doctor (1937)
"Marty" Short
The Great Hospital Mystery (1937)
Mortimer Beatty
Blonde Trouble (1937)
Paul Sears
Rosalie (1937)
Army coach
Wake Up and Live (1937)
Attendant
Mind Your Own Business (1936)
Droopy
Love on the Run (1936)
Editor [Berger]
Wedding Present (1936)
"Smiles" Benson
Diamond Jim (1935)
Harry Hill
Bright Lights (1935)
Detective
Hands Across the Table (1935)
Natty
Murder Man (1935)
"Red" Maguire
After Office Hours (1935)
Detective
The Casino Murder Case (1935)
Auctioneer
Many Happy Returns (1934)
Brinker
White Lies (1934)
[Al] Roberts
Fugitive Lady (1934)
Steve Rogers
Fog over Frisco (1934)
Spike
Circus Clown (1934)
Ringmaster
The Escape (1928)
Trigger Caswell
Sharp Shooters (1928)
"Hi Jack" Murdock
The Butter and Egg Man (1928)
Jack McLure
The Crash (1928)
Louie
Pay As You Enter (1928)
"Terrible Bill" McGovern
Five and Ten Cent Annie (1928)
Briggs
The Jazz Singer (1927)
Buster Billings
Finger Prints (1927)
Cuffs Egan
Matinee Ladies (1927)
Man-about-town
The Black Diamond Express (1927)
Fireman
The First Auto (1927)
Dave Doolittle
A Million Bid (1927)
George Lamont
Don't Tell the Wife (1927)
Ray Valerian
A Reno Divorce (1927)
James, the chauffeur
What Happened to Father (1927)
Dibbin, detective
The Bush Leaguer (1927)
John Gilroy
A Sailor's Sweetheart (1927)
Detective
Simple Sis (1927)
Oscar
The Gay Old Bird (1927)
Mr. Fixit

Cast (Special)

Thanksgiving Reunion with the Partridge Family and My Three Sons (1977)
My Three Sons Member
The Desilu Revue (1959)

Cast (Short)

The Night Court (1927)

Life Events

1926

Film acting debut in bit part in "When the Wife's Away"

Photo Collections

Never a Dull Moment - Scene Stills
Here are a few scene stills from RKO's Never a Dull Moment (1950), starring Irene Dunne and Fred MacMurray.
All Through the Night - Scene Stills
Here are several scene stills from Warner Bros' All Through the Night (1942), starring Humphrey Bogart, Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre, and Jane Darwell.

Videos

Movie Clip

All Through The Night (1942) -- (Movie Clip) Miracle On 48th Street Future TV stars William Demarest, Phil Silvers and Jackie Gleason in the opening scene, when their ringleader Gloves (Humphrey Bogart) appears, sidekick Barney (Frank McHugh) joining, ex-actor Vincent Sherman directing, in Warner Bros' gangster-comedy-propaganda hybrid All Through The Night, 1942.
Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm (1938) -- (Movie Clip) I Thought We Were Wowing Them! At a radio audition, Shirley Temple as Rebecca and William Demarest as uncle Harry, looking to impress assistant Orville (Jack Haley), sponsor Bartlett (Paul Harvey) and ad-man Kent (Randolph Scott) with a tune by Harry Revel and Mack Gordon, in Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm, 1938.
Miracle Of Morgan's Creek, The (1944) -- (Movie Clip) Swaffled Or Something! The morning after the soldier’s sendoff party, where Trudy (Betty Hutton) drank spiked lemonade and got bonked on the head, she picks up Norval (Eddie Bracken) who provided her alibi and loaned her his car, way later than they should be, concocting a story for her father, in writer-director Preston Sturges’ The Miracle Of Morgan’s Creek, 1944.
Miracle Of Morgan's Creek, The (1944) -- (Movie Clip) Let's All Get Married! Betty Hutton as Trudy Kockenlocker is let loose in an action sequence by writer-director Preston Sturges, in the car borrowed from her 4-F boyfriend, all-in for the sendoff for the soldiers shipping out, to the church basement, the country club, then the juke joint, Len Hendry the soldier with the big idea, in The Miracle Of Morgan’s Creek, 1944.
Murder Man, The (1935) -- (Movie Clip) Very Fatally Dead In the press room at the precinct, crime beat reporters (William Demarest, Bobby Watson, Lucien Littlefield, Fuzzy Knight, and James Stewart as "Shorty") get word of a big time killing, early in The Murder Man, 1935.
Sullivan's Travels (1942) -- (Movie Clip) O Brother, Where Art Thou? Sullivan (Joel McCrea) is reunited with "The Girl" (Veronica Lake) and his staff, and reconsiders filming "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," in the final scene from Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels, 1942.
Sincerely Yours (1955) -- (Movie Clip) Is Anything Wrong? Considerable sound-editing technique and a big acting moment for leading man Liberace, as pianist "Anthony Warrin," who's suddenly having hearing problems, Joanne Dru, William Demarest and Dorothy Malone his entourage, in Sincerely Yours, 1955.
Hail The Conquering Hero (1944) -- (Movie Clip) He Could Be President Woodrow (Eddie Bracken), overwhelmed and intending to confess that he never served in the Marine Corps, can’t stop the judge (Jimmy Conlin) and Doc Bissell (Harry Hayden), who have nominated him for mayor on his homecoming, in Preston Sturges’ Hail The Conquering Hero, 1944.
Hail The Conquering Hero (1944) -- (Movie Clip) Chronic Hay Fever In a single take by writer-director Preston Sturges, Woodrow (Eddie Bracken) tells his life story to Heffelfinger (William Demarest) and the Marines (Freddie Steele, Jimmy Dundee, James Lamore et al) in Hail The Conquering Hero, 1944.
Hail The Conquering Hero (1944) -- (Movie Clip) Home To The Arms Of Mother Seamless opening scene from writer-director Preston Sturges, introducing Woodrow (Eddie Bracken) crying in his beer, and Marines led by Heffelfinger (William Demarest), in Hail The Conquering Hero, 1944.
Hail The Conquering Hero (1944) -- (Movie Clip) He's Got Jungle Fever Craziness at the homecoming for Woodrow (Eddie Bracken), pressed by Sarge (William Demarest), who served with his father, not to tell his mother (Georgia Caine) he was rejected by the Marines, Torben Meyer the neighbor, Ella Raines his ex-girl, who hasn't told him she's engaged, in Preston Sturges' Hail The Conquering Hero, 1944.
Sullivan's Travels (1942) -- (Movie Clip) If You Don't Mind Going Fast The famous chase sequence in which director Sullivan (Joel McCrea), aiming to experience life as a hobo, tries to lose his Hollywood entourage, Robert Winkler his wheelman, William Demarest, Charles Moore et all in the RV, in writer-director Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels, 1942.

Trailer

Christmas In July (1940) -- (Video Trailer) Dick Powell is an unemployed dreamer who thinks he's won a big radio contest in Preston Sturges' Christmas in July (1940).
Great McGinty, The - (Original Trailer) A hobo (Brian Donlevy) rises to town mayor when he hooks up with a crooked political boss in Preston Sturges' The Great McGinty (1940).
Far Horizons, The - (Original Trailer) Fred MacMurray and Charlton Heston play Lewis & Clark, setting off for The Far Horizons (1955) for President Jefferson.
Cowboy Quarterback, The - (Original Trailer) A football scout (William Demarest) tries to get a legendary runner (Bert Wheeler) back into the game.
Bright Lights (1935) - (Original Trailer) Husband-and-wife vaudeville stars separate when success goes to his head in Busby Berkeley's Bright Lights (1935).
Jolson Story, The - (Original Trailer) Larry Parks stars as the famous blackface performer of stage and screen, Al Jolson, in The Jolson Story (1947).
Never a Dull Moment - (Original Trailer) A female music critic (Irene Dunne) marries a rancher (Fred MacMurray) but her life out West has Never a Dull Moment (1950).
Along Came Jones -- (Original Trailer) Gary Cooper spoofs his screen image playing a mild-mannered cowboy who is mistaken for a notorious outlaw in Along Came Jones (1945).
What Price Glory (1952) - (Black-and-white Trailer) A marine captain (James Cagney) and his top sergeant are assigned to take their company from a small village to the brutal reality of war in the trenches in John Ford's What Price Glory (1952).
Excuse My Dust - (Original Trailer) Red Skelton stars as a turn-of-the-century automobile inventor in the Technicolor comedy Excuse My Dust (1951).
Great Moment, The - (Original Trailer) Director Preston Sturges tells the true story of the first dentist to find a painless method of pulling teeth in The Great Moment (1944).
Whispering Smith -- (Re-issue Trailer) A railroad detective (Alan Ladd) tries to bring in a gang of train robbers and a lost love in the western adventure Whispering Smith (1949).

Family

Reuben Demarest
Brother
Vaudevillian. Performed act with brothers.
George Demarest
Brother
Vaudevillian. Performed act with brothers.

Bibliography