Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes
William Frawley

William Frawley

Highest Rated: 100% Desire (1936)

Lowest Rated: 40% Down to Earth (1947)

Birthday: Feb 26, 1887

Birthplace: Burlington, Iowa, USA

Former vaudevillian William Frawley is known worldwide as Fred Mertz, the skinflint landlord and friend of the Ricardos, on the perpetually repeated classic TV sitcom "I Love Lucy" (CBS, 1951-1956). This was but one in a long line of gruff character roles, many of whom displayed a hidden soft side, that he played in more than 150 Hollywood films from 1931-1962.

Highest rated movies

100% Rancho Notorious
100% The Fighting Seabees
100% Gentleman Jim
100% Desire
97% Monsieur Verdoux
96% Miracle on 34th Street
86% The General Died at Dawn
83% Something to Sing About

Photos

BLONDIE'S ANNIVERSARY, from left: William Frawley, Arthur Lake, 1947 CHICKEN EVERY SUNDAY, William Frawley, 1949, TM and copyright ©20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved THE PRINCESS COMES ACROSS, William Frawley, Bradley Page, 1936 TEXAS, BROOKLYN AND HEAVEN, William Frawley, 1948 SAFE AT HOME!, Bryan Russell, William Frawley, 1962 FOOTSTEPS IN THE DARK, Allen Jenkins, William Frawley, Brenda Marshall, Errol Flynn, Lucile Watson, 1941 CRIME DOCTOR'S MAN HUNT, from left, Warner Baxter, William Frawley, 1946 BOLERO, George Raft, Frances Drake, William Frawley, 1934 EX-CHAMP, from left, Victor McLaglen, William Frawley, 1939 KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE, James Cagney (center), William Frawley (right), 1950 CRACKED NUTS, from left: William Frawley, Stuart Erwin, Mischa Auer, 1941 THE INNER CIRCLE, (aka THE TWISTED CIRCLE), Ricardo Cortez, William Frawley, Adele Mara, Warren Douglas, 1946 THE GENERAL DIED AT DAWN, Dudley Digges, William Frawley, 1936 BOLERO, William Frawley, 1934 MY WILD IRISH ROSE, Dennis Morgan (left), right rear to front: George Tobias, William Frawley, George O'Brien, 1947 WILDCAT, Buster Crabbe, Richard Arlen, Arline Judge, 1942 THE BRIDE CAME C.O.D., Jack Carson, Bette Davis, William Frawley, James Cagney, Harry Davenport, 1941 BOLERO, George Raft (left), William Frawley (center), 1934 GENTLEMAN JIM, Ward Bond, Errol Flynn, William Frawley, 1942 SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT, James Cagney, Philip Ahn, William Frawley, 1937
See all photos

Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Safe at Home! Bill Turner (Character) - 1962
100% 69% Rancho Notorious Baldy Gunder (Character) - 1952
80% 75% The Lemon Drop Kid Gloomy Willie (Character) - 1951
80% 62% Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man Det. Roberts (Character) - 1951
No Score Yet 56% Rhubarb Len Sickles (Character) - 1951
No Score Yet 56% Pretty Baby Corcoran (Character) - 1950
No Score Yet 72% Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye Byers (Character) - 1950
No Score Yet No Score Yet Blondie's Hero Marty Greer (Character) - 1950
No Score Yet 50% Chicken Every Sunday George Kirby (Character) - 1949
43% 74% East Side, West Side Bill the Bartender (Character) - 1949
No Score Yet No Score Yet Home in San Antone O'Fleery (Character) - 1949
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Lone Wolf and His Lady Inspector J.D. Crane (Character) - 1949
No Score Yet 64% The Babe Ruth Story Jack Dunn (Character) - 1948
No Score Yet No Score Yet Joe Palooka in Winner Take All Knobby Walsh (Character) - 1948
No Score Yet No Score Yet Blondie's Anniversary Sharkey (Character) - 1948
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Girl From Manhattan Mr. Bernouti (Character) - 1948
97% 88% Monsieur Verdoux Jean La Salle (Character) $60.6K 1947
No Score Yet 38% My Wild Irish Rose William Scanlon (Character) - 1947
96% 87% Miracle on 34th Street Charlie Halloran (Character) - 1947
40% 50% Down to Earth Police Lieutenant (Character) - 1947
No Score Yet 12% The Inner Circle Det. Lt. Webb (Character) - 1946
No Score Yet 50% The Virginian Honey Wiggen (Character) - 1946
No Score Yet No Score Yet Crime Doctor's Manhunt Harry B. Manning (Character) - 1946
No Score Yet 34% Flame of Barbary Coast Wolf Wylie (Character) - 1945
100% 72% The Fighting Seabees Eddie Powers (Character) - 1944
No Score Yet No Score Yet Lake Placid Serenade Jiggers (Character) - 1944
No Score Yet 67% Whistling in Brooklyn Detective Ramsey (Character) - 1943
No Score Yet No Score Yet Larceny With Music Mike Simms (Character) - 1943
No Score Yet No Score Yet We've Never Been Licked Unknown (Character) - 1943
No Score Yet No Score Yet It Happened in Flatbush Sam Sloan (Character) - 1942
No Score Yet No Score Yet Wildcat Oliver Westbrook (Character) - 1942
100% 86% Gentleman Jim Billy Delaney (Character) - 1942
No Score Yet 75% Blondie in Society Waldo Pincus (Character) - 1941
No Score Yet 52% Footsteps in the Dark Det. "Hoppy" Hopkins (Character) - 1941
No Score Yet No Score Yet Golden Gloves Emory Balzar (Character) - 1940
No Score Yet No Score Yet Opened by Mistake Matt Kingsley (Character) - 1940
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Farmer's Daughter Scoop Trimble (Character) - 1940
No Score Yet 38% One Night in the Tropics Roscoe (Character) - 1940
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Quarterback Coach (Character) - 1940
No Score Yet 61% The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The "Duke" (Character) - 1939
No Score Yet No Score Yet Grand Jury Secrets Bright Eyes (Character) - 1939
No Score Yet No Score Yet St. Louis Blues Maj. Martingale (Character) - 1939
No Score Yet No Score Yet Night Work Bruiser Brown (Character) - 1939
No Score Yet 71% Mad About Music Dusty Turner (Character) - 1938
No Score Yet No Score Yet Professor Beware Snoop Donlan (Character) - 1938
No Score Yet No Score Yet Touchdown, Army Jack Heffernan (Character) - 1938
No Score Yet 40% High, Wide and Handsome Mac (Character) - 1937
83% 29% Something to Sing About Hank Meyers (Character) - 1937
100% 78% Desire Mr. Gibson (Character) - 1936
86% 54% The General Died at Dawn Brighton (Character) - 1936
No Score Yet 14% Strike Me Pink Mr. Copple (Character) - 1936
No Score Yet No Score Yet F Man Detective Rogan (Character) - 1936
No Score Yet No Score Yet Three Cheers for Love Milton Shakespeare (Character) - 1936
No Score Yet 27% Alibi Ike Cap (Character) - 1935
No Score Yet No Score Yet Harmony Lane Edwin P. "Ed" Christy (Character) - 1935
No Score Yet No Score Yet Welcome Home Painless (Character) - 1935
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Witching Hour Jury Foreman (Character) - 1934
No Score Yet 44% Bolero Mike DeBaere (Character) - 1934
No Score Yet No Score Yet Lemon Drop Kid William Dunhill (Character) - 1934
No Score Yet No Score Yet Moonlight and Pretzels Mac (Character) - 1933

TV

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Lucy Show Unknown (Guest Star) 1965
No Score Yet No Score Yet I've Got a Secret Guest 1965
No Score Yet No Score Yet My Three Sons Michael Francis "Bub" O'Casey (Character) 1960-1965
No Score Yet No Score Yet We Love Lucy Unknown (Character) 1957-1960
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour Unknown (Character) 1957-1960
No Score Yet 97% I Love Lucy Fred Mertz (Character) 1951-1957
No Score Yet No Score Yet Shower of Stars Unknown (Character) 1955
No Score Yet No Score Yet Letter to Loretta Unknown (Guest Star) 1954