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).
145 movies · 21 shows
Television: The First Fifty Years
1999·0.0
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
1997·7.7
The Millionaire
1978·8.0
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
1976·4.3
The Wild McCullochs
1975·4.5
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
1973·6.0
That Darn Cat!
1965·6.6
Viva Las Vegas
1964·6.1
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963·7.0
Son of Flubber
1963·6.1
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
1961·5.8
Twenty Plus Two
1961·6.8
King of the Roaring 20's – The Story of Arnold Rothstein
1961·6.4
Pepe
1960·6.3
The Rawhide Years
1956·5.6
The Mountain
1956·6.9
Hell on Frisco Bay
1955·5.3
Sincerely Yours
1955·5.9
Lucy Gallant
1955·7.0
The Private War of Major Benson
1955·6.7
The Far Horizons
1955·6.3
Jupiter's Darling
1955·4.9
The Yellow Mountain
1954·5.4
Jamboree
1954·0.0
Escape from Fort Bravo
1953·6.3
Here Come the Girls
1953·4.6
Dangerous When Wet
1953·6.0
The Lady Wants Mink
1953·8.0
The Blazing Forest
1952·6.5
What Price Glory
1952·5.7
Behave Yourself!
1951·6.2
The Strip
1951·5.9
Excuse My Dust
1951·7.8
The First Legion
1951·7.4
He's a Cockeyed Wonder
1950·4.3
Never a Dull Moment
1950·6.1
Riding High
1950·6.1
When Willie Comes Marching Home
1950·6.9
Red, Hot and Blue
1949·6.2
Jolson Sings Again
1949·6.4
Sorrowful Jones
1949·6.6
Whispering Smith
1948·6.7
Night Has a Thousand Eyes
1948·6.8
The Sainted Sisters
1948·7.3
On Our Merry Way
1948·5.7
Variety Girl
1947·6.5
The Perils of Pauline
1947·6.7
The Jolson Story
1946·6.8
Our Hearts Were Growing Up
1946·6.5
Pardon My Past
1945·6.7
Hollywood Victory Caravan
1945·5.6
Duffy's Tavern
1945·6.4
Along Came Jones
1945·5.8
Salty O'Rourke
1945·6.0
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
1944·6.9
Hail the Conquering Hero
1944·7.1
The Great Moment
1944·5.8
Once Upon a Time
1944·5.8
Nine Girls
1944·5.8
True to Life
1943·8.0
Dangerous Blondes
1943·6.3
Stage Door Canteen
1943·6.3
Johnny Doughboy
1942·5.6
Life Begins at Eight-Thirty
1942·6.8
Behind the Eight Ball
1942·5.3
The Palm Beach Story
1942·7.0
Pardon My Sarong
1942·6.5
My Favorite Spy
1942·5.7
True to the Army
1942·8.0
All Through the Night
1942·6.7
Glamour Boy
1941·6.5
Sullivan's Travels
1941·7.4
Dressed to Kill
1941·6.3
Country Fair
1941·8.0
Ride on Vaquero
1941·5.2
Rookies on Parade
1941·10.0
The Devil and Miss Jones
1941·7.7
The Lady Eve
1941·7.3
Little Men
1940·5.5
Christmas in July
1940·7.0
The Golden Fleecing
1940·5.9
Comin' Round the Mountain
1940·9.0
The Great McGinty
1940·7.0
The Farmer's Daughter
1940·5.3
Wolf of New York
1940·7.5
Laugh It Off
1939·6.0
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939·7.8
Miracles for Sale
1939·6.5
The Cowboy Quarterback
1939·6.7
The Gracie Allen Murder Case
1939·6.3
King of the Turf
1939·7.0
The Great Man Votes
1939·6.4
While New York Sleeps
1938·7.0
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
1938·5.4
Josette
1938·7.2
One Wild Night
1938·7.8
Romance on the Run
1938·7.0
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
1938·6.9
Rosalie
1937·6.0
Big City
1937·7.7
Wake Up and Live
1937·6.2
Blonde Trouble
1937·7.0
Easy Living
1937·7.2
The Great Gambini
1937·7.5
The Great Hospital Mystery
1937·5.5
The Hit Parade
1937·6.3
Oh, Doctor
1937·7.0
Don't Tell the Wife
1937·6.0
Time Out for Romance
1937·6.0
Mind Your Own Business
1936·10.0
Charlie Chan at the Opera
1936·6.8
Love on the Run
1936·6.5
Wedding Present
1936·6.3
The Great Ziegfeld
1936·6.3
White Lies
1935·7.5
Hands Across the Table
1935·7.0
Diamond Jim
1935·6.5
Bright Lights
1935·5.1
The Murder Man
1935·7.1
The Casino Murder Case
1935·6.8
After Office Hours
1935·6.5
Fugitive Lady
1934·8.0
Many Happy Returns
1934·5.3
Fog Over Frisco
1934·6.4
Seeing Things
1930·9.0
The Crash
1928·8.0
The Butter and Egg Man
1928·9.0
Five and Ten Cent Annie
1928·10.0
Pay as You Enter
1928·8.0
A Girl in Every Port
1928·6.0
Sharp Shooters
1928·7.0
The Night Court
1927·7.0
A Reno Divorce
1927·9.0
The Jazz Singer
1927·6.1
A Sailor's Sweetheart
1927·8.0
The Bush Leaguer
1927·10.0
The First Auto
1927·5.8
What Happened To Father
1927·8.0
The Black Diamond Express
1927·9.0
Simple Sis
1927·9.0
A Million Bid
1927·7.0
Matinee Ladies
1927·9.0
The Gay Old Bird
1927·8.0
Don't Tell the Wife
1927·9.0
Finger Prints
1927·7.0