William Demarest
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota on February 27, 1892, as a young man, William Demarest sought work in carnivals and vaudeville. One of his first supporting roles was in 1927 in Al Jolson's
The Jazz Singer
, the first all-talking motion picture. Years later (1946) he had a major role in
The Jolson Story,
for which he earned an Oscar nomination.
In the course of his long movie career, Demarest played in close to
150 films
. Roles often included policeman, criminals, newspaper reporters, and politicians. His best known films included:
Charlie Chan at the Opera
in 1937,
The Perils of Pauline
in 1947, and
What Price Glory
in 1952, and
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
in 1965.
The 1960's and '70's saw Demarest star in one of the most memorable roles of his career - Uncle Charley O'Casey on the
My Three Sons
television series (1965-1972).
William Demarest died on December 28, 1983 at age 91.
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Links:
Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.