William Demarest
William Demarest was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on February 27, 1892. He started his career working 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. Jolson considered Demarest one of his favorite actors. Years later (1946) he had a major role in
The Jolson Story
for which he earned an Oscar nomination and
Jolson Sings Again
in 1949.
In the course of his long movie career, Demarest played in close to
150 films
. Roles often included policeman, criminals, newspaper reporters, politicians. Famous movies 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 the age of 91.
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Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.