William Frawley, the Iowa-born vaudevillian whose quick-witted comebacks and grumpy however lovable portrayal of Fred Mertz on the legendary sitcom “I Love Lucy” endeared him to tens of millions of People, died on at the present time in historical past, March 3, 1966.

He was 79.

Nicknamed “Invoice,” the actor was greatest identified for his supporting function as Fred Mertz, the Ricardos’ sarcastic landlord of 623 E. 68th Avenue in Manhattan. 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, MARCH 2, 1965, ‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC’ DEBUTS IN AMERICAN MOVIE THEATERS

All through his profession, Frawley was forged in over 100 movies, together with “Want,” “Miracle on thirty fourth Avenue” and “Monsieur Verdoux” starring Charlie Chaplin. 

He usually portrayed coaches or trainers — becoming, arguably, given his affinity for sports activities and his friendships with athletes.

A studio portrait of actor William Frawley, carrying a pinstripe swimsuit, for Paramount Footage, 1936.  (Archive Photographs/Moviepix/Getty Pictures)

After his success as Fred Mertz as he labored alongside Lucille Ball (Lucy Ricardo), Desi Arnaz (Ricky Ricardo) and Vivian Vance (Ethel Mertz) in “I Love Lucy,” Frawley starred as Bub within the tv comedy collection, “My Three Sons.”

Frawley got here from “vaudeville roots,” as famous within the unauthorized biography of Vance and Frawley titled, “Meet the Mertzes,” written by Rob Edelman and Audrey Kupferberg. 

Among the forged of the TV collection “My Three Sons,” circa 1963. Clockwise from left: Stanley Livingston, Tim Considine, William Frawley (1887-1966), Don Grady (1944-2012) and Fred MacMurray (1908-1991).  (Silver Display screen Assortment/Getty Pictures)

He carried out in vaudeville along with his brother Paul Frawley earlier than touring with others, together with along with his spouse Edna Louise Broedt, a performer whom he divorced in 1927 after 13 years of marriage.

He additionally had a strong run on Broadway amid many B-roles in movies.

“Secure At Residence!” US foyer card, from left: Roger Maris, William Frawley, Bryan Russell (entrance) and Mickey Mantle, 1962.  (LMPC through Getty Pictures)

As Edelman and Kupferberg wrote of their e book, “William Frawley would possibly simply have ended up mired in obscurity, serving up scotch on the rocks and boilermakers from behind a bar and yammering on and on about his days on the vaudeville and Broadway boards.”

They added, “This simply may need been his destiny within the early Nineteen Fifties and Sixties – if not for ‘I Love Lucy.’”

‘I LOVE LUCY’ TURNS 70: FANS CAN CELEBRATE BY TRAVELING HERE

The characters of Fred and Ethel Mertz reportedly didn’t exist within the CBS sitcom’s early improvement. 

“The extra I considered it, the extra I grew to become satisfied he was Fred Mertz.”

— Desi Arnaz

As soon as these characters did, a number of actors together with Gale Gordon and James Gleason had been thought-about for the function of Fred Mertz.

Vivian Vance as Ethel Mertz and William Frawley as Fred Mertz are pictured in a picture dated Feb. 1, 1954.  (CBS through Getty Pictures)

When Frawley heard in regards to the half, he known as Ball and Arnaz to precise his curiosity within the TV gig.

“After I hung up I saved seeing his puss and remembering how good he was at enjoying the form of gruff character he often performed,” Arnaz wrote in his 1976 autobiography, in line with Edelman and Kupferberg.

“The extra I considered it, the extra I grew to become satisfied he was Fred Mertz.”

From left, Desi Arnaz (1917-1986), musician and actor; Lucille Ball (1911-1989), comic and actress; Keith Thibodeaux, youngster actor; Vivian Vance (1909-1979), actress; and William Frawley (1887-1966), actor, in a gaggle studio portrait issued for the US TV collection “I Love Lucy,” circa 1955.  (Silver Display screen Assortment/Getty Pictures       )

Ball additionally needed 64-year-old Frawley for the half. 

It was CBS officers and sponsor Philip Morris tobacco who had been on the fence. 

Frawley had a popularity: His fondness for booze was reportedly identified throughout present enterprise.

“Secure at Residence!” starred, from left, William Frawley and Fred A. Scwarb, 1962. (The Everett Assortment)

“Effectively, these b——-, these sons of b——,” Frawley reportedly stated on the time, in response to the community’s hesitation to rent him. 

“They’re at all times saying that about me. How the hell do they know?” he additionally stated, partially. 

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, JAN. 19, 2000, HEDY LAMARR DIES — ‘MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN’ IN HOLLYWOOD, WWII INVENTOR

Arnaz apparently established floor guidelines for Frawley’s employment. 

If he missed greater than three days of labor on “I Love Lucy,” he’d be canned, as Edelman and Kupferberg famous of their e book.

Frawley delivered. He didn’t miss work — and the present was an amazing success.

On Dec. 16, 1953, Lucille Ball (1911-1989) hugs William Frawley (1887-1966) as she stands behind him in the course of the shock celebration for her thirteenth marriage ceremony anniversary to Cuban-born actor and singer Desi Arnaz, held at Larry Finley’s restaurant on Sundown Strip in Los Angeles. Ball, Frawley and Arnaz had been costars within the hit TV collection “I Love Lucy.” (Hulton Archive/Getty Pictures)

He starred alongside the gang all the way in which into the 1960 airing of the ultimate episode of the collection spinoff, “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.”

Regardless of the early skeptics, Frawley was often called a superb actor. “I Love Lucy” director William Asher stated he was “very, excellent” certainly. 

‘I LOVE LUCY’ BY THE NUMBERS: 10 FACTS ABOUT LUCILLE BALL AND THE HIT SITCOM

“He actually was,” Asher stated in an interview with the Tv Academy Basis earlier than his loss of life in 2012. “However he used to drive Vivian [Vance] loopy.”

Frawley had just a few years on Vance, who performed his TV spouse. He was 64 when the primary “I Love Lucy” episode aired on Oct. 15, 1951. Vance was about 42.

Vivian Vance as Ethel Mertz and William Frawley as Fred Mertz, on Feb. 1, 1954.  (CBS through Getty Pictures)

Asher’s opinion was that Frawley and Vance’s relationship seemed to be “hateful,” although their professionalism proved in any other case.

“She would [say], ‘Go on, you soiled previous drunk’ and he’d name her ‘an previous b—-.’ They’d be at one another on a regular basis,” he stated. 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

“It contributed truly to their relationship and naturally, Lucy and Desi, who started having their variations, had been extremely skilled and none of that confirmed.”

“I Love Lucy” actors Vivian Vance and William Frawley had been TV co-stars till 1960. (CBS through Getty Pictures)

Asher added, “Everyone acquired alongside, apart from Invoice Frawley and Vivian, however the forged acquired alongside simply positive.”

As for Arnaz and Ball, Frawley was identified to have a powerful friendship with the couple.

When Frawley died in 1966, Arnaz took out a full-page advert in The Hollywood Reporter, bidding his pal farewell with a photograph and the message, “Buenas Noches, Amigo!”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Frawley’s star on the Hollywood Stroll of Fame sits on Hollywood Boulevard between Vine Avenue and Ivar Avenue, roughly eight tenths of a mile away from Vance’s.

“One couldn’t think about his and Vance’s stars ever being positioned facet by facet,” Edelman and Kupferberg wrote.

Frawley’s function as Fred Mertz scored him 5 Emmy nominations in addition to a posthumous induction into the Corridor of Fame in 2012.

J.Okay. Simmons, who performed William Frawley, arrives on the Los Angeles Premiere of Amazon Studios’ “Being The Ricardos” at Academy Museum of Movement Footage on Dec. 6, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.  (Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Getty Pictures)

In 2022, Academy Award Winner J.Okay. Simmons earned a nomination for his portrayal of Frawley within the 2021 Amazon biographical drama movie, “Being the Ricardos.”