The Life and Legacy of William Frawley: What Happened Before, During, and After Playing Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy

If there’s one person from the cast of the classic TV sitcom I Love Lucy who continues to be somewhat of a mystery, it’s William Frawley, the actor who portrayed Fred Mertz — Ethel’s (Vivian Vance) husband and best friend to Lucy and Ricky Ricardo (Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz). After I Love Lucy wrapped, Bill moved on to My Three Sons, where he became beloved by audiences. Yet, despite his long career, there’s still so little known about him — a fact that’s especially surprising considering the lasting impact of his work.

Stanley Livingston — who, as a child actor, played “Chip” Douglas to Bill Frawley’s “Bub” on My Three Sons — opened up in an exclusive interview with Closer Weekly. “I have no idea what he was like when he was younger, but by the time I met him, he was already in his early 70s,” Livingston recalls. “I knew him from watching TV as a kid, especially I Love Lucy. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d end up working with him. When I was hired on My Three Sons and found out he was going to be the grandfather, I was blown away. I wasn’t sure how he’d be, but I just knew I liked him. In fact, he was my favorite character on I Love Lucy — I loved his weird grumpiness, which I thought was hilarious. And honestly, what you saw on the show pretty much mirrored what he was like in real life. Well, minus the four-letter words.”

Barry Livingston, who played Ernie Douglas on My Three Sons and wrote his memoir The Importance of Being Ernie, added, “He was a guy from the Depression era. A tough, tough guy who didn’t take any nonsense from anyone. It was surprising he got away with so much, especially the shenanigans that came as he aged. Mainly, it was the alcohol, but he was also a big prankster and genuinely fun.”

‘I Love Lucy’ Star Desi Arnaz Went From ‘Prince of Cuba’ to King of Hollywood

Reflecting on William Frawley, Geoffrey Mark — often called a walking encyclopedia of show business history and author of The Lucy Book and Ella: A Biography of Legendary Ella Fitzgerald — shares, “His story is a sad one. You have to consider who he was, where he came from, and how he felt about I Love Lucy. By the time Frawley was in his early 60s, he had already been in over a hundred films, appeared on radio, and performed on the vaudeville stage. He had once been a handsome song-and-dance man, and even introduced iconic songs like ‘Carolina in the Morning’ and ‘My Melancholy Baby.’”

Courtesy Geoffrey Mark

“He had just starred in a big Bob Hope film, The Lemon Drop Kid, but by then, he was starting to gain a reputation for being an alcoholic and unreliable,” Mark continues. “The roles weren’t coming as frequently as they once did, which, unfortunately, is common in show business. As you age, there are just fewer ‘old man’ parts compared to the abundance of ‘young man’ roles.”

“So, he reads in the trades that I Love Lucy is happening,” Geoffrey adds. “The pilot had already been made, but Fred and Ethel weren’t part of the show yet. Frawley, of course, was familiar with the radio show My Favorite Husband, from which I Love Lucy was born. He knew there was an older couple on the show and understood that I Love Lucy was using My Favorite Husband as the blueprint.”

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What He Brought to the Table

Bill was also aware that Gale Gordon, whom Lucille wanted for the role of Fred Mertz, was unavailable due to his success on radio and a starring role in Our Miss Brooks, which paid more than the $250 a week I Love Lucy could offer. “So, Bill calls Desi Arnaz and asks, ‘Why haven’t you considered me?’” Geoffrey explains. “Desi agrees to a lunch meeting, and they talk. Bill had worked with Lucille Ball before, and he was a well-known figure in Hollywood, a staple since the 1930s. While he wasn’t necessarily a household name, he was certainly recognized. Bill then asks Desi, ‘What do these other guys you’re considering have that I don’t?’ Desi’s answer was blunt: ‘It’s not what they have that you don’t, it’s what they don’t have that you do: your alcoholism. I’m investing my money in this, and I can’t afford to miscast.’”

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“Now,” Geoffrey emphasizes, “we need to be clear and honest about this, because everyone else gets it wrong: Desi was not yet the producer of the show. He was the president of the production company, but he didn’t produce I Love Lucy, nor did he write it. That was Jess Oppenheimer’s domain. Desi did take the meeting with Bill, though, because Bill went directly to him. They talked things over for a while, over drinks — certainly some irony there. And eventually, they came to an arrangement with Jess Oppenheimer’s approval.”

That arrangement was that Bill Frawley could play Fred Mertz, but if he missed anything due to alcohol — whether it was a line, a cue, showing up drunk to rehearsal, or appearing intoxicated on set — he would lose his pay for that week. If it happened again, he would be fired, with Desi making it clear that he would ensure Bill was blackballed in Hollywood.

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Take Him Out to the Ballgame

Geoffrey laughs, “Bill had a counter-offer: ‘I’ll agree to everything you’ve laid out, but if the New York Yankees are in the World Series while I’m working for you, you have to get me tickets, send me there first class, and put me up.’ They shook hands, and as luck would have it, the Yankees were in the World Series every year I Love Lucy was on the air.”

“The truth is, Bill Frawley was an incredibly talented man, and Desi knew he would be a great asset to the show,” Geoffrey continues. “His sardonic view of life was perfect for Fred Mertz. But at the same time, he was not an easy person to work with. He was set in his ways, Irish Catholic, and had some deep prejudices — he wasn’t particularly fond of Jewish people, which wasn’t great when your boss, Jess Oppenheimer, was Jewish. He didn’t like people of color, which also wasn’t ideal working for Desi Arnaz. Frawley preferred hanging out with his Irish drinking buddies and gambling friends. He was misogynistic through and through, but if there was a pretty young woman around, he could be charming. Otherwise, he couldn’t be bothered. A lot of that personality ended up being written into Fred Mertz, who developed based on Bill’s real-life characteristics.”

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