William Frawley

William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American stage entertainer and screen and television actor best known for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the famous American television sitcom I Love Lucy and Bub in the television comedy series My Three Sons. Frawley began his career in vaudeville in 1914 with his wife, Edna Louise Broedt. Their comedy act, known as "Frawley and Louise", continued until their divorce in 1927. Frawley performed on Broadway multiple times and signed with Paramount Studios in 1916 to play in silent films. He appeared in more than one hundred films over 35 years. 2Early life William Clement Frawley was born of Irish ancestry in 1887 in Burlington, Iowa, the second son of four children of Michael A. Frawley (1857–1907) and Mary E. (Brady) Frawley (1859–1921). He attended Catholic schools and sang in the choir at St. Paul's Catholic Church. As he got older, he played small roles in local theater productions at the Burlington Opera House as well as performed in amateur shows, though his mother, a highly religious woman, discouraged such activities.Frawley's first job was as a stenographer in an office of the Union Pacific Railroad in Omaha, Nebraska. After two years working in that position, he relocated to Chicago, where he found a job as a court reporte