William Frawley, who played the beloved character of Fred Mertz on the classic 1950s sitcom I Love
Lucy, was a veteran vaudevillian performer who gave his all to each performance. However,
astute fans of the famous sitcom may have noticed that the Fred Mertz actor had a penchant for
keeping his hands where the camera couldn’t see them. Some might think that Fred’s hands often
being deep inside of his pockets may have been a creative choice by the veteran actor, but it was
actually a choice that was born out of personal necessity.
Join Facts Verse as we explore why William Frawley hid his hands in every scene of I Love Lucy.
William Frawley Was a Veteran Performer Before Receiving the Role of Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy
When audiences hear the name William Frawley, the first thing that will pop into their hands
is understandably the veteran vaudevillian performer’s iconic
turn as the character of Fred Mertz in the classic 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy. However,
casual fans of the series may be surprised to learn that William had actually been
performing in the entertainment industry for several decades by the time he landed
the memorable role. Despite the fact that he had been working so long in the industry,
he had failed to attain star status as a result of his bad attitude and drinking habit.
William’s Weird Contractual Stipulations Entering into I Love Lucy, William Frawley
had a pretty negative reputation. In fact, many of the studio heads didn’t want William to play
the part of Fred Mertz and instead attempted to insist that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz find
someone else for the role. It was Desi Arnaz who was most adamant about William’s hiring,
though the Cuban actor still had his doubts. William ended up being hired onto the
show at the insistence of Desi’s gut instinct, though he was only given the part of Fred Mertz
under the explicit presumption that he was going to significantly cut back on his alcohol use.
William Frawley having to do his best to try and remain sober wasn’t the only
strange stipulation that the actor’s I Love Lucy contract came along with. There was also
said to have been a clause in the contract stating that William had to be freed from
work duties in the event of the Brooklyn Dodgers performing in the World Series.
Lucille and Desi were more than happy to allow William to indulge in his passion for sports so
long as the actor made good on his end of the bargain and always gave a good performance on
their series. While William certainly always performed well and made Fred Mertz a standout
character on the show, the actor certainly wasn’t very sober throughout its filming.
William Loved Sports More Than Booze Outside of I Love Lucy, William Frawley’s passion
for sports could often be seen in the actor’s choice of Hollywood roles. The actor appeared in a
staggering number of sports-related pictures over the course of his several-decades-spanning career,
though most of these pictures have been lost in time due to their decidedly low quality and
dated appeal. William’s first appearance in a sports-related picture came in 1935,
towards the beginning of his Hollywood career. This appearance was in the feature Hold 'Em Yale.
The actor would go on to appear in well over a dozen sports-related pictures following this,
with his last sports-related film being 1962’s Safe at Home,
which was released after William had risen to greater prominence than ever on I Love Lucy.
William Wasn’t Said to Have Been the Best Guy It’s certainly hard not to love William Frawley
if you take his work at face value, though there’s a lot less to love once you actually
get to know about who the man really was. While William may have had a penchant for comedy,
he was said to have been a little bit too much in real life like the curmudgeonly characters that he
played on the screen. There are a number of notable character flaws that the actor had. Those
who worked with William oftentimes had a hard time standing the veteran vaudevillian performer’s lack
of political correctness, with the actor is known to have been decidedly racist and misogynistic.
The comedic actor was certainly a product of his times, though that’s no excuse for much of his
negative behavior. William was already hard to work with when he entered the industry, and his
propensity for drinking past his limitations only made him harder to deal with as time went on. It
was a minor miracle that William managed to get his role on I Love Lucy, though the actor doesn’t
seem to have treated the role with much respect if his refusal to give up alcohol is any indication.
Although William Frawley had entered
into the filming of I Love Lucy under the stipulation that he was going to significantly cut
back on his drinking, he didn’t end up doing this! In fact, rumor has it that the star was
drunk the majority of the time that he was filming the beloved series, though he had a subtle way of
hiding his alcohol abuse’s most aberrant symptoms from his coworkers. If you’re enjoying this
video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel
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William Knew How to Hold His Liquor… Except in His Hands
In addition to being a veteran vaudevillian performer at the time that he began playing
the role of Fred Mertz on the classic 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy, William Frawley was also
an exceptionally seasoned alcoholic. William was certainly a man that knew how to hold his liquor,
and it was likely hard to tell for most of the star’s coworkers
over the course of his career whether he was drunk or not. While William may have
been able to hold his liquor when it came to his demeanor, there was one side effect
of his alcohol abuse that he could not hide from his coworkers: his shaky hands.
As a result of William Frawley’s continued alcohol
abuse over the course of I Love Lucy’s filming, the actor suffered from incredibly shaky hands.
Not wanting to draw attention to himself, the star knew that he had to figure out something
to do with his hands that would seem natural but would allow him to keep them hidden. The trained
performer that he was, William was able to come up with a magic fix to ensure that no one knew just
how much he was abusing alcohol on the show’s set. That fix was to hide his hands in his pockets!
As it turns out, William Frawley’s alcoholism was the indirect catalyst for the star always
hiding his hands deep down in his pockets while portraying the character of Fred Mertz on I
Love Lucy. It’s uncertain just how effective William was in covering up his alcohol abuse,
as the fact that the actor was drunk throughout much of I Love Lucy’s filming
seems to have been common knowledge. However, whatever William was doing, he managed to stay
on the good side of Lucille and Desi while giving his all to his performance of Fred.
William Frawley’s Long Life Before I Love Lucy William Frawley was born in the late 1880s,
and his early work was in hard labor. Not wanting to live the rest of his life laying
railroad tracks, William began dreaming of becoming a performer as a young adult.
His mother tried to dampen William’s growing dreams, but they eventually won out.
According to William himself, he was discovered while singing railroad songs at a café in Chicago
and then subsequently thrust into the theater. The star initially garnered attention as a singer,
though he soon turned his sights toward performing vaudeville. With his brother Peter, William
formed a vaudeville duo. Together, they began performing in small venues around the country.
After breaking things off with his brother, William settled in Denver, Colorado, and began
working as the house comedian for a local café. He did this for a year before getting restless again
and heading out to California, where he formed a vaudeville partnership with a piano player.
In 1914, William married a woman by the name of Edna and the two formed a new vaudeville duo,
with Edna portraying the straight man. In 1916, William appeared in his first film.
William divorced Edna in the late 1920s, and the vaudevillian performer would never marry again
over the course of his remaining years. However, the star had plenty more to do in his career!
Following the divorce, the star headed out to New York City and worked for a time on Broadway.
Following this Broadway stint, Paramount Pictures offered him a seven-year contract in Hollywood.
William’s Hollywood Days and His Later Life By the end of the 1930s, little had come of
William’s tenure with Paramount Pictures. This came despite the fact that William had been cast
as a character actor in a number of pictures for the studio. While many of these pictures had been
successful, and some of William’s performances had even received some mild acclaim, it was
inarguable that the actor was never the standout aspect of whatever feature he was appearing in.
Entering the 1940s, William’s career was in dire straits, and this made him turn to alcohol more.
William accepted the role of Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy and gave it his all when the cameras
were rolling, though it seems that he wasn’t willing to give up his alcohol addiction.
Following I Love Lucy, William appeared on the series My Three Sons, though his health
began to seriously decrease over the course of that show’s run. In 1966, he passed away.
Astute fans may have noticed that William Frawley was always hiding his hands while performing on I
Love Lucy, though they were likely surprised to find out why he did so! Now it’s time to hear
from you: did you know that William Frawley had a stipulation in his I Love Lucy contract that said
he couldn’t work when the Brooklyn Dodgers were playing in the World Series, and that
the veteran vaudevillian performer had been working in the entertainment industry for four
decades before taking on the iconic role of Fred Mertz? As always, like this video
to show your support, subscribe, and hit the notification bell
if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!