William Frawley

• Birthplace: Burlington, Iowa

Former vaudevillian William Frawley is known worldwide as Fred Mertz, the skinflint landlord and friend of the Ricardos, on the perpetually repeated classic TV sitcom "I Love Lucy" (CBS, 1951-1956). This was but one in a long line of gruff character roles, many of whom displayed a hidden soft side, that he played in more than 150 Hollywood films from 1931-1962.

The Iowa-born Frawley began his career in the heyday of vaudeville as a comic and singer. According to lore, he reportedly was the first performer to warble the now-American classic (a…more