When William Frawley Replaced William Demarest on TV's 'My Three Sons': An Uneasy Transition

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An uneasy transition occurred on TV's My Three Sons (CBS, 1960-1972) when William Frawley, who played "Bub," replaced William Demarest as Uncle Charlie. Here's what happened.

A Closer Look

There were several cast changes over the years on My Three Sons. The show's original stars included Fred MacMurray as Steve Douglas, widowed father to three young sons played by Tim Considine, Don Grady, and Stanley Livingston. Steve's father, Bub, was played by William Frawley, formerly of I Love Lucy.

By the sixth season, Considine left the series, and Grady became the oldest brother on the show. Barry Livingston, the real-life younger sibling to Stanley, joined the series as Steve's newly adopted son.

In the show's last few years, Steve fell in love and married Beverly Garland's Barbara Harper, who had a young daughter played by Dawn Lyn.

In between those years, Frawley's Bub was replaced by William Demerast as Uncle Charlie, Bub's brother.

The MacMurray Method

Fred MacMurray agreed to star in My Three Sons, only if he could film all of his scenes together. As such, the show would not be shot in chronological order.

William Frawley, for one, never felt comfortable with that process, as it was quite different from the way I Love Lucy and other sitcoms were filmed.

Frawley, however, still enjoyed the My Three Sons paycheck, and did not want to leave the series. Frawley's frustration soon increased when William Demarest replaced him on the show. The two actors had for decades before competed for roles on the big screen.

Unfortunately, Frawley had no choice but to exit the series; his health was poor, and the studio could no longer provide insurance for him.

The absence of Frawley's Bub role was explained by having the character relocate to Ireland. He was referred to several times in subsequent episodes that season, then was never mentioned again once the show moved to CBS.

As Stanley Livingston once recalled about Frawley, “Bill wasn’t married. He didn’t have any kids or grandkids. All he...had at that time was My Three Sons, and when they took that away from him, he...had nothing to live for.”

In real life, Frawley died of a heart attack at 79, on March 3, 1966, approximately one year after he left the show. William Demarest died decades later on December 27, 1983, from prostate cancer and pneumonia. He was 91.

The original cast of 'My Three Sons' (from top): William Frawley, Fred MacMurray, Tim Constantine, Don Grady, and Stanley LivingstonPhoto byquizly.co

Other Sons Remember

In a recent interview, Barry Livingston reflected on working with William Frawley and William Demarest. "Both...were very similar, but also very different," he said. "They were hard nuts who grew up in the Depression and both were drinkers. William Frawley was probably an alcoholic and he brought that onto the set with him, but not in an unpleasant way. He was never abusive or angry; he was actually usually pretty jolly and funny, though towards the end he began nodding off — sometimes in the middle of scenes."

According to Barry, Demarest was most likely a heavy drinker earlier in his career but had sobered up by the time he was cast on My Three Sons. "But I think that made him a little crankier," Barry observed. "That's the syndrome of an ex-alcoholic, they need to take the edge off, but he was never sharp or mean with us. He had a cantankerous side to him. Frawley did, too, but it was always wrapped in laughter. Demarest had similar kind of moods, but they were a little darker. Still, both of them were a lot of fun to work with."

Don Grady, who died from cancer in 2012, once said Demarest was like Frawley after an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Both actors were relatively cranky types, but Frawley was somewhat looser and more fun to work with than Demarest.

Grady also confirmed the bad blood between the two senior men. Tensions were particularly high while filming the episode in which Frawley's Bub moves to Ireland and Demarest as Uncle Charley takes over the housekeeping chores.

Tim Considine, who died in 2022, remembered Frawley as a “terrific guy,” someone who periodically "fell asleep in the middle of a scene.”

“He’d blow a line and say, ‘Who writes this crap?'” Considine recalled with a smile.

'Sons' '72 (l to r): William Demarest, Don Grady, Tina Cole, Beverly Garland, Stanley Livingston, Fred MacMurray, Dawn Lyn, Barry LivingstonPhoto byPinterest.com

In the End

By the time My Three Sons left the air in 1972, it became a very different show than when it began in 1960.

It may have switched filming in black and white to color; the overall pace of the series may have become less manic than its earlier seasons; and then there were the various cast changes, especially when William Demarest replaced William Frawley.

However, none of the aesthetic, creative, or cast changes ever affected the show's ratings or popularity. To this day, it remains a cherished entry in the history of beloved television programming.