Watching the last eps. the great actor was in, for the life of me, I, as a viewer, couldn'd discern any apparent health issue.
He looked fine to me.

In fact, in one of the episodes immediately preceding his final, Frawley did some kind of "dance" or "jig," as Fred MacMurray watched him.

He didn't look infirm.

Of course, his scenes may have required 10-20 takes, but judging from the final product, I saw no (immediately visible) deterioration.

I know he couldn't get insurance.
I also know he was a 2-fisted drinker and had other issues.

http://stanleylivingston.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/MyThreeSons_Chip_Ernie_Bub72dpi.jpg.w560h448.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/75/ef/a1/75efa145b7e223e72c099b594785ab30.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/41/e3/71/41e37118d53c071a0ca583bc30de4de2--william-frawley-my-three-sons.jpg

https://1gm8d73foqeh1436341icth6-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/frawley-with-the-cast-of-my-three-sons.png

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/6b/bd/47/6bbd47dd33bc2be7393acdb538b54e9f--william-frawley-my-three-sons.jpg

Here's a glimpse into what his last days were like on MTS.


http://mentalfloss.com/article/30088/being-fred-mertz-life-william-frawley

By the mid-1960s, though, alcohol and old age finally took their toll, and Frawley began forgetting his lines. One muffed take would follow another, and he'd try to cover his embarrassment by bellowing insults like, "Who writes this crap, anyway?"

If the company didn't get his scenes filmed in the mornings, Frawley would sometimes nod off in the middle of afternoon filmings.

Eventually, a prop man had to lie on the floor, out of the camera's view, and tap Frawley's shoe to keep him from dozing off in the close-ups.

By the show's fifth season, Frawley was in such ill health that he couldn't pass the studio's annual health insurance exam and was let go.

You know - I was thinking the same thing. I watched an episode from season 5 last week, and he looked pretty much the same as he did during season 1. But all the boys have said in interviews that he was declining. And because of the way the show was filmed - in piecemeal - they couldn't afford to take the chance that he's be unable to work and they'd have the expense of redoing all the episodes in progress.

I know he's only an actor playing a role, but viewers often become 'attached' to TV characters.
I'd never seen any of the BW eps. until ME-TV's airings.

I wish he'd stayed on longer.

Likely, he would've died, as he did the next year in real life, but it would've been great to have seen him in there a little longer.

Watching his eps., it seems his character genuinely cared about the boys, particularly the youngest.
You don't really see that with Uncle Charlie, whom I grew-up with (1970s reruns).

I like Charlie too, but Frawley's character seemed more protective & loving of the boys. He really wanted to 'educate' them vs. only do their laundry & prepare their meals.

This is best shown in the ep. where Ernie & Chip give Bub a "wig" so he can have hair again & impress a date.

When Steve & the others tell Bub he doesn't have to wear the hideous wig, Bub tells them, "...I wouldn't for the world want to dispell this boy's good will..." or something similar.

Uncle Charlie, who had many good qualities, was never portrayed like that.

The photos were so we could enjoy viewing him.
There are many more online.

I posted in another thread asking if William Frawley knew as he filmed those last scenes of Bub leaving for Ireland that those were indeed his last scenes. Or was he fired afterwards?

Watching his eps., it seems his character genuinely cared about the boys, particularly the youngest.


It looked to me like Frawley really liked Stanley Livingston.

Frawley did know he was leaving in his last episodes. Although he could not pass his physical and qualify for insurance for season 5, the production company agreed to take a chance and have him in the first half of that season while they searched for a replacement and wrote out Bub.

And yes, Frawley very much liked Stan, who has called him his surrogate grandfather in real life. Stan tells a story about how much he wanted a custom surfboard for his birthday and Frawley gave him one. Stan later found out that Frawley actually went to the surf shacks on Venice Beach and bought it himself (rather than sending someone). Venice Beach is quite bohemian, so the thought of William Frawley down there is pretty funny.

http://stanleylivingston.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/MyThreeSons_Chip_Ernie_Bub72dpi.jpg.w560h448.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/75/ef/a1/75efa145b7e223e72c099b594785ab30.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/41/e3/71/41e37118d53c071a0ca583bc30de4de2--william-frawley-my-three-sons.jpg

https://1gm8d73foqeh1436341icth6-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/frawley-with-the-cast-of-my-three-sons.png

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/6b/bd/47/6bbd47dd33bc2be7393acdb538b54e9f--william-frawley-my-three-sons.jpg


Great pictures!!! :) ;)

I LOVED William Frawley! :) As Bub and as Fred Mertz, like he was my own Grandfather, or at my age my own Father, or really I mean he could even have been my Husband when he played Bub or Fred being I'm middle aged now! ;) :D

He had problems with alcohol and old aging but it never interfered with his acting IMO!;) He came across like a healthy loving Grandfather and a sweet older neighbor as Fred Mertz! I will always have a soft spot in my heart for dear old Bill Frawley!!! :) ;) :heart:

I didn't find out until years later that Bill Frawley was on My Three Sons. Of course I knew him from I Love Lucy reruns. My Three Sons was one of the first shows I ever watched in its original run when I was small and Ernie was already on it. I didn't know until my parents eventually told me that there was another son that had left the show years before. Uncle Charley was so perfect for the show I could never imagine that he replaced another character. I also didn't learn until years later that Fred McMurray was such a big movie star that he was given the perk of filming all of his season's scenes together so he could have most of the year off.

I didn't find out until years later that Bill Frawley was on My Three Sons. Of course I knew him from I Love Lucy reruns. My Three Sons was one of the first shows I ever watched in its original run when I was small and Ernie was already on it. I didn't know until my parents eventually told me that there was another son that had left the show years before. Uncle Charley was so perfect for the show I could never imagine that he replaced another character. I also didn't learn until years later that Fred McMurray was such a big movie star that he was given the perk of filming all of his season's scenes together so he could have most of the year off.

Same here!!!! I watched My Three Sons first run as a little girl and it already was in color with Ernie and Uncle Charlie! When I started watching I love Lucy reruns my Mom told me that Fred also played the Grandfather in My three sons, and that there was another boy , a son older than Robbie before Ernie came on!! I was like WHAT????:eek:

I never saw that for myself till Nick at Nite showed the old Black and white, Bub and Mike eps. in the 80's! :)

Same here. Since the B&W episodes were not available in the 70s, we only saw the color episodes with Uncle Charley and Ernie, and we had no idea that Bub and Mike existed. Every once in a while, Mom would watch with us and she'd mention another son who got married and moved away. But we thought she was just confused. Even when they showed the first episode of season 6, we didn't realize that Mike, in his brief appearance, was another son.

Before having seen any of the b & w eps, like many others I saw Tim Considine as Mike only in the first episode of Season 6. From that one, along with a few others where he is mentioned, I became aware that he was Son #1, with Rob & Chip behind. Next, I had a book on sitcoms that included a big early photo, with Tim as Mike and Frawley as Bub. So the history came forward for me.

No question that Charley is a different character from Bub in several ways. His soft spot for the boys does come through at times though.

I liked William Frawley on I Love Lucy. I don't remember him that much in MTS. Honestly, I haven't watched MTS in ages. I don't get ME-TV. Its too bad he died so long ago. Imagine if he didn't drink. He probably would have been alive a little longer.
Although, I did see a clip of him on The Lucy Show or Here's Lucy and he didn't look well.

He had a cameo on the Lucy Show. He died in 1966, and the Here's Lucy started in 1968.

Just a bit of speculation. I think Fred's style of filming the series did Bill in. Sure, he indeed failed the physical, but I think it was Fred that wanted Bill replaced. I think Fred felt his style of filming (which benefited Fred the most) might have been threatened. This would have hampered his movie shoots if the TV studio would have reverted to a traditional shooting schedule in order to work around an ailing Bill. Don't get me wrong, I like Fred a lot, but deep down I think he wanted Bill off the show so it wouldn't cramp a filming technique that was created for Fred.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c0/47/36/c0473605a1c6118365990a10b9409c45--william-frawley-vintage-records.jpg

Did you know Fred/Bub recorded an album? I bought it on Ebay about 12 or 15 years ago. If you saw the 3 Sons episode where Sudsy wins Bub as a prize and they go to a restaurant and Bub sings a couple of songs from his vaudeville days in the restaurant. The songs he records on this album, BILL FRAWLEY SINGS THE OLD ONES, are like the couple songs he sings on this Sons episode. If you like Fred as much as I do you'll seek this album out, it's a lot of fun to hear. I transferred it to CD and have downloaded that to my computer Media Player. Now Fred/Bub will pop up every so often whenever I play my music.:)
http://www.vomitron.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Frawley-500x500.jpg

Wish I knew how to make pictures show up on a post like others do. But just click on those things you see in blue and you'll see Fred's album cover.:talk:

To paste pics into these boards, do thus:

-right-click on the photo. Click "save image location"
-in the forum text box, click on the yellow square icon, "insert image"
-insert image link

Changing the filming style wasn't an option - Fred only agreed to do the series if he only had to work 3/4 months per year.

That said, even if the show had been filmed sequentially, Frawley would have been forced off the show. He couldn't pass the physical - end of story.

Fred was a pallbearer at his funeral, BTW.

The whole thing is a shame. It's great they let him do half a season, but it's really too bad he couldn't finish out the season.

I imagine the role of Charley was cast quite a bit in advance. The first episode with him was well-done and well-written.

The whole thing is a shame. It's great they let him do half a season, but it's really too bad he couldn't finish out the season.

I imagine the role of Charley was cast quite a bit in advance. The first episode with him was well-done and well-written.
yes, I was surprised how well-written that episode was.
The transition to Uncle Charley went very smoothly.

I do see some things in Charley's character that I like.
Although he was often gruff (particularly in the color eps.), he does seem like he genuinely cares about the boys, which I didn't see so much when I first watched the colors.

Really a shame that Bub missed the wedding of his namesake (Michael). I don't see why he couldn't have returned in a guest spot for a couple of eps (similarly to Don Knotts' late TAGS guest appearances).

Unfortunately, not having Wm. Frawley present for Mike's wedding set a bad precedent of sorts, as later Tim Considine was not to return for the weddings of Rob and Steve, nor even to meet any of the three new adult females, Dodie, or three triplets added to the immediate family.

Here's a glimpse into what his last days were like on MTS.

Quote:
http://mentalfloss.com/article/30088...illiam-frawley

By the mid-1960s, though, alcohol and old age finally took their toll, and Frawley began forgetting his lines. One muffed take would follow another, and he'd try to cover his embarrassment by bellowing insults like, "Who writes this crap, anyway?"

If the company didn't get his scenes filmed in the mornings, Frawley would sometimes nod off in the middle of afternoon filmings.

Eventually, a prop man had to lie on the floor, out of the camera's view, and tap Frawley's shoe to keep him from dozing off in the close-ups.

By the show's fifth season, Frawley was in such ill health that he couldn't pass the studio's annual health insurance exam and was let go.


Read more: William Frawley's health- last eps. he was in - Sitcoms Online Message Boards - Forums http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=364879#ixzz4venfnKeA



Like Curly's health was declining in the later shorts of the 3 Stooges in the early and mid 1940s when he was still the 3rd Stooge till Shemp came and took over.

Really a shame that Bub missed the wedding of his namesake (Michael). I don't see why he couldn't have returned in a guest spot for a couple of eps (similarly to Don Knotts' late TAGS guest appearances).

Unfortunately, not having Wm. Frawley present for Mike's wedding set a bad precedent of sorts, as later Tim Considine was not to return for the weddings of Rob and Steve, nor even to meet any of the three new adult females, Dodie, or three triplets added to the immediate family.


Agree! Bub had just left on a trip to Ireland to help his Aunt Katey celebrate her 104th birthday and there never was any indication via the script that Bub was NOT supposed to return- yet, once Charley had gotten the permanent invite to stay in Casa Douglas not a single mention of Bub AT ALL. Not when Mike (his eldest and namesake grandson) married Sally (who he'd also adored) nor when they moved to California, Robbie wed Katie , the latter pair had triplets or when Steve remarried. And, since the entire premise of the show was that two men had to raise a wide range of boys on their own due to the mother's early death (and roughly a year after Mr. Frawley's exit he himself died), I don't think it would have killed the flow had they dropped a 'Sorry, boys but Bub's gotten his pot of gold and will be under the clover forever' or 'Doesn't baby Charley Douglas favor his late great-grandpa Bub?' line.

Also, I know that Considine's parting with the show was rather unpleasant (and Mike and Robbie could get into some rather intense fights), but couldn't they have dropped a line like 'Sorry, Robbie but Mike's got jury duty and Sally's broken her leg so they can't make it to your wedding but they'll visit it during the summer [when the show's not being depicted]'.

Yeah, they expected the viewers to have amnesia re Bub and Mike but they were too memorable for that to happen!

I've watched almost all of the early episodes this go-round on MeTV. Wouldn't you know it, the one day I miss is William Frawley's last episode. I've looked everywhere on line to find it, even just his last scene, but to no avail. Was it an emotional parting, or just a regular scene?

I've watched almost all of the early episodes this go-round on MeTV. Wouldn't you know it, the one day I miss is William Frawley's last episode. I've looked everywhere on line to find it, even just his last scene, but to no avail. Was it an emotional parting, or just a regular scene?

Try this link below. He was only on for less than 3 minutes.

https://www.solie.org/alibrary/My3Sons_517AWomansWork.html

They should have handled his send off in a better way, but that was pretty typical of 60s sitcoms. Never being mentioned again is another.

They should have handled his send off in a better way, but that was pretty typical of 60s sitcoms. Never being mentioned again is another.

Agreed! While Barry Livingston would claim in his autobio that the show had a lengthy exit arc for Mr. Frawley, in actuality, Bub simply got notice that his ancient Aunt Katy in Ireland was celebrating her 104th birthday and accepted her family's invite to help her celebrate. Despite the fact that the entire Douglas family HAD visited her the previous seasons before ,none of them joined him on the trip. So, he simply told everyone he was going to the party, said goodbye and was then seen climbing steps up to an airplane- and that was IT! It wouldn't be until the next episode when Uncle Charley (his brother) arrived but when they extended the invite for Uncle Charley to move in, it seemed clear that they knew Bub was NOT returning and had no problem with Uncle Charley moving all his belongings into Bub's room that he'd used just weeks earlier. From that point on there was no mention whatsoever of Bub- not even when Mike married Sally and the two left the show at the start of the next season (despite both of them being Bub's faves) nor when Robbie and Katie had their triplets which would have made Bub a great-grandfather!

I missed the first episode Charley arrives. Maybe next go around (if there is one).

I had always assumed Bub died long before Robbie had triplets (that would be an excuse to not mention him).

It was the 60s. They didn’t like to get into things like death on family shows. Bea Benaderet, the star of “Petticoat Junction”, passed away, and they never said that her character died. And she was the star of the show! She just “went out of town” and was pretty much never mentioned again. Weird.

It was the 60s. They didn’t like to get into things like death on family shows. Bea Benaderet, the star of “Petticoat Junction”, passed away, and they never said that her character died. And she was the star of the show! She just “went out of town” and was pretty much never mentioned again. Weird.

As far as we know - as there is no confirmation either way - Bub is still alive when the series ends.

Duplicate post.

I'm glad to hear Bub is still alive, maybe he'll finally come back from Ireland and sing us a couple songs!

At least Bub didn't die in the middle of a Hollywood street in the company of his male nurse.

Bub was spotted a few months ago at a New York Yankees baseball game with his good friend Fred Mertz. They both looked good considering they were born in the 1880s...!

133 year old Bub about Fred Macmurray's death in 1991: "He choose... poorly".

Bub was spotted a few months ago at a New York Yankees baseball game with his good friend Fred Mertz. They both looked good considering they were born in the 1880s...!

They were both in awe of the stadium lights.

Right, for a couple of 140-year-olds, they didn't look bad

This just in, Bub spotted in the bleachers. He's back from Ireland and kickin'. Something in the air in Ireland apparently, it worked for Bub.
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/b2/a8/30/b2a8307aa7cbe9c8dab704a04995869d--william-frawley-june-haver.jpg

Bub's even singing again, hear him in this Episode 16 and also on Episode 34!

https://anchor.fm/your-humble-host/episodes/Episode-16-Sounds-Like-Radio-with-a-special-song-from-Fred-Mertz-himself--Sinatra-gets-1-in-too--Great-Gildersleeve-31048-all-with-Your-Humble-Host-ejj7j1

by the mid seventies, Bub was probably sharing hot tea and English muffins with Chuck Cunningham in that strange dimensional vortex they were both sent to.

in summer 1990, Bub probably met the hairdresser who turned Chrissy Seaver from a blonde toddler to a redhead Shirley Temple wannabe :)