After a busy career in vaudeville, Frawley found roles on the Broadway stage in such shows “Bye, Bye Bonnie” (1927), “Here's Howe!” (1928), “She's My Baby” (1928) and "Sons o' Guns” (1930).
William married Edna Louise Broedt in 1914, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1927. That was his only marriage.
Frawley was forced to retire in 1965 when producers of My Three Sons found his poor health made him uninsurable.
Frawley's love for baseball and his chosen profession blended quite well as he appeared in many baseball-themed movies. Among them: "Alibi Ike" (1935), "It Happened In Flatbush" (1942), "The Babe Ruth Story" (1948), "Kill the Umpire" (1950), "Rhubarb" (1951), and "Safe At Home!" (1962).
William was a great fan of baseball and the New York Yankees. He had a clause put in his contract when he signed on to do I Love Lucy stating that if the New York Yankees won the play offs, he was to be given time off to attend the World Series. Seven out of nine seasons the show was on the air he took off in October to attend the World Series.
Biographies report that Frawley and Vivian Vance, his TV wife on I Love Lucy, disliked each other intensely. The relationship may have helped their performances, as their characters continually hurled insults at one another.
By 1951 Frawley's alcoholism and disagreeable personality kept most producers from hiring him. Desi Arnaz took a chance, and gave him the role of Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy. Arnaz made it clear that if Frawley showed up at work drunk more than once he would be fired and blacklisted in the entertainment industry. Frawley kept to that standard as long as the show was on the air and Arnaz became one of his closest friends.
Frawley's first job was with the Union Pacific Railroad as a stenographer.
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