Who is Fred Mertz in I Love Lucy?

Show

I Love Lucy

Played by

William Frawley

First episode

“The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub”Season 1, Episode 1, aired October 15, 1951

Role

Main cast

Network

CBS

Occupation

Landlord and retired vaudeville performer

Show run

1951 to 1957

Also known as

Fred, Fred Hobart Mertz, Mr. Mertz

Fred Mertz owns the building, guards every nickel, and grumbles his way through the Ricardos' adventures. Played by veteran character actor William Frawley, he is the crusty heart of I Love Lucy's foursome.

On I Love Lucy, Fred Mertz's story runs through Ethel Mertz (Wife), Ricky Ricardo (Best Friend), and Lucy Ricardo (Tenant).

Other CBS sitcom characters from around the same time include Frank Burns (M*A*S*H) and Hawkeye Pierce (M*A*S*H).

Who is Fred Mertz?

Fred is a Midwestern farm boy and World War I veteran who spent years in vaudeville, first with a partner named Barney Kurtz and later with his wife, Ethel. The Depression wiped Fred out financially, but the Mertzes eventually retired from the stage and bought a brownstone apartment building in Manhattan, where Lucy and Ricky Ricardo become their tenants and closest friends.

Fred and Ricky become best pals, and Fred often joins Ricky's shows when the band needs an old pro. He is retired from the stage, but he still loves to perform and still remembers every soft-shoe routine.

Personality and comedy

Fred's defining trait is his cheapness. He hates spending money on anything, from building repairs to Ethel's birthday, although he somehow always has cash when an investment comes along. He is gruff, sarcastic, and quick to call Ethel names, and she gives the insults right back.

When the wives scheme against the husbands, Fred is Ricky's right-hand man in the counter-scheme. When Ethel is unavailable, he gets dragged into Lucy's plans himself, usually with a weary "Oh, for corn's sake." Under the crust, he is loyal and fond of the Ricardos.

Key storylines

Fred's marriage provides plenty of plots. In "Fred and Ethel Fight," Lucy's effort to patch up the Mertzes backfires on her own marriage, and in "Job Switching" Fred and Ricky learn that housework is much harder than it looks. Fred and Ethel also buy a diner with the Ricardos, a venture that ends with the couples splitting the restaurant down the middle.

In "Mertz and Kurtz," Fred's old vaudeville partner visits, and the gang works to help both men save face. Fred tags along on the trip to Hollywood and serves as the band's manager on the European tour, and in the final season he and Ethel move to Connecticut to help the Ricardos raise chickens, since Fred grew up on a farm.

Behind the scenes and legacy

William Frawley was 64 when he was cast, a veteran of vaudeville and nearly 100 films. CBS worried about his reputation for drinking, but Desi Arnaz championed him and wrote a sobriety requirement into his contract, and Frawley never let it affect his work. Arnaz became one of his few close friends.

Frawley was nominated for an Emmy five times for the role. He and Vivian Vance disliked each other off camera, but their bickering chemistry on screen made the Mertzes one of television's most memorable married couples.

Fred Mertz: frequently asked questions

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