# Fred Mertz > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fred_Mertz > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fred_Mertz.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Mertz > Source revision: 1344783046 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Fictional character This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Fred Mertz" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message) **Fred Hobart Mertz**, played by [William Frawley](/source/William_Frawley), is a fictional character in the 1950s American [sitcom](/source/Situation_comedy) *[I Love Lucy](/source/I_Love_Lucy)*.[1][2] He is an aging, grumpy man who is Lucy's downstairs neighbor.[1] Frawley was cast in the role at the age of 64.[2] ## Character Fred was born and raised on a farm in the Midwest; in one episode, Ethel says that Fred's mother comes to visit once a year from Indiana. Fred is of Irish descent and has at least one brother. He toured the country in vaudeville before retiring to New York City. He is a [World War I](/source/World_War_I) veteran and is married to [Ethel](/source/Ethel_Mertz) ([Vivian Vance](/source/Vivian_Vance)), and they often make fun of each other. Their wedding anniversary is May 3. Ethel often calls Fred a "fat old goat", and in return, Fred calls Ethel the "bottomless pit" due to her voracious appetite. Having been "wiped out" in the [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression), he is a penny pincher and gives Ethel very little money. Nevertheless, Fred always has the money when an investment opportunity comes along (e.g., diner purchase, oil stocks). As a young man, Fred was in [vaudeville](/source/Vaudeville) with his friend Barney Kurtz, as the duo of "Mertz and Kurtz", known for "tap dancing, soft shoe and smart quips". Later, Fred continued in vaudeville with his wife, the former Ethel Potter. It is mentioned that he was once a [Golden Gloves](/source/Golden_Gloves) boxer, and Fred wears a sweater from Golden Gloves 1909 in one episode. Eventually, Fred and Ethel retired from show business and bought a [brownstone](/source/Brownstone) apartment building in New York City. In the early 1940s, Lucy and Ricky moved into the brownstone, and Fred, Ethel, [Lucy](/source/Lucy_and_Ricky_Ricardo), and Ricky quickly develop their friendship (the date of the Ricardos' tenancy changed during the duration of the series)[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*], with Fred and Ricky becoming best friends, and Lucy and Ethel doing the same. Despite being retired from show business, Fred and Ethel guest on Ricky's show, if asked. When Ricky does something to upset Lucy, she plots revenge and drags Ethel into her plan, often against her will. Ethel often tells Fred, who tells Ricky, and the two come up with their own plan to get even with their wives. Occasionally, it is Ethel who is away and Fred who is dragged into Lucy's scheme. Usually, Fred expresses his exasperation with a phrase: "Oh, for corn's sake." The Fred Mertz character, the actor who portrayed him (William Frawley), and some of their costumes are memorialized in the [Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center](/source/Lucille_Ball-Desi_Arnaz_Center) in [Jamestown, New York](/source/Jamestown%2C_New_York) ([Lucille Ball](/source/Lucille_Ball)'s real-life hometown). ## Popular references Fred was referenced in "[The Apartment](/source/The_Apartment_(Seinfeld))", a Season 2 episode of *[Seinfeld](/source/Seinfeld)*, when [Jerry Seinfeld](/source/Jerry_Seinfeld_(character)) felt insecure about a loud neighbor living above him. Fred and Ethel is referenced in "West Wing (S2, E11, The Leadership Breakfast)" by CJ at 35:29 when she calls Sam and Josh as 'Fred & Ethel'. Fred was referenced in episode 10 of *[Mission Hill](/source/Mission_Hill_(TV_series))* when Andy, Jim and Posey visit a club called "I Murdered Fred Mertz". ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_1-1) Smith, Ronald L. (1993). [*Comic support: Second bananas in the movies*](https://archive.org/details/comicsupportseco0000smit/page/96/mode/2up?q=%22fred+hobart+Mertz%22). Carol Pub. Group. pp. 96–97. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0806513993](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0806513993). 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_2-1) Carey, Drew (October 1, 2001). ["I Love William Frawley"](https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=5405171&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site). *Electronic Media*. Retrieved March 21, 2026 – via [EBSCOhost](/source/EBSCOhost). v t e I Love Lucy Characters Lucy and Ricky Ricardo Ricky Ricardo Jr. Fred Mertz Ethel Mertz Episodes "The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub" "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" "Lucy Goes to the Hospital" "Lucy and Superman" Spin-offs I Love Lucy (film) The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour episodes Related My Favorite Husband The Lucy Show episodes Theodore J. Mooney Here's Lucy episodes Life with Lucy "Ricky" Lucy in London Statues Celoron, New York Palm Springs, California Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum & Center for Comedy Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter Lucy (2003 film) Being the Ricardos (2021 film) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fred Mertz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Mertz) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Mertz?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.