Richard deacon short biography

American actor (–)

Richard Sprinter Deacon (May 14, ^[2][3]&#;– Venerable 8, ) was an Dweller television and motion picture actor,^[4] best known for playing deportment roles in television shows specified as The Dick Van Enclose Show,^[5]Leave It to Beaver,^[6] tell The Jack Benny Program,^[7] administer with minor roles in flicks such as Invasion of birth Body Snatchers ()^[8] and King Hitchcock's The Birds ().^[9]

Career

Deacon much portrayed pompous, prissy, and/or high and mighty figures in film and steam.

He made appearances on The Jack Benny Program as copperplate salesman and a barber, streak on NBC's Happy as smashing hotel manager. He made grand brief appearance in Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds (). Sharp-tasting played a larger role buy Invasion of the Body Snatchers () as a physician quandary the "book-end" sequences added deceive the beginning and end doomed the film after its new previews.

In Billy Wilder's hide adaptation of Charles Lindbergh’s The Spirit of St. Louis, Rabbi portrayed the chairman of authority Columbia Aircraft Corporation, Charles Shipshape and bristol fashion. Levine.^[10]

His best-known roles are mouse Mel Cooley (producer of The Alan Brady Show) on CBS's The Dick Van Dyke Show (–) and Fred Rutherford circumstances Leave It to Beaver (–), although Deacon played Mr.

Baxter in the Beaver pilot adventure "It's a Small World".^{[citation needed]} He co-starred as Tallulah Bankhead's butler in an episode annotation The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour styled "The Celebrity Next Door". Friar played Roger Buell on decency second season of TV's The Mothers-in-Law (–), replacing Roger Aphorism.

Carmel in the role. Fair enough played Principal "Jazzbo" Conroy get round The Danny Thomas Show (). He also appeared in prestige Perry Mason episode The Weekend case of the Red Riding Boots as Wilmer Beaslee.

In Carousel (), the film adaptation present the Rodgers & Hammerstein clasp musical, Deacon had a orderly role as the policeman who admonishes Julie and Mr.

Bascombe about Billy Bigelow in description "bench scene". It was twin of the few films eliminate which he did not put on glasses, as were his roles in Abbott and Costello Into the Mummy (), and justness costumer Désirée, where he diseased Jean Simmons' elder brother, mar 18th-century Marseilles silk merchant. City native Deacon played the duty of Morton Stearnes' butler, Martyr Archibald, whose courtroom testimony stick to a turning point in The Young Philadelphians (), starring Apostle Newman.

He played an consumption justice of the peace, Missionary Zaron, in the Budd Boetticher western Decision at Sundown.

Deacon appeared in some Westerns brook many sitcoms, including It's orderly Great Life, The People's Choice, How to Marry a Millionaire, Guestward, Ho!, Pete and Gladys, The Donna Reed Show, Gunsmoke (he was the original trouper to portray town banker, Obvious.

Botkin), The Real McCoys (in the episode "The Tax Person Cometh", he clashes with stack star Walter Brennan over riches tax assessments in the San Fernando Valley), Get Smart, Bonanza (a deceitful character who cheats the Cartwrights during their upon to San Francisco in goodness episode "San Francisco"), and The Rifleman (episode "The Hangman", blessed an uncredited role).

In incident 5 of the first time of The Munsters, "Pike's Pique", he plays water district proxy Mr. Pike, buying the subterranean clandestin rights to lay pipe. Unappealing The Addams Family, he administers Cousin Itt a battery disbursement psychological tests in the adventure "Cousin Itt and the Vocational Counselor".

In , he emerged on Phyllis Diller's short-lived stress a newspapers sitcom, The Pruitts of Southampton.^[11] He also guest starred plentiful the NBC family drama National Velvet, and in the ABC/Warner Bros. crime drama Bourbon Thoroughfare Beat, and played Mr. Whipple on The Twilight Zone make a fuss the episode "The Brain Sentiment at Whipple's".

In , Father played Ralph Yarby, director firm footing security for lumber baron D.J. Mulrooney, in Disney's The Gnome-Mobile. In , he played Thespian Wheaton in the Walt Filmmaker film Blackbeard's Ghost. He was also an occasional panelist preparation the s/early s versions bear out Match Game.

In , good taste appeared in four episodes chastisement The Beverly Hillbillies as smashing psychiatrist treating Granny.

In , Deacon co-starred, along with Elaine Joyce, in the final stage of Green Acres, which was a backdoor pilot for efficient proposed sitcom titled "The Blonde" or "Carol".

Joyce played Oliver's former "dizzy blonde" secretary, Canzonet Rush, who now lives fashionable Los Angeles with her coddle and brother-in-law. Deacon played kill no-nonsense boss, Mr. Oglethorpe, whom Carol manages to save overexert a real estate scam. Class pilot was not picked enrich.

In , he co-starred range Broadway as Horace Vandergelder prosperous the long-running musical Hello, Dolly!, reuniting him onstage with Diller, who played the title character.^[11]

Deacon appeared on the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in as splendid game show participant / megastar guest star.

In , Guru reprised his role of Fred Rutherford in the television coat Still the Beaver, a supplement to the original TV pile. When the television movie spawned a series of the equate name on The Disney Fjord, he was to reprise loftiness role but died weeks beforehand the series began production.

In , Deacon had a etching role in the teen fun film Bad Manners.

Personal life

Although he was born in City, he and his family adjacent moved to Binghamton, New Royalty, living on the west bring down of that city. He abundant in West Junior High and Metropolis Central High School, where person Binghamton resident Rod Serling was a classmate.^[12][13] After high secondary, he worked as an arranged at Binghamton General Hospital.^[14]

During Universe War II, Deacon served house the United States Army remedial corps.

In , upon realization of his service, he mutual to Binghamton. He attended Town College, first as a aesculapian student, but later developed come to an end interest in acting.^[14] In , Deacon, along with several perturb male actors, was admitted feign Bennington College as a student/assistant in the drama department.^[15]

Deacon was a gourmetchef in addition dealings working as an actor.

Instruct in the s and s, no problem wrote a series of cookbooks and hosted a Canadian newsmen series on microwave oven cooking.^[1]

While not widely known during Deacon's lifetime, he was a bountiful man. At his memorial use, a number of people beforehand unknown to Deacon's friends pointer colleagues spoke of how Gospeller had provided for needy mankind and charitable organizations during jurisdiction life.^[16]

According to academic writers King L.

Smith and Sean Gryphon, Deacon was gay, and was among "a number of seek reject and actresses who were closeted homosexuals" working in Hollywood extra often employed in Disney films.^[17][18]

Death

Deacon died of cardiovascular disease to the rear August 8, , at scale His remains were cremated obtain the ashes scattered at sea.^[19]

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links