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Richard Deacon (actor)

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Richard Deacon
Deacon as Mel Cooley on The Dick Van Dyke Show
Born
Richard Lewis Deacon

(1922-05-14)May 14, 1922
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedAugust 8, 1984(1984-08-08) (aged 62)[1]
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma materIthaca College
Bennington College
OccupationActor
Years active1953–1984
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Parents
  • Joseph Gill Deacon (father)
  • Ethel Laughlin Deacon (mother)

Richard Lewis Deacon (May 14, 1922[2][3] – August 8, 1984) was an American television and motion picture actor,[4] best known for playing supporting roles in television shows such as The Dick Van Dyke Show,[5] Leave It to Beaver,[6] and The Jack Benny Program,[7] along with minor roles in films such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)[8] and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963).[9]

Career

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Deacon often portrayed pompous, prissy, and/or imperious figures in film and television. He made appearances on The Jack Benny Program as a salesman and a barber, and on NBC's Happy as a hotel manager. He made a brief appearance in Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds (1963). He played a larger role in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) as a physician in the "book-end" sequences added to the beginning and end of the film after its original previews.

In Billy Wilder's 1957 film adaptation of Charles Lindbergh’s The Spirit of St. Louis, Deacon portrayed the chairman of the Columbia Aircraft Corporation, Charles A. Levine.[10]

His best-known roles are milksop Mel Cooley (producer of The Alan Brady Show) on CBS's The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966) and Fred Rutherford on Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963), although Deacon played Mr. Baxter in the 1957 Beaver pilot episode "It's a Small World".[citation needed] He co-starred as Tallulah Bankhead's butler in an episode of The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour called "The Celebrity Next Door". Deacon played Roger Buell on the second season of TV's The Mothers-in-Law (1967–1969), replacing Roger C. Carmel in the role. He played Principal "Jazzbo" Conroy in The Danny Thomas Show (1958). He also appeared in the 1960 Perry Mason episode The Case of the Red Riding Boots as Wilmer Beaslee.

In Carousel (1956), the film adaptation of the Rodgers & Hammerstein stage musical, Deacon had a bit role as the policeman who admonishes Julie and Mr. Bascombe about Billy Bigelow in the "bench scene". It was one of the few films in which he did not wear glasses, as were his roles in Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955), and the 1954 costumer Désirée, where he played Jean Simmons' elder brother, an 18th-century Marseilles silk merchant. Philadelphia native Deacon played the role of Morton Stearnes' butler, George Archibald, whose courtroom testimony is a turning point in The Young Philadelphians (1959), starring Paul Newman. He played an imbibing justice of the peace, Reverend Zaron, in the 1957 Budd Boetticher western Decision at Sundown.

Deacon appeared in some Westerns and many sitcoms, including It's a 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 actor to portray town banker, Mr. Botkin), The Real McCoys (in the episode "The Tax Man Cometh", he clashes with series star Walter Brennan over property tax assessments in the San Fernando Valley), Get Smart, Bonanza (a deceitful character who cheats the Cartwrights during their visit to San Francisco in the episode "San Francisco"), and The Rifleman (episode "The Hangman", in an uncredited role). In episode 5 of the first season of The Munsters, "Pike's Pique", he plays water district commissioner Mr. Pike, buying the underground rights to lay pipe. In The Addams Family, he administers Cousin Itt a battery of psychological tests in the episode "Cousin Itt and the Vocational Counselor". In 1966, he appeared on Phyllis Diller's short-lived television sitcom, The Pruitts of Southampton.[11] He also guest starred in the NBC family drama National Velvet, and in the ABC/Warner Bros. crime drama Bourbon Street Beat, and played Mr. Whipple on The Twilight Zone in the 1964 episode "The Brain Center at Whipple's". In 1967, Deacon played Ralph Yarby, director of security for lumber baron D.J. Mulrooney, in Disney's The Gnome-Mobile. In 1968, he played Dean Wheaton in the Walt Disney film Blackbeard's Ghost. He was also an occasional panelist in the 1970s/early 1980s versions of Match Game. In 1970, he appeared in four episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies as a psychiatrist treating Granny.

In 1971, Deacon co-starred, along with Elaine Joyce, in the final episode of Green Acres, which was a backdoor pilot for a proposed sitcom titled "The Blonde" or "Carol". Joyce played Oliver's former "dizzy blonde" secretary, Carol Rush, who now lives in Los Angeles with her sister and brother-in-law. Deacon played her no-nonsense boss, Mr. Oglethorpe, whom Carol manages to save from a real estate scam. The pilot was not picked up.

In 1969, he co-starred on Broadway as Horace Vandergelder in 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 1983 as a game show participant / celebrity guest star.

In 1983, Deacon reprised his role of Fred Rutherford in the television movie Still the Beaver, a sequel to the original TV series. When the television movie spawned a series of the same name on The Disney Channel, he was to reprise the role but died weeks before the series began production.

In 1984, Deacon had a cameo role in the teen comedy film Bad Manners.

Personal life

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Although he was born in Philadelphia, he and his family later moved to Binghamton, New York, living on the west side of that city. He attended West Junior High and Binghamton Central High School, where he befriended fellow Binghamton resident Rod Serling.[12][13] After high school, he worked as an orderly at Binghamton General Hospital.[14]

During World War II, Deacon served in the United States Army medical corps. In 1946, upon completion of his service, he returned to Binghamton. He attended Ithaca College, first as a medical student, but later developed an interest in acting.[14] In 1949, Deacon, along with several other male actors, was admitted to Bennington College as a student/assistant in the drama department.[15]

Deacon was a gourmet chef in addition to working as an actor. In the 1970s and 1980s, he wrote a series of cookbooks and hosted a Canadian television series on microwave oven cooking.[1]

While not widely known during Deacon's lifetime, he was a charitable man. At his memorial service, a number of people previously unknown to Deacon's friends and colleagues spoke of how Deacon had provided for needy people and charitable organizations during his life.[16]

According to academic writers David L. Smith and Sean Griffin, Deacon was gay, and was among "a number of actors and actresses who were closeted homosexuals" working in Hollywood and often employed in Disney films.[17][18]

Death

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Deacon died of cardiovascular disease on August 8, 1984, at age 62. His remains were cremated and the ashes scattered at sea.[19]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1953 Invaders from Mars MP Uncredited
1954 Them! Bald Reporter Uncredited
Shield for Murder The Professor Uncredited
Private Hell 36 Mr. Mace Uncredited
Rogue Cop Stacey Uncredited
Désirée Etienne Clary Uncredited
Cry Vengeance Shiny Sam Uncredited
1955 Prince of Players Theater Manager Uncredited
Blackboard Jungle Mr. Stanley Uncredited
This Island Earth Pilot Uncredited
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy Semu
Lay That Rifle Down Glover Speckleton
My Sister Eileen Baker's Receptionist Uncredited
Good Morning, Miss Dove Mr. Spivvy Uncredited
1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers Dr. Harvey Bassett Uncredited
Carousel First Policeman Uncredited
Hot Blood Mr. Swift Uncredited
The Kettles in the Ozarks Big Trout Uncredited
When Gangland Strikes Dixon Brackett Uncredited
The Scarlet Hour Mr. Elman Uncredited
The Proud Ones Barber Uncredited
Francis in the Haunted House Jason
The Solid Gold Cadillac Williams Uncredited
The Power and the Prize Howard Carruthers
Spring Reunion Sidney Uncredited
1957 Affair in Reno H.L. Denham
The Spirit of St. Louis Charles Levine Uncredited
Designing Woman Larry Musso Uncredited
My Man Godfrey Farnsworth
Decision at Sundown Rev. Zaron
Kiss Them for Me Bill Hotchkiss Uncredited
1958 The High Cost of Loving Obstetrician Uncredited
A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed Milburn Schroeder
The Last Hurrah Graves Uncredited
1959 The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker Sheriff
The Young Philadelphians George Archibald
It Started with a Kiss Capt. Porter Uncredited
The Man Who Understood Women Rossi Uncredited
A Summer Place Pawnbroker Uncredited
-30- Chapman
1960 North to Alaska Angus Uncredited
1961 All in a Night's Work Fur Salesman Uncredited
Everything's Ducky Dr. Deckham
Lover Come Back Dr. Melnick Uncredited
1962 That Touch of Mink Mr. Miller Uncredited
1963 Critic's Choice Harvey Rittenhouse
The Birds Mitch's Neighbor
Who's Minding the Store? Tie Salesman
The Raiders Commissioner Mailer
1964 The Patsy Sy Devore
1965 John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! Sec. of Defense Charles Maginot
Billie Principal Wilson
That Darn Cat! Drive-in Manager
1966 Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title Mr. Travis
Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. Narrator Uncredited; voice only
1967 Enter Laughing Pike
The Gnome-Mobile Ralph Yarby
The King's Pirate Swaine
1968 Blackbeard's Ghost Dean Roland Wheaton
The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band Charlie Wrenn
Lady in Cement Arnie Sherwin
1974 The Man from Clover Grove Charlie Strange
1978 Rabbit Test Newscaster
Piranha Earl Lyon
1980 The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood Joseph Rottman
1984 Bad Manners Ticket Salesman

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1954 Four Star Playhouse Dr. Constanti Episode: "The Long Count"
The Public Defender Truant Officer Episode: "Step Child"
It's a Great Life Clerk #1 Episode: "The Boys Redecorate the Attic"
Topper Judge Episode: "Preparations for Europe"
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show The First Man Episode: "Gracie Gives a Baby Shower for Virginia Beasley"
1955 The Man Behind the Badge Rev. Edgefield Episode: "The Case of the Tattooed Man"
It's a Great Life (TV series) Dr. Randall Episode: "The Hospital"
Stage 7 Episode: "The Legacy"
Damon Runyon Theater Episode: "Lonely Heart"
Screen Directors Playhouse Hotel Clerk Uncredited
Episode: "Life of Vernon Hathaway"
The Ford Television Theatre Peter O'Toole Episode: "Hanrahan"
Slim Bailey Episode: "A Smattering of Bliss"
The Millionaire Jeweler Episode: "The Luke Fortune Story"
The Great Gildersleeve Matthew Walker Episode: "Gildy Goes Diving"
Schlitz Playhouse Dr. Thomas Gregory Episode: "On the Nose"
1955–56 The People's Choice Dr. Sidney Baxter Episode: "How Sock Met Mandy"
Episode: "Sock, the Marriage Broker"
1956 Telephone Time Episode: "Captain from Kopenick"
Schlitz Playhouse Episode: "Web of Circumstance"
It's a Great Life Dr. Irwin Episode: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"
Dr. Brannigan Episode: "Operation for Earl"
Private Secretary Waiter Uncredited
Episode: "Old Dogs, New Tricks"
December Bride James Episode: "Sunken Den"
Bud Hodges Episode: "Lily the Matchmaker"
Crossroads Episode: "The Rabbi Davis Story"
Private Secretary Doorman Episode: "Elusive"
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show Mr. Dayton Episode: "The Triple Surprise Party"
The Charles Farrell Show Sherman Hall Main cast; 12 episodes
The Danny Thomas Show John Savich Episode: "Liz's Boyfriend"
1957 Gunsmoke Botkin Episode: "Pucket's New Year"
The Bob Cummings Show District Attorney Episode: "Eleven Angry Women"
The Millionaire Gibson Episode: "The Professor Amberson Adams Story"
Studio 57 Mr. Baxter Episode: "It's a Small World"
The Gale Storm Show Artist Uncredited
Episode: "The Partisan Touch"
Navy Log Al Carder Episode: "Goal... Match Two"
The 20th Century Fox Hour Paul Erickson Episode: "The Great American Hoax"
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour Winslow Episode: "The Celebrity Next Door"
Navy Log Capt. Twohig Episode: "The Big White Albatross"
1957–58 Date with the Angels Roger Finley Recurring role; 6 episodes
1957–63 Leave It to Beaver Fred Rutherford Recurring role; 23 episodes
1958 The Danny Thomas Show Principal Conroy Episode: "Good Old Days"
The People's Choice Homer Episode: "Missing Moolah"
Annette Dr. Archie McCloud Main role; 13 episodes
Tales of Wells Fargo Sam Potter Episode: "The Gambler"
The Silent Service Wheeler B. Lipes Episode: "Operation Seadragon"
The Ed Wynn Show Conway Episode: "Lover's Lone"
How to Marry a Millionaire Kranz Episode: "Loco Goes to Night School"
1959 Bachelor Father Mr. Haris Episode: "Bentley's Economy Wave"
The Donna Reed Show Mr. Johnson Episode: "It's the Principle of the Thing"
The Thin Man Mr. Peabody Episode: "Black Wind and Lightning"
Colonel Flack Professor Brookhouse Episode: "The Treasure Hunt"
Evans Episode: "West of the Weirdos"
The Real McCoys Mr. Wells Episode: "The Tax Man Cometh"
Zorro Father Ignacio Uncredited
Episode: "Senor China Boy"
Maverick (TV series) Floyd Gimbel Episode: "The Cats of Paradise"
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Mr. Crawford Episode: "Happy Anniversary"
The Gale Storm Show Zonko Episode: "Come Back Little Beatnik"
Shotgun Slade Episode: "The Safe Crackers"
1960 Alcoa Theatre Michael Gilmore Episode: "The Silent Kill"
The Untouchables Bill Skidmore Episode: "The Unhired Assassin: Part 1"
Bourbon Street Beat Philipe Duvere Episode: "Neon Nightmare"
Bonanza Captain Shark Episode: "San Francisco"
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis Cecil Ellingboe Episode: "That's Show Biz"
The Rifleman Col. Jebediah Sims Uncredited
Episode: "The Hangman"
M Squad Raleigh King Episode: "Fire in the Sky"
Happy Hotel Manager Episode: "Help Wanted"
My Three Sons Elderly Man Episode: "Adjust or Bust"
The Donna Reed Show Mr. Conroy Episode: "Higher Learning"
The Danny Thomas Show Dr. Stanley Patman Episode: "Danny and the Dentist"
77 Sunset Strip Wallace Friend Episode: "The Duncan Shrine"
Perry Mason Wilmer Beaslee Episode: "The Case of the Red Riding Boots"
1961 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Desk Clerk Episode: "The Chaperones"
Guestward, Ho! Mr. Andrews Episode: "Too Many Cooks"
The Danny Thomas Show Assistant Manager Episode: "Everything Happens to Me"
National Velvet Forsythe Episode: "The Riding Mistress"
The Real McCoys Mr. Laidlaw Episode: "Money in the Bank"
Pete and Gladys Foster Episode: "Ring-a-Ding-Ding"
Mister Ed Dr. Gordon Episode: "Psychoanalyst Show"
Hawaiian Eye Funeral Director Episode: "Two for the Money"
The Donna Reed Show Mr. Heflin Episode: "The Electrical Storm"
1961–66 The Dick Van Dyke Show Mel Cooley Regular role; 82 episodes
1962 87th Precinct Martin Episode: "The Pigeon"
Pete and Gladys Busby Episode: "The Prize"
Follow the Sun Lester Markel Episode: "The Inhuman Equation"
The Real McCoys Mr. Milton Episode: "In Grampa We Trust"
The Dick Powell Theatre John Fiske Episode: "The Boston Terrier"
Wagon Train Mayor Hadden Episode: "The Madame Sagittarius Story"
McKeever and the Colonel Capt. Stadish Episode: "The Bugle Sounds"
The Donna Reed Show Mr. Moorhead Episode: "The Baby Buggy"
1963 Mister Ed Dr. Griffith Episode: "The Price of Apples"
Episode: "The Blessed Event"
My Favorite Martian James J. Jackson Episode: "Russians R in Season"
1964 Mr. Bentley Episode: "My Nephew the Artist"
The Twilight Zone Wallace V. Whipple Episode: "The Brain Center at Whipple's"
Mister Ed Dr. Stekel Episode: "Ed the Musician"
The Munsters Borden T. Pike Episode: "Pike's Pique"
1965 The Addams Family Mortimer Phelps Episode: "Cousin Itt and the Vocational Counselor"
1966 The Farmer's Daughter John Pilgrim Episode: "Have You Ever Thought of Building"
The Carol Channing Show Leon Thatcher Unsold pilot
1966–67 The Pruitts of Southampton Mr. Baldwin Recurring role; 6 episodes
1967 Rango Pennypacker Episode: "What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing Holding Up a Place Like This?"
The Danny Thomas Hour Witherspoon Episode: "Instant Money"
The Beverly Hillbillies Mr. Brubaker Episode: "A Plot for Granny"
I Dream of Jeannie Harley Z. Pool Episode: "Who Are You Calling a Genie?"
1968 The Jackie Gleason Show Dr. Henry Rankin Episode: "The Honeymooners: Sleepy Time Gal"
1968–69 The Mothers-In-Law Roger Buell Main role; 26 episodes
1969 The Good Guys Fogarty Episode: "The Eyes Have It"
Get Smart Doctor Uncredited
Episode: "And Baby Makes Four: Part 2"
Arsenic and Old Lace Mr. Benner Television film
Love, American Style Boyd Daniels Episode: "Love and the Phonies"
1970 The Beverly Hillbillies Dr. George Klinger Recurring role; 4 episodes
1971 Green Acres Mr. Oglethorpe Episode: "The Ex-Secretary"
Here's Lucy Harvey Hoople Episode: "Lucy and Carol Burnett"
Love, American Style Charlie Episode: "Love and the Fountain of Youth"
1972 Charles Furman Episode: "Love and the Oldly Weds"
Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law Resort Manager Episode: "The Color of Respect"
McMillan & Wife Peter Childs Episode: "The Face of Murder"
Here's Lucy Elmer Zellerbach Episode: "Lucy Sublets the Office"
1973 Night Gallery Man with Mallet Episode: "How to Cure the Common Vampire"
1975 McMillan & Wife Luther Dorfman Episode: "Love, Honor, and Swindle"
The Lost Saucer Mr. Kroog Episode: "My Fair Robot"
1976 Maude Col. Reikert Episode: "Tuckahoe Bicentennial"
1977 CHiPs Singleton Episode: "Career Day"
1978 Getting Married Wedding Director Television film
1979 What's Happening!! Mr. Bradford Episode: "A Present for Dee"
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo Sheriff Masters Episode: "Run for the Money: Part 3"
B.J. and the Bear Recurring role; 4 episodes
1980 Murder Can Hurt You Mr. Burnice Television film
1981 Trapper John, M.D. Rev. Perkins Episode: "A Family Affair"
No Man's Valley Panda Television film
1982 The Love Boat Dr. Yates Episode: "The Groupies/The Audition/Doc's Nephew"
1983 Alice R.J. Meyerson Episode: "The Grass Is Always Greener"
Trapper John, M.D. Fred Zisk Episode: "I Only Have Ice for You"
Still the Beaver Fred Rutherford Television film
1984 The Hoboken Chicken Emergency City Council Member Television film

References

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  1. ^ a b "Richard Deacon Dead at 62; A Comic Film and TV Actor". The New York Times. August 11, 1984. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  2. ^ Presbyterian Historical Society; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; U.s., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1907; Accession Number: Vault Bx 9211 .p49104 T32 V.4
  3. ^ National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for New York State, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147
  4. ^ Major, Jack. "Name dropping - RICHARD DEACON". Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  5. ^ Kulzick, Kate (June 19, 2013). "Greatest TV Pilots: The Dick Van Dyke Show's "The Sick Boy and the Sitter" remains an effective, entertaining opener". PopOptiq. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  6. ^ Kimball, Trevor (July 6, 2010). "Leave It to Beaver: The Cast Reunites to Remember the Classic TV Show". TV Series Finale. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  7. ^ Gitlin, Martin. "The Greatest Sitcoms of All Time". Scarecrow Press; 7 November 2013. ISBN 978-0-8108-8725-1. p. 125–.
  8. ^ "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers Cast List: Full Cast of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers Actors/Actresses". Ranker. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  9. ^ Powers, James (March 28, 2017). "'The Birds': THR's 1963 Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  10. ^ Lindbergh, Charles (December 9, 2003). The Spirit of St. Louis. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 72–76. ISBN 978-0743237055. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  11. ^ a b Diller, Phyllis; Buskin, Richard (2005). Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse: My Life in Comedy. New York: The Penguin Group. p. 211. ISBN 978-1585423965.
  12. ^ "High School Friend on Serling's 'Twilight'". Los Angeles Times. April 14, 1964. p. C11. ProQuest 168543480. Two high school friends meet in their first professional association when Richard Deacon appears in his first non-comic portrayal and his first starring role in Rod Serling's drama, 'The Brain at Whipple's' on 'Twilight Zone' in May. Deacon and Serling attended the same school in Binghamton, N.Y.
  13. ^ Handte, Jerry (August 10, 1984). "Deacon's teacher recalls 'stage-struck' boy". The Binghamton Evening Press. p. 9. ProQuest 2044421150. The 62-year-old Philadelphia native, who came to Binghamton as a boy, died of apparently natural causes, possibly after a heart attack, at his West Los Angeles home, a coroner's spokesman said. [...] He had visited his hometown last year, for the world premiere of the movie Twilight Zone, based on the hit television series created by the late Rod Serling, the TV writer from Binghamton. Deacon and Serling were classmates and friends at West Junior and the old Binghamton Central High School.
  14. ^ a b Smith, Gerald R. (June 4, 2016). "Binghamton's link to the Petries". Press & Sun Bulletin. p. 2A. ProQuest 2059699400. He was born in Philadelphia in 1921, but at the age of 10, his father, Joseph Deacon, obtained a job as a salesman for the Franklin Research Co. and moved the family to Binghamton. Richard and his brother Frederick Bruce Deacon grew up on the west side of the city of Binghamton at 121 Crary Ave. His home was only a few blocks from another famous Binghamtonian, Rod Serling, who lived on Bennett Avenue. Both boys would attend Binghamton High School. Richard was a few years ahead of Rod and would graduate in 1938. After high school, Richard wandered a bit looking for a new life. He got a job at Binghamton General Hospital working as an orderly because he thought he wanted to be a doctor. [...] World War II broke out, and because so many young working men joined the armed services, Richard tried to join the Navy. But they turned him down; instead, the recruiter sent him across the street to the Army because, as Richard said later, the Army would take anyone. [...] Richard served in the medical corps during the war. At one time, he was in charge of the laboratory services for a 5,000-bed hospital. After the war, Richard came back and attended Ithaca College to study medicine. It was at this time that he realized medicine was not his calling, and he tried acting.
  15. ^ "The Valuable Time of Maturity "Bennington College Seeking Site for Summer Theatre in Area; 10 or 12 Would Seek Triple Cities' Actors' Assistance; Directed at Ithaca; Five Are Assistants; Straw Hat for Triple Cities". Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin. April 12, 1949. p. 5. Retrieved August 15, 2023. "Mr. Deacon and the other four actors are assistants in the drama department and enrolled students at Bennington. [...] Robert Alvin, left, and Richard Deacon of Binghamton, a student at Bennington, discuss plans for establishing a summer theatre in Triple Cities area this year."
  16. ^ DVD Commentary with Dick Van Dyke and Carl Reiner on The Dick Van Dyke Show Season 1 episode "The Sleeping Brother", DVD.
  17. ^ Webb, Clifton; Smith, David L. (May 17, 2011). Sitting Pretty: The Life and Times of Clifton Webb. Jackson: Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 219. ISBN 978-1604739961. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  18. ^ Griffin, Sean (2000). Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: The Walt Disney Company from the Inside Out. New York: NYU Press. p. 99. ISBN 978-0814731239. Retrieved 3 April 2017. richard deacon gay.
  19. ^ "The manager and friends of Richard Deacon, the character..." United Press International. August 10, 1984. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
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