fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Edward Harry Deezen (born March 6, 1957) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his roles as "nerd" characters in films including Grease, Grease 2, Midnight Madness, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, 1941, and WarGames. He has had larger starring roles in independent films such as Surf II, Mob Boss, Beverly Hills Vamp, and Teenage Exorcist.

Eddie Deezen
Deezen at Chiller Theatre Expo in Parsippany, New Jersey, in 2012
Born	Edward Harry Deezen (1957-03-06) March 6, 1957 (age 65) Cumberland, Maryland, U.S.
Occupation	Actor comedian
Years active	1976–2016
Spouse	Linda George ​ (m. 1984)​
Website	eddiedeezen.com

Deezen is also a prolific voice actor, whose more notable characters include Mandark in the Cartoon Network series Dexter's Laboratory, Snipes the Magpie in Rock-a-Doodle, Ned in Kim Possible, and the Know-It-All Kid in The Polar Express.

Early life

Edward Harry Deezen was born in Cumberland, Maryland, on March 6, 1957, the son of Irma and Robert Deezen. He was raised Jewish.[1] A class clown in his youth, Deezen aspired to become a stand-up comedian; he moved to Hollywood within days of graduating high school in order to pursue a comedy career.[2]

As a stand-up comedian, Deezen performed at The Comedy Store and appeared on an episode of The Gong Show in the mid-1970s, only to be gonged by singer-songwriter Paul Williams.[3] After a poorly-received act and having difficulty memorizing his routine, Deezen eventually decided to abandon stand-up and focus on acting.[3]

Career

Mainstream film

In 1977, Deezen landed his first role in the film Grease, playing nerdy student Eugene Felsnic.[4] During Grease's post-production period, Deezen was hired for another small role-playing a bully in the low-budget independent science fiction movie Laserblast. Despite being his second film, Laserblast marked Deezen's screen debut when it was released in March 1978, three months before the theatrical release of Grease.

Following the commercial success of Grease, Deezen was cast in a series of comedy films, including Robert Zemeckis' I Wanna Hold Your Hand and Steven Spielberg's epic comedy 1941. By 1979, Deezen was in such demand that he was frequently obliged to decline some roles as he was already working: two such notable instances included the characters of Eaglebauer in Rock 'n' Roll High School and Spaz in Meatballs, both of which he turned down to appear in 1941.[5][4] Throughout the early 1980s, Deezen appeared in several high-profile studio releases, including Midnight Madness (1980), Zapped! (1982) and WarGames (1983), as well as reprising the role of Eugene Felsnic in Grease 2 (1982), one of only seven actors from the original Grease to return for the sequel.

In 1984, Deezen was cast in a major television role, playing the role of superintendent Eddie on the first season of the NBC sitcom Punky Brewster. After filming eight episodes, however, Deezen quit due to his discomfort while performing for a live audience and continuing difficulty in remembering his lines.[4]

Independent film

After WarGames wrapped, Deezen worked exclusively in independent film for the remainder of the 1980s, starting with his first starring role in the 1984 cult comedy Surf II: The End of the Trilogy, where he played the movie's antagonist, mad scientist Menlo Schwartzer.

Deezen worked steadily throughout the remainder of the 1980s and early 1990s, continuing to play stereotypical "nerds" in both bit parts and major roles, including The Whoopee Boys (1986), the ensemble comedy Million Dollar Mystery (1987), Critters 2: The Main Course (1988), and The Silence of the Hams (1994). He worked several times alongside comedian Tim Conway, most notably appearing in two of his Dorf videos, and struck up a partnership with low-budget filmmaker and producer Fred Olen Ray, who gave Deezen leading roles with the films Beverly Hills Vamp (1988), Mob Boss (1990), and Teenage Exorcist (1991).

Following his cameo appearance as a security guard in the 1996 Leslie Nielsen spoof Spy Hard, Deezen wouldn't appear in a live-action film for another 17 years. In a July 2009 interview, Deezen talked about his struggle maintaining an acting career, saying "The truth is, it is extremely tough to sustain a career in Hollywood. It is tough enough ever getting work, just the sheer odds. I loved John [Badham] and Matthew [Broderick] and it would definitely be my pleasure to work with them again. Believe me, if the right role was there and available, I'd be there in a second".[6]

Throughout the 2010s, Deezen appeared in several short films, including as himself in 2012's I Love You, Eddie Deezen, a nervous airline passenger in 2015's Flight Fright and opposite Larry Thomas and Caryn Richman in the short comedy The Love Suckers, which screened at the 2017 New York City International Film Festival.[7] Deezen returned to live-action movies in Fred Olen Ray's 2013 television film All I Want for Christmas in a cameo as a supposed A-list action movie star being interviewed on a daytime talk show.

Voice acting

In the mid-1980s, Deezen transitioned into voice acting, a change of pace he favored due to better pay and not needing to memorize extensive dialogue.[3] His early voice roles included Donnie Dodo in Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985), and Snipes the Magpie in Don Bluth's 1991 film Rock-a-Doodle. According to a 2011 interview, Deezen unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of the title character in Robert Zemeckis's Who Framed Roger Rabbit, losing out to comedian Charles Fleischer.[8] He was also considered for the role of Judge Doom in the film along with several other actors that were considered but lost the role to Christopher Lloyd.[9]

Deezen eventually found full-time voice work on television in the mid-1990s, playing recurring characters on the animated series Grimmy, Duckman, Kim Possible and What's New, Scooby-Doo?, as well as guest spots on many others, including Johnny Bravo, Recess, and Darkwing Duck. His best-known voice-over character, however, is that of Mandark, the nemesis of the eponymous Dexter on Cartoon Network's Dexter's Laboratory, a role he played for the series' entire run from 1996 to 2003. Deezen also voiced the character on the TV special Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip and the video games Cartoon Network Racing and FusionFall.

In 2004, Deezen supplied voice and motion capture performance for Robert Zemeckis' holiday film The Polar Express, playing the role of the nerdy "Know-It-All". He reprised this role for the subsequent video game.

Deezen regularly voice acts in radio and television commercials. In the late 1990s, he provided the voice of Pop (of Snap, Crackle and Pop) in commercials for Rice Krispies cereal,[4] and Nacho, the mascot for Taco Bell's kid's meals commercials, alongside Rob Paulsen as Dog. In 2011, Deezen was under consideration for succeeding Gilbert Gottfried as the voice of the Aflac Duck but did not win the role.[10]

Personal life

Deezen lives in Cumberland, Maryland.[11] He is a fan of The Beatles, and was interviewed as himself for the unreleased 2005 film Me and Graham: The Soundtrack of Our Lives a documentary following two filmmakers searching the US and UK for the ultimate Beatles fan.[2] For over a year his official website featured a difficult Beatles trivia quiz - devised by Deezen himself - with a $100 prize for anyone who could answer all the questions correctly. Deezen revealed in a later interview that nobody had ever claimed the prize.[3]

Deezen also has a strong interest in pop culture trivia, and since 2011 has contributed to several trivia websites including mental_floss, TodayIFoundOut.com and Neatorama.com.[12][13][14] While most of Deezen's articles focus on The Beatles and their members, he also writes about such subjects as baseball, American history and classic comedy acts like The Three Stooges, the Marx Brothers, and Martin and Lewis.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1978	Laserblast	Froggy
	Grease	Eugene Felsnic
	I Wanna Hold Your Hand	Richard "Ringo" Klaus
1979	1941	Herbie Kazlminsky
1980	Midnight Madness	Wesley
1981	Steigler and Steigler	Red
1982	Grease 2	Eugene Felsnic
	Zapped!	Sheldon
1983	WarGames	Eddie Malvin
1984	Surf II: The End of the Trilogy	Menlo Schwartzer
	The Rosebud Beach Hotel	Sydney
1985	A Polish Vampire in Burbank	Sphincter
	Mugsy's Girls	Lane
	Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird	Donnie Dodo (voice)
1986	The Longshot	Parking Attendant	Cameo
	The Whoopee Boys	Eddie Lipschitz
1987	Happy Hour	Hancock
	Million Dollar Mystery	Rollie
1988	Critters 2: The Main Course	Hungry Heifer Manager
	Assault of the Killer Bimbos	Dopey Deputy
	Dorf's Golf Bible	Waldo
	Beverly Hills Vamp	Kyle Carpenter
1989	Hollywood Boulevard II	Walter
1990	Wedding Band	Slappy the Clown	Cameo
	Dorf Goes Auto Racing	Dipstick
	The Raven Red Kiss-Off	Himalayan Operator	Cameo
	Mob Boss	Tony Anthony
1991	Rock-a-Doodle	Snipes (voice)
	Teenage Exorcist	Eddie
1994	The Silence of the Hams	Video Cameraman	Cameo
1995	Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie	Phil the Guard
1996	Spy Hard	Rancor Guard Who Gets Spit On	Cameo
1997	The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue	Charlie (voice)
1998	News Traveler	Eddie
2002	Snow Dogs	Diesel	Voice role
2004	The Polar Express	Know-It-All (voice)	Also motion-capture
2012	I Love You, Eddie Deezen	Himself	Short film
2013	All I Want for Christmas	Larry Eastwood	Cameo Television film
2015	Flight Fright	Nervous Airline Passenger	Short film
	The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water	Seagull (voice)
2016	The Love Suckers	Sammy Schwartz	Short film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Champions: A Love Story	Eric Philpot	Television film
1981	Homeroom	Ron Carp	Pilot
1982	The Facts of Life	Grusky	Episode: "The Big Fight"
1983	Magnum, P.I.	Mickey Dalrumple	Episode: "Squeeze Play"
1984	Punky Brewster	Eddie Malvin	12 episodes
1986	The Fall Guy	Merle Monroe	Episode: "Lady in Green"
1989	Monsters	Demon #2	Episode: "The Demons"
1991	Darkwing Duck	Mouth (voice)	Episode: "Darkly Dawns the Duck"
1992	Mother Goose and Grimm	Ham (voice)	2 episodes
	Goof Troop	Road Hogs Biker (voice)	Episode: "Queasy Rider"
	Eek! The Cat	Ringo (voice)	Episode: "Bearz 'N the Hood"
1994	Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights	Caliph (voice)	Television special
	Aaahh!!! Real Monsters	Bulletin Board Monster (voice)	Episode: "Cold Hard Toenails/Attack of the Blobs"
1994–1996	Duckman	Iggy Catalpa (voice)	3 episodes
1995	The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes	Agent Tucker	Television film
1996–1999, 2001–2003	Dexter's Laboratory	Mandark (voice)	20 episodes
1996–1997	Life with Louie	Melvin (voice)	4 episodes
1996	Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series	Alvin Yasbek (voice)	Episode: "Mondo-Man"
	Timon & Pumbaa	Bahuka (voice)	Episode: "Alcatraz Mataz/Oahu Wahoo"
1997	The Weird Al Show	The Guy Boarded Up in the Wall	4 episodes
1998	Cow and Chicken	Glasses Boy (voice)	Episode: "Can Cow Come Out and Play/Horn Envy"
	The Lionhearts	Tex Hardbottom (voice)	Episode: "Brown Dog Day"
	The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs	D'Cell (voice)	Episode: "D'Cell/Halfday"
1999	Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip	Mandark (voice)	Television special
	Johnny Bravo	Oswald (voice)	Episode: "A League of His Own/Johnny Goes to Camp/Buffoon Lagoon"
1999–2000	Disney's Recess	Frank 'Tiny' Sedgwick (voice)	3 episodes
2000	Pigs Next Door	Ben Crenshaw (voice)	13 episodes
2001–2004	Lloyd in Space	Larry (voice)	5 episodes
2001–2003	Oswald	Andy Pumpkin (voice)	7 episodes
2002–2007	Kim Possible	Ned (voice)	4 episodes
2003–2005	What's New, Scooby-Doo?	Gibby Norton (voice)	3 episodes
2005	Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama	Ned (voice)	Television special
2009	Chowder	Todd (voice)	Episode: "Sheboodles"
	SpongeBob SquarePants	Himself	Episode: "SpongeBob's Truth or Square"
2010	Pound Puppies	Carlton J. Stankmeyer (voice)	Episode: "The Yipper Caper"
2011	A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!	Elmer	Television film
2012	Handy Manny	Zip (voice)	2 episodes
2014	The Fairly OddParents	A.J. (voice; uncredited)	Episode: "Dimmsdale Tales"
2015	Star vs. the Forces of Evil	Additional Voices	Episode: "Star Comes to Earth/Party With a Pony"
	Transformers: Robots in Disguise	Ped (voice)	Episode: "Can You Dig It?"
2016	Wander Over Yonder	Cartoon Peepers (voice)	Episode: "The Cartoon"

Video games

Year	Title	Role
1995	Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie	Phil the Guard
2004	The Polar Express	Know-It-All
2006	Cartoon Network Racing	Mandark
2009	FusionFall	Mandark

References

External links

• Official website
• Eddie Deezen at IMDb

Interviews

• Interview with Kittenpants.org
• READ Magazine Interview
• Rogue Cinema Interview
• The Radio Dan Show Interview (Audio Interview)
• Revenge of the 80s Radio Interview (Audio Interview)
• I Heart Chaos Interview

На других языках

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[de] Eddie Deezen

Edward Harry „Eddie“ Deezen (* 6. März 1957 in Cumberland, Maryland) ist ein US-amerikanischer Schauspieler, Synchronsprecher und Comedian.

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- [en] Eddie Deezen

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[es] Eddie Deezen

Edward Harry "Eddie" Deezen (Cumberland, Maryland; 6 de marzo de 1957) es un actor y comediante estadounidense, más conocido por sus interpretaciones de nerd en los años 1970s y 1980s como en las películas Grease, Grease 2, Midnight Madness, 1941 y WarGames, así como para los más grandes y papeles protagonistas en una serie de películas de culto independientes, incluyendo Surf II: The End of the Trilogy, Mob Boss, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Beverly Hills Vamp y Teenage Exorcist.

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