American actor and comedian

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.

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.

Contents

• 1 Early life
• 2 Career
  • 2.1 Mainstream film
  • 2.2 Independent film
  • 2.3 Voice acting
• 3 Personal life
  • 3.1 Legal issues
• 4 Filmography
  • 4.1 Film
  • 4.2 Television
  • 4.3 Video games
• 5 References
• 6 External links
  • 6.1 Interviews

Early life

Edward Harry Deezen was born in *berland, Maryland, on March 6, 1957, the son of Irma and Robert Deezen. He was raised Jewish. A cl* clown in his youth, Deezen began with aspirations of becoming a stand-up comedian, moving out to Hollywood within days of graduating high school in order to pursue a career.

As a stand-up comedian, Deezen performed at least three times 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. After bombing his last act and having difficulty memorizing his routine, however, Deezen eventually decided to abandon stand-up and focus on acting.

Career

Mainstream film

In 1978, Deezen landed his first and best-known role in the film Grease, playing nerdy student Eugene Felsnic. During Grease's post-production period, Deezen won 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 m*ive success of Grease, Deezen found himself being cast in a string of high-profile comedy films playing similarly nerdy characters, 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 constantly having to turn down roles, two such notable instances including the characters of Eaglebauer in Rock 'n' Roll High School and Spaz in Meatballs, both of which he turned down to film 1941. Throughout the early 1980s, Deezen appeared in several high-profile studio releases, including Disney's 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 only eight episodes, however, Deezen voluntarily left the series due to his reluctance to perform before a live audience and a continuing difficulty in remembering his lines.

Independent film

WarGames marked the final mainstream film of Deezen's live-action career as he began working 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 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 prolific 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 and Matthew 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".

Throughout the 2010s, Deezen appeared in several short films, including as himself in 2012's I Love You, Eddie Deezen, a nervous airline p*enger 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. In 2013, Deezen returned to live-action movies in Fred Olen Ray's television film All I Want for Christmas, making a cameo as a supposed A-list action movie star being interviewed on a daytime talk show, his last film role to date.

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 dialogue. His early voice roles included the voice of 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 *le character in Robert Zemeckis's Who Framed Roger Rabbit, losing out to comedian Charles Fleischer. 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.

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 lends his voice to 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, 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.

Personal life

Deezen still lives in *berland, Maryland, where, according to him, "Along with my unemployment checks and residual checks, I will continue living the 'great American dream' - getting paid while doing absolutely nothing".

Deezen is a huge fan of The Beatles, proclaiming himself to be their "biggest fan". He was interviewed as himself for the unreleased 2005 film Me and Graham: The Soundtrack of Our Lives, a do*entary following two filmmakers searching the US and UK for the ultimate Beatles fan. 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.

Deezen is also a pop culture trivia buff, and since 2011 has been a contributing writer to several trivia websites including mental_floss, TodayIFoundOut.com and Neatorama.com. While most of Deezen's articles pertain to The Beatles and their members, he also regularly writes about such subjects as baseball, American history and cl*ic comedy acts like The Three Stooges, the Marx Brothers and Martin and Lewis.

Legal issues

On September 16, 2021, Deezen was arrested for allegedly *aulting a police officer after refusing to leave a restaurant in LaVale, Maryland. According to the Allegany County Sheriff's Department, he had been asked by the restaurant's staff to leave after causing a disturbance and refused to do so, prompting a response from law enforcement. Upon the deputies' arrival, Deezen hid behind a woman in a booth, refused multiple orders to exit, and reportedly threw plates, bowls, and food that struck one of the deputies. Deezen was eventually removed and detained in at the Allegany County Jail to await a court appearance, where he will face charges of second degree *ault, disorderly conduct and tresp*ing.

On April 8, 2022, Deezen was arrested after he had unlawfully entered into a nursing facility. Two hours before his arrest, he had been told to stay away from the property. According to the Maryland State Police, Deezen has been charged with fourth-degree burglary, two counts of tresp*ing, and one count of disturbing the peace. He was taken to Allegany County Detention Center.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

• Eddie Deezen 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