Actor. He was an American character actor, who is mainly remembered for his television roles, yet had stage and film roles. A tall, bald, bespectacled man, he often had roles of straight-laced, no-sense characters. Born the oldest of two sons born to Joseph and Ethel Laughlin Deacon, he had his childhood in Binghamton, New York. He was stricken with polio at age 11 and took dancing lessons to strengthen his legs. After attending Ithaca College where he studied drama, he worked nights as a radio announcer. During World War II, he spent four years in the Army Medical Corps. During 1949 to 1951, he was an "actor in residence" while attending Bennington College in Vermont. He went to California in the 1950s and worked in stock and formed his own theatre. At the beginning of his career, stage legend Helen Hayes told Deacon that he would never become a leading man but encouraged him to become a character actor. He usually was typecast as a humorless or foul-tempered authority figure. He is mainly remembered for "The Dick Van Dyke Show" from 1961 to 1966. In the first season of "Dick Van Dyke," he continued to appear on his previous series, "Leave it to Beaver," concurrently, playing Fred Rutherford on the latter show. After "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was canceled, Deacon returned to work as a free-lance actor. He co-starred on the 1968 television sitcom "The Mothers-in-Law" with Kaye Ballard and Eve Arden. He appeared in the long-running Broadway production of "Hello Dolly" as Horace Vandergelder opposite Phyllis Diller in the 1969 to 1970 season. He had guest roles on many television series. He became a highly regarded supporting player in motion pictures. His film credits were numerous, even though he received no credit on many of his earlier movies. His 1954 uncredited film debut was in "Them!". Deacon was a gourmet chef. In the 1980s, he hosted a Canadian TV program on microwave cookery and even wrote a companion book on the subject. "Growing Pains" in 1984 was his final film. He is credited with at least 185 roles during his career.
Actor. He was an American character actor, who is mainly remembered for his television roles, yet had stage and film roles. A tall, bald, bespectacled man, he often had roles of straight-laced, no-sense characters. Born the oldest of two sons born to Joseph and Ethel Laughlin Deacon, he had his childhood in Binghamton, New York. He was stricken with polio at age 11 and took dancing lessons to strengthen his legs. After attending Ithaca College where he studied drama, he worked nights as a radio announcer. During World War II, he spent four years in the Army Medical Corps. During 1949 to 1951, he was an "actor in residence" while attending Bennington College in Vermont. He went to California in the 1950s and worked in stock and formed his own theatre. At the beginning of his career, stage legend Helen Hayes told Deacon that he would never become a leading man but encouraged him to become a character actor. He usually was typecast as a humorless or foul-tempered authority figure. He is mainly remembered for "The Dick Van Dyke Show" from 1961 to 1966. In the first season of "Dick Van Dyke," he continued to appear on his previous series, "Leave it to Beaver," concurrently, playing Fred Rutherford on the latter show. After "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was canceled, Deacon returned to work as a free-lance actor. He co-starred on the 1968 television sitcom "The Mothers-in-Law" with Kaye Ballard and Eve Arden. He appeared in the long-running Broadway production of "Hello Dolly" as Horace Vandergelder opposite Phyllis Diller in the 1969 to 1970 season. He had guest roles on many television series. He became a highly regarded supporting player in motion pictures. His film credits were numerous, even though he received no credit on many of his earlier movies. His 1954 uncredited film debut was in "Them!". Deacon was a gourmet chef. In the 1980s, he hosted a Canadian TV program on microwave cookery and even wrote a companion book on the subject. "Growing Pains" in 1984 was his final film. He is credited with at least 185 roles during his career.
Bio by: Jane Stacy Eubanks
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