Eddie Deezen

Eddie Deezen

Born: March 6, 1957
Age: 67
Birthplace: Cumberland, Maryland, United States
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Biography

Edward Harry "Eddie" Deezen (born March 6, 1957) is an American comedian, actor, and voice actor best known for his bit parts as nerd characters in 1970s and 1980s films such as Grease, Grease 2, Midnight Madness, 1941 and WarGames, as well as for larger and starring roles in a number of independent cult films, including Surf II: The End of the Trilogy, Mob Boss, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Beverly Hills Vamp and Teenage Exorcist.

As a voice actor, he is easily recognizable for his distinctively high-pitched and nasal voice, most notably used for the characters of 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 in The Polar Express.

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Early life

Edward Harry Dezen was born in Cumberland, Maryland, the son of Irma and Robert Dezen. A class clown in his youth, Deezen started out 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 comedian, he performed at least three times at The Comedy Store, though eventually decided to abandon stand-up and focus on acting after bombing his last act and having difficulty memorizing his routine. Deezen attempted stand-up one last time, however, when he appeared on an episode of The Gong Show in the mid-1970s, only to be gonged by singer-songwriter Paul Williams.

Hollywood career

Deezen landed his first and perhaps best known role in the film Grease, playing nerdy student Eugene Felsnic, a part he won through a standard audition process. 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 massive success of Grease, Deezen found himself being cast in a string of high-profile comedy films playing similarly nerdy characters, including Robert Zemeckis' directorial debut I Wanna Hold Your Hand and Steven Spielberg's 1979 epic comedy 1941. Deezen was in such demand by 1979 that he was constantly having to turn down roles. At least two such notable instances were the characters of Eaglebauer in Rock 'n' Roll High School and Spaz in Meatballs, both of which Deezen turned down in order to film 1941.

Throughout the early 1980s, Deezen perpetuated his trademark nerd persona in several major films, including WarGames, Zapped! and Disney's Midnight Madness, as well as returning to the role of Eugene Felsnic in Grease 2, one of only seven actors from the original Grease to return for the sequel. In 1984, Deezen was cast in a recurring role on television, playing a goofy superintendent on the first season of 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

1983's WarGames marked the final mainstream film of Deezen's live-action acting 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.

1984 also saw the release of Revenge of the Nerds, the film that is generally credited with making the stock character of the stereotypical "nerd" a mainstay of teen films. Despite having arguably created the nerd archetype in such movies before, Deezen was not cast in the film. He remarked in an interview that he later asked the producers of Revenge of the Nerds why he hadn't been offered a role, and was given the response that he was deemed "too geeky", whereas casting was instead just looking to dress "normal people" up as nerds. Despite this, Deezen says he is frequently "recognized" by strangers for being in the film.

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 ensemble comedy Million Dollar Mystery, Critters 2: The Main Course, The Whoopee Boys and The Silence of the Hams. 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, Mob Boss and Teenage Exorcist.

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".

In 2012, Deezen starred in a live-action comedic short film entitled I Love You, Eddie Deezen. The plot revolves around a nerdy woman's cross-country journey to find the man of her dreams: Eddie Deezen. The short was released on November 19, 2012. The following year, 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. In early 2015, Deezen did a cameo in a live action comedy short film Flight Fright, playing a nervous airline passenger. His brief but hilarious appearance earned him an Outstanding Actor Award at the 2015 Zed Fest Film Festival in Hollywood. Later this year, he's scheduled to star in another live action short film The Love Suckers, by the same director as Flight Fright.

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. He started out lending his voice to animated feature films, including the voice of Donnie Dodo in Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird 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.

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 1996-2003. 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 returned to the big screen once again under the direction of Robert Zemeckis to supply voice and motion capture performance for the blockbuster 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 Hollywood, 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 documentary 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 classic comedy acts like The Three Stooges, the Marx Brothers and Martin and Lewis.

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role Notes
1978 Laserblast Froggy
1978 Grease Eugene Felsnic
1978 I Wanna Hold Your Hand Richard "Ringo" Klaus
1979 1941 Herbie Kazlminsky
1980 Midnight Madness Wesley
1981 Desperate Moves (aka Rollerboy) Red
1982 Grease 2 Eugene Felsnic
1982 Zapped! Sheldon
1983 WarGames Eddie Malvin
1984 Surf II: The End of the Trilogy Menlo Schwartzer
1984 The Rosebud Beach Hotel Sydney
1985 A Polish Vampire in Burbank Sphincter
1985 Mugsy's Girls Lane
1985 Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird Donnie Dodo Voice
1986 The Longshot Parking Attendant Cameo
1986 The Whoopee Boys Eddie Lipschitz
1987 Happy Hour Hancock
1987 Million Dollar Mystery Rollie
1988 Critters 2: The Main Course Hungry Heifer Manager
1988 Assault of the Killer Bimbos Dopey Deputy
1988 Dorf's Golf Bible Waldo
1988 Beverly Hills Vamp Kyle Carpenter
1989 Hollywood Boulevard II Walter
1990 Wedding Band Slappy the Clown Cameo
1990 Dorf Goes Auto Racing Dipstick
1990 The Raven Red Kiss-Off Himalayan Operator Cameo
1990 Mob Boss Tony Anthony
1991 Rock-A-Doodle Snipes Voice
1991 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
2004 The Polar Express The Know-It-All Voice and motion capture
2012 I Love You, Eddie Deezen Himself Short film
2013 All I Want for Christmas Larry Eastwood Cameo
Television film
2015 The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water Seagull Voice

Television

Year Title Role Notes
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 8 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
1992 Goof Troop Road Hogs Biker (voice) Episode: "Queasy Rider"
1992 Eek! the Cat Ringo (voice) Episode: "Bearz 'N the Hood"
1994 Scooby-Doo in Arabian Nights Caliph (voice) Television special
1994 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 Alvin Yasbek (voice) Episode: "Mondo-Man"
1996 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"
1998 The Lionhearts Tex Hardbottom (voice) Episode: "Brown Dog Day"
1998 The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs D'Cell (voice) Episode: "D'Cell/Halfday"
1999 Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip Mandark (voice) Television special
1999 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
2001-2004 Lloyd in Space Larry (voice) 5 episodes
2001 Oswald Andy Pumpkin (voice) 2 episodes
2002-2007 Kim Possible Ned (voice) 4 episodes
2003-2005 What's New, Scooby-Doo? Gibby Norton (voice) 3 episodes
2005 Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island Slurpy the Bat (voice) Episode: "A Cold Day on Fruit Salad Island/Five Nuts and a Baby"
2005 Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama Ned Television special
2009 Chowder Todd (voice) Episode: "Sheboodles"
2009 SpongeBob's Truth or Square Himself Cameo
Television special
2010 Pound Puppies Carlton J. Stankmeyer (voice) Episode: "The Yipper Caper"
2012 Handy Manny Zip (voice) 2 episodes
2015 Star vs. the Forces of Evil Additional Voices Episode: "Star Comes to Earth/Party With a Pony"
2015 Transformers: Robots in Disguise Ped (voice) Episode: "Can You Dig It?"
2016 Wander Over Yonder Cartoon Peepers (voice) Episode: "The Cartoon"
2016 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TBA

Video games

Year Title Role
2004 The Polar Express Know-It-All (voice)
2006 Cartoon Network Racing Mandark (voice)
2009 Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall Mandark (voice)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]


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