Richard Deacon was an American television and motion picture actor. His Disney roles included the Drive-In Movie Manager in That Darn Cat!, Dean Wheaton in Blackbeard's Ghost, Charlie Wrenn in The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, Ralph Yarby in The Gnome-Mobile and Uncle Archie McCloud in The Annette serial on The Mickey Mouse Club.
Deacon was born in Philadelphia, but 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 and later Bennington College. During World War II, Deacon served in the United States Army medical corps. In 1946, upon completion of his service, he returned to Binghamton where he resumed living with his parents. He worked in occupations such as laboratory technician, an intern, and later medical student before developing an interest in acting, engaging in some nighttime radio announcing.
Primarily a television actor, Deacon appeared in shows, like The Dick Van Dyke Show, Here's Lucy, Leave It To Beaver, The Jack Benny Program, Happy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Mothers-in-Law, The Danny Thomas Show, Perry Mason, The Red Skelton Show, Pete and Gladys, The Donna Reed Show, The Real McCoys, Get Smart, Bonanza, The Munsters, The Addams Family, The Twilight Zone, Bourbon Street Beat, Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Pruitts of Southampton, Love, American Style, Mister Ed, B.J. and the Bear, Growing Pains, and he appeared on Match Game as an occasional panelist.
In film, he appeared in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Spirit of St. Louis, Them!, Blackboard Jungle, The Birds, Carousel, Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, Désirée, The Young Philadelphians, Decision at Sundown, Critic's Choice, Affair in Reno, The Power and the Prize, My Man Godfrey, A Summer Place, North to Alaska, Billie, The King's Pirate, Piranha, and Lady in Cement.
Deacon was also 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.
He died of cardiovascular disease on August 8, 1984.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1957-1958 | The Mickey Mouse Club | Uncle Archie McCloud |
| 1965 | That Darn Cat! | Drive-In-Movie Manager |
| 1966 | Lt. Robin Crusoe USN | Survival Manual Narrator - uncredited |
| 1967 | The Gnome-Mobile | Ralph Yarby |
| 1968 | The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band | Charlie Wrenn |
| 1968 | Blackbeard's Ghost | Dean Wheaton |
