Don DeFore
Encyclopedia
Donald John DeFore was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 who played "the regular guy" and "the good, ol' boy next door" in many films in the 1940s and 1950s.

Life and career

He was born in 1913 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...

. His father was Joseph Ervin DeFore (1878 – 1942), a railroad engineer. His mother was Albina Sylvia Nezerka (1883 – 1975).

DeFore's film appearances include: Brother Rat
Brother Rat
Brother Rat is a 1938 film about cadets at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, directed by William Keighley and starring Priscilla Lane and Wayne Morris....

(uncredited, 1938, starring Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

), The Male Animal
The Male Animal
The Male Animal is a Warner Brothers film starring Henry Fonda, Olivia de Havilland and Joan Leslie.The film was based on a hit 1940 Broadway play of the same name written by James Thurber and Elliott Nugent. The screenplay was written by Stephen Morehouse Avery, Julius J. Epstein, and Philip G....

(1942), The Human Comedy
The Human Comedy (film)
The Human Comedy is a 1943 drama film directed by Clarence Brown and adapted by Howard Estabrook. It is often thought to be based on the William Saroyan novel of the same name, but actually Saroyan wrote the screenplay first, was fired from the movie project, and quickly wrote the novel and...

(uncredited, 1943), A Guy Named Joe
A Guy Named Joe
A Guy Named Joe is a 1943 film made by MGM, directed by Victor Fleming, produced by Everett Riskin, from a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, adapted by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan from a story by Chandler Sprague and David Boehm. It starred Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne and Van Johnson, with Esther Williams...

(1943), Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo is a 1944 MGM war film. It is based on the true story of America's first retaliatory air strike against Japan four months after the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The movie was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist. The screenplay by...

(1944) with Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...

 and Van Johnson
Van Johnson
Van Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....

, The Affairs of Susan
The Affairs of Susan
The Affairs of Susan is a 1945 comedy film starring Joan Fontaine, Walter Abel, George Brent, Dennis O'Keefe and Don DeFore. The plot concerns Susan , who is about to be married. Complications set in when her fiance gives a party to celebrate, and he talks to three former beaus of Susan, each of...

(1945) with Joan Fontaine
Joan Fontaine
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland , known professionally as Joan Fontaine, is a British American actress. She and her elder sister Olivia de Havilland are two of the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s....

, You Came Along
You Came Along
You Came Along is a 1945 romance film set in World War II with a screenplay by Ayn Rand. It starred Robert Cummings and, in her film debut, Lizabeth Scott. Robert Cummings' character has the same name of his character on his 1950's television show Love That Bob.-Cast:*Robert Cummings as Major Bob...

(1945), Without Reservations
Without Reservations
Without Reservations is a comedy film starring Claudette Colbert and John Wayne, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film was adapted by Andrew Solt from the novel Thanks, God! I'll Take It From Here by Jane Allen and Mae Livingston.The opening shot shows "Arrowhead"...

(1946), It Happened on 5th Avenue
It Happened on 5th Avenue
It Happened on Fifth Avenue is a 1947 motion picture comedy, with an Academy Award nomination for original story.-Production:It marked the debut of Allied Artists Pictures, the higher-budget division of Monogram Pictures, formerly a low-budget film studio...

(1947), Ramrod
Ramrod (film)
Ramrod is a 1947 Western film directed by André De Toth.This cowboy drama from Hungarian director De Toth was the first of several films based on the stories of Western author Luke Short. De Toth's first Western is often compared to films noir movies released around the same time...

(1947), Romance on the High Seas
Romance on the High Seas
Romance on the High Seas is a 1948 Technicolor musical romantic comedy film starring Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, and Doris Day in her film debut....

(first film & acting debut of Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...

, (1948), My Friend Irma
My Friend Irma (film)
My Friend Irma is a comedy film directed by George Marshall and is most notable as the film debut of comedy team Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis...

(1949), Too Late for Tears
Too Late for Tears
Too Late for Tears is a 1949 black-and-white film noir directed by Byron Haskin and starring Lizabeth Scott and Dan Duryea. The screenplay was written by Roy Huggins, drawn from a serial he wrote for the Saturday Evening Post. The film was reissued as Killer Bait in 1955...

(1949), Dark City
Dark City (1950 film)
Dark City is a 1950 film noir. The casting of Charlton Heston—in his first Hollywood film appearance—as a petty hood is unusual in light of his subsequent career. The film also features Jack Webb and Harry Morgan, who both went on to co-star in Dragnet. The musical score was composed by Franz...

(first film & acting debut of Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...

, (1950), Southside 1-1000
Southside 1-1000
Southside 1-1000 is a 1950 semidocumentary-style film, considered film noir. The film stars Don DeFore, Andrea King and Gerald Mohr as the off-screen narrator.-Plot:...

(1950), The Guy Who Came Back
The Guy Who Came Back
The Guy Who Came Back is a 1951 film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Joseph M. Newman, and starring by Paul Douglas, Joan Bennett and Linda Darnell. The screenplay was written byAllan Scott, based on story by W.G...

(1951), A Girl in Every Port
A Girl in Every Port (1952 film)
A Girl in Every Port is a 1952 comedy film about two sailors who buy a racehorse. It was based on the short story They Sell Sailors Elephants by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan.-Cast:*Groucho Marx as Benjamin Franklin 'Benny' Linn...

(1952), Jumping Jacks
Jumping Jacks
Jumping Jacks is a 1952 film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. The movie was released by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:Chick Allen is a paratrooper. He invites his former partner, Hap Smith , to help out with a show that he and the other soldiers are preparing...

(1952), She's Working Her Way Through College (1952), Battle Hymn
Battle Hymn (film)
Battle Hymn is a Universal Studios feature film starring Rock Hudson as Colonel Dean E. Hess, a real-life United States Air Force fighter pilot in the Korean War. Hess's autobiography of the same name was published concurrently with the release of the film. He donated his profits from the film and...

(1957), A Time to Love and a Time to Die
A Time to Love and a Time to Die
A Time to Love and a Time to Die is a 1958 CinemaScope drama film directed by Douglas Sirk and starring John Gavin. It is based on the book by the German author, Erich Maria Remarque, set on the Eastern Front , and in Nazi Germany.-Cast:...

(1958), and The Facts of Life
The Facts of Life (film)
The Facts of Life is a 1960 romantic comedy starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball as middle-aged people who have an affair despite being married to other people. Written, directed, and produced by the longtime Hope associates Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, the film was more serious than many other...

(1960) with Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...

 and Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...

.

DeFore is best known for his television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 work. Beginning in 1952, DeFore had a recurring role as the Nelsons' friendly neighbor "Thorny" on the comedy series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and TV for a couple of years...

. On May 6, 1953, he was the honoree on TV's This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards...

, a show that surprised the honoree on nationwide live TV with accolades from coworkers, friends and family. DeFore was led by Ozzie Nelson
Ozzie Nelson
Oswald George "Ozzie" Nelson was an American entertainer and band leader who originated and starred in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet radio and television series with his wife and two sons.-Early life:...

 to believe that they were doing a live promotional spot for The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and TV for a couple of years...

on Hollywood Boulevard when suddenly he was surprised to hear Ralph Edwards
Ralph Edwards
Ralph Livingstone Edwards was an American radio and television host and television producer.-Early career:Born in Merino, Colorado , Edwards worked for KROW-AM in Oakland, California while he was still in high school...

 say: "Don DeFore - This is your life!" DeFore admirably managed to retain his composure while moving to the El Capitan Theatre
Avalon Hollywood
Avalon is a historic night club and music venue in Hollywood, California, located near the intersection of Hollywood and Vine, at 1735 N. Vine Street...

 where the remainder of the broadcast took place, which included friends and family members from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Defore is less known as an actor in radio dramas aired on Mutual Broadcasting System
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...

, National Broadcasting Company, and Columbia Broadcasting System. Defore's roster of radio plays in which he played a role includes Mutual's Family Theater
Family Theater
Family Theater was a dramatic anthology radio show which aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System in the United States from February 13, 1947 to September 11, 1957.-Production background:...

 Advice to the Lovelorn (10-30-1947), The Fountain of Youth (08-10-1949), Seeds of Promise (08-22-1951), and Ballad of Dan McBirdy (10-14-1953); NBC's Old Gold Comedy Theater 06-10-1945; and CBS's Suspense
Suspense (radio program)
-Production background:One of the premier drama programs of the Golden Age of Radio, was subtitled "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" and focused on suspense thriller-type scripts, usually featuring leading Hollywood actors of the era...

 The Furnished Floor (09-13-1945) and Lux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater, a long-run classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network ; CBS and NBC . Initially, the series adapted Broadway plays during its first two seasons before it began adapting films. These hour-long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences...

 You Came Along (01-07-1946).

From 1954 – 1955, Defore served as President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He was instrumental in arranging for the Emmy Awards to be broadcast on national TV for the first time on March 7, 1955. That year, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Regular Series for his work on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and TV for a couple of years...

.

From 1957 – 1962, with his brother Verne DeFore (1918 – 2005), he operated Don DeFore's Silver Banjo Barbecue in Frontierland
Frontierland
Tokyo Disneyland's instance is known as Westernland, as "frontier" does not adequately translate into the Japanese language. The Mark Twain sails this park's Rivers of America...

 of Disneyland Park
Disneyland Park (Anaheim)
Disneyland Park is a theme park located in Anaheim, California, owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division of the Walt Disney Company. Known as Disneyland when it opened on July 18, 1955, and still almost universally referred to by that name, it is the only theme park to be...

 in Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...

. They were the only sole proprietors ever permitted by Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...

 and Disneyland
Disneyland Park (Anaheim)
Disneyland Park is a theme park located in Anaheim, California, owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division of the Walt Disney Company. Known as Disneyland when it opened on July 18, 1955, and still almost universally referred to by that name, it is the only theme park to be...

 to operate an independent business and restaurant inside Disneyland
Disneyland Park (Anaheim)
Disneyland Park is a theme park located in Anaheim, California, owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division of the Walt Disney Company. Known as Disneyland when it opened on July 18, 1955, and still almost universally referred to by that name, it is the only theme park to be...

.

Beginning in 1961, DeFore appeared on the TV series Hazel
Hazel (TV series)
Hazel is a Screen Gems television series about a fictional live-in maid named Hazel Burke and her employers, the Baxters. The five-season, 154-episode series aired in primetime from September 1961 until April 1966...

as "Mr. B." (George Baxter), employer of spirited housekeeper Hazel Burke with Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth was an American actress.Primarily a theatre actress, Booth's Broadway career began in 1925. Her most significant success was as Lola Delaney, in the drama Come Back, Little Sheba, for which she received a Tony Award in 1950...

 in the title role and Whitney Blake
Whitney Blake
Whitney Blake was an American film and television actress, director and producer.Blake was born as Nancy Ann Whitney in 1926 in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California, the first child of Martha Mae Wilkerson and Harry Whitney...

 as Mrs. Baxter. The series ran on primetime from 1961 – 1966. DeFore was not seen in the 1965-66 season, when the show moved from NBC to CBS. Instead, Ray Fulmer
Ray Fulmer
Raymond Stover Fulmer, known as Ray Fulmer , is a former actor, originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for his role as Steve Baxter in the final season of Shirley Booth's situation comedy Hazel, which aired on CBS television from September 13, 1965, to April 11, 1966.Fulmer first...

 appeared in the role of Steve Baxter, George's younger brother. Lynn Borden
Lynn Borden
Lynn Borden is an American actress best known for her role as "Barbara Baxter" in the final season of the Shirley Booth sitcom Hazel, which aired on CBS from 1965 to 1966.-Background:...

 played Barbara Baxter, Steve's wife in the final season of the series.

In 1942, DeFore married Marion Holmes (born Marion Holm in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 on January 21, 1918). Marion Holmes was a singer with the Henry Busse
Henry Busse
Henry Busse Sr. was a jazz trumpeter known for work with sweet bands and big bands.-Early life:Born May 19, 1894 to a generational German Band family. Henry Busse studied violin and then trumpet under his Oompah Band leader uncle...

 Orchestra from 1935—1939, and later with Art Kassel and his "Castles in the Air" from 1939 – 1942. Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...

 was the maid of honor at the DeFore wedding on Feb. 14, 1942. DeFore and his wife were longtime residents of the Mandeville Canyon section of Brentwood
Brentwood, Los Angeles, California
Brentwood is a district in western Los Angeles, California, United States. The district is located at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains, bounded by the San Diego Freeway on the east, Wilshire Boulevard on the south, the Santa Monica city limits on the southwest, the border of Topanga State...

, and DeFore was the first "Honorary Mayor" of Brentwood
Brentwood, Los Angeles, California
Brentwood is a district in western Los Angeles, California, United States. The district is located at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains, bounded by the San Diego Freeway on the east, Wilshire Boulevard on the south, the Santa Monica city limits on the southwest, the border of Topanga State...

. They had five children – Penny (born 1943), David (1945), Dawn (1948), Ron (1950) and Amy (1959).

He was a longtime friend of actor-turned-politician Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

. On October 15, 1966, DeFore helped Reagan launch his political career by hosting a live TV campaign rally on Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 KNXT-TV (now KCBS-TV
KCBS-TV
KCBS-TV, channel 2, is an owned-and-operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Los Angeles, California. KCBS-TV shares its offices and studio facilities with sister station KCAL-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter...

) Channel 2 - "Reagan Team Bar-B-Que" - that helped Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

 win election as governor of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

Don DeFore died on December 22, 1993 at the age of eighty. He is interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
The Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery is a cemetery in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles, California. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood....

 in Los Angeles.

External links

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