Eddie Deezen

Infobox actor


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birthdate = Birth date and age|1958|3|6|mf=y
birthplace = Cumberland, Maryland

Eddie Deezen (born March 6, 1958) is an American actor and voice actor, primarily known for playing nerd roles in movies throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. He's mainly known by younger generations for his voice acting work, most notably the character of Mandark on the Cartoon Network series "Dexter's Laboratory". His unique style of acting has garnered him a small but devoted cult following. He provided the voice of Nacho the cat in Taco Bell kids meal commercials with Rob Paulsen as the voice of Dog from 1995 to mid-1997.

Biography

Career

Deezen started out in the business with aspirations of becoming a stand-up comedian. After three failed performances at The Comedy Store, he set his sights on acting. He landed his first role in the smash film "Grease", playing nerdy Eugene Felnic, a character that he would later reprise in the 1982 sequel. He followed up with bit parts in other successful mainstream films such as "Laserblast", "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", "1941", and "WarGames". Deezen once appeared on "The Gong Show" shortly before "Grease", but was gonged by singer Paul Williams. [ [http://www.eddiedeezen.com/read.html Eddie Deezen: Before Geek was Chic ] ]

In 1980, Deezen was cast in a major role in the Disney film "Midnight Madness", which failed at the box office but quickly gathered a strong cult following. In 1984, he was cast in the lead role for the independent comedy "Surf II", alongside such legendary comic actors as Lyle Waggoner and Ruth Buzzi. For the remainder of the 80s and the early 90s, he was cast in leading roles in a handful of independent comedies, such as "Beverly Hills Vamp", "Hollywood Boulevard II", "Mob Boss", and "Teenage Exorcist". He was considered 'too geeky' for the film "Revenge of the Nerds", which he auditioned for. The producers wished to just hire regular looking actors and dress them up like nerds. [ [http://www.eddiedeezen.com/read.html Eddie Deezen: Before Geek was Chic ] ]

Due to his uniquely high-pitched nasally voice, it was easy for him to find work doing voiceovers. One of his first voice acting jobs was in the 1991 Don Bluth animated film "Rock-A-Doodle", followed by a role on the short-lived animated series "Grimmy". Since then, Deezen's worked steadily in television voiceovers, appearing in such cartoons as "Darkwing Duck", "Duckman", "Johnny Bravo", "Lloyd in Space", "What's New, Scooby-Doo?", "Kim Possible", and "Dexter's Laboratory", where he created his trademark role of "Mandark", the show's main villain.

Personal life

Deezen was born in Cumberland, Maryland, the son of Irma and Robert Deezen. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/92/Eddie-Deezen.html Eddie Deezen Biography (1958-) ] ] He was raised in a small family and has one sister and one brother, Barbie and Rick. He is a member of the Church of Scientology.

Deezen is a huge fan of The Beatles. He also played one in the film, I Wanna Hold Your Hand. For a time on his official website, he featured a considerably hard Beatles trivia quiz, with a $100 prize should anyone answer all the questions correctly.

Filmography

*"" (2007) (TV series, voice only)
*"The Polar Express" (2004) (voice only)
*"The Weird Al Show" (1997) (TV series, voice only)
*"Dexter's Laboratory" (1996) (TV series, voice only)
*"Spy Hard" (1996) (cameo)
*"Teenage Exorcist" (1994)
*"Rock-A-Doodle" (1991) (voice only)
*"Mob Boss" (1991)
*"Beverly Hills Vamp" (1988)
*"Critters 2" (1988)
*"Million Dollar Mystery" (1987)
*"The Whoopee Boys" (1986)
*"Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird" (1985) (voice)
*"Surf II" (1984)
*"Punky Brewster" (1984) (TV series)
*"WarGames" (1983)
*"Grease 2" (1982)
*"Zapped!" (1982)
*"Desperate Moves" (1981)
*"Midnight Madness" (1980)
*"1941" (1979)
*"I Wanna Hold Your Hand" (1978)
*"Laserblast" (1978)
*"Grease" (1978)

References

External links

* [http://www.eddiedeezen.com/ Eddie Deezen Official website]
*imdb name|id=0214430|name=Eddie Deezen
* [http://www.kittenpants.org/12_prbitches/deezen.asp Kittenpants.org interview]
* [http://www.eddiedeezen.com/read.html READ Magazine interview]
* [http://www.verysimple.com/personal/deezen/ Eddie Deezen Fansite]
* [http://media.blubrry.com/radiodan/http://radiodanshow.podomatic.com/entry/2007-02-13T22_00_13-08_00/ The Radio Dan Show Interview]