Dean Jones (actor)

Dean Carroll Jones (January 25, 1931 – September 1, 2015) was an American actor best known for his roles as Agent Zeke Kelso in That Darn Cat! (1965), Jim Douglas in The Love Bug (1968) and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) and Dr. Herman Varnick in Beethoven (1992). He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance as Albert Dooley in The Million Dollar Duck (1971). In 1995, Jones was inducted as a Disney Legends award winner for his film work.[1]

Dean Jones
Jones in 1966
Born
Dean Carroll Jones

(1931-01-25)January 25, 1931
DiedSeptember 1, 2015(2015-09-01) (aged 84)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor, singer
Years active1956–2009
Spouse(s)
  • Mae Inez Entwisle
    (m. 1954; div. 1971)
  • Loretta Basham
    (m. 1973)
Children3

Early life

Jones was born in Decatur, Alabama, to Andrew Guy Jones (1901–1979), a traveling construction worker, and the former Nolia Elizabeth Wilhite (1902–1977).[2]

As a student at Riverside High School in Decatur, Jones had his own local radio show, Dean Jones Sings.[3] Jones served in the United States Navy during the Korean War, and after his discharge worked at the Bird Cage Theater at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.

Jones attended Asbury University in Wilmore near Lexington, Kentucky. A member of its Class of 1953, he did not graduate, but the university in 2003 awarded him an honorary degree. On March 4, 2011, he addressed the community during the dedication ceremony of Asbury's Andrew S. Miller Center for Communications Arts.[4]

Stage

After appearing in minor film and television roles, Jones made his Broadway debut (along with Jane Fonda) in the 1960 play There Was a Little Girl. He stepped into the role in Boston, Massachusetts, at only one day's notice.[5] In 1960, he also played Dave Manning in the Broadway comedy Under the Yum-Yum Tree, a role he repeated in the 1963 movie version starring Jack Lemmon.

After working in film and television, Jones was set to return to Broadway as the star of Stephen Sondheim's musical Company in 1970. Shortly after opening night, Jones withdrew from the show, due to stress that he was undergoing from ongoing divorce proceedings. Director Harold Prince agreed to replace him with Larry Kert if Jones would open the show and record the cast album. Jones agreed, and his performance is preserved on the original cast album (although it was Kert who received the Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Musical).

In 1986, Jones, by then having become a Christian, starred in Into the Light, a musical about scientists and the Shroud of Turin, which closed four days after it opened. He had far more success touring in the one-man show St. John in Exile as the last surviving Apostle of Jesus Christ, reminiscing about his life while imprisoned on the Greek island of Patmos. A performance was filmed in 1986. He made one more Broadway appearance, in 1993, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, in a special two-day concert staging of Company featuring most of the original Broadway cast.

Television and film

Guest stars for the premiere episode of The Dick Powell Show, "Who Killed Julie Greer?" Standing, from left: Ronald Reagan, Nick Adams, Lloyd Bridges, Mickey Rooney, Edgar Bergen, Jack Carson, Ralph Bellamy, Kay Thompson, Dean Jones. Seated, from left, Carolyn Jones and Dick Powell.

Jones began as a contract performer for MGM, beginning with a small role as a soldier in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) and he later played disc jockey Teddy Talbot in the Elvis Presley film Jailhouse Rock (1957). He portrayed a soldier in both Imitation General (also 1957) with Glenn Ford and Never So Few (1959) with Frank Sinatra.

Jones subsequently starred in the NBC television sitcom Ensign O'Toole (1962–63), produced by Four Star Television, portraying an easy-going and inexperienced officer on a U.S. Navy destroyer. His co-stars included Jack Mullaney, Jack Albertson, Jay C. Flippen, Harvey Lembeck, and Beau Bridges. Jones also recorded a singing album, Introducing Dean Jones, for Valiant Records.

As Ensign O'Toole was the lead-in show on NBC to Walt Disney's The Wonderful World of Color, Disney ordered a print of Jones' latest film Under the Yum Yum Tree to study.[6] Disney signed Jones for Disney film productions beginning with That Darn Cat!. His performance was so well-received that Disney used him for future movies including The Ugly Dachshund (1966), Blackbeard's Ghost (1968), The Million Dollar Duck (1971) and Snowball Express (1972).

Jones' signature Disney role would be as race car driver Jim Douglas in the successful Herbie series: he appeared in two feature films, The Love Bug (1968) and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), as well as the short-lived television series Herbie, the Love Bug (1982) and the made-for-TV movie The Love Bug (1997). In 1969, Jones was the host of a short-lived sketch-comedy hour on ABC-TV titled What's It All About, World? that became a variety show midway into its run, when the title was changed to The Dean Jones Variety Hour.

Away from Disney, Jones co-starred with Broadway-era co-star Jane Fonda in the romantic comedy, Any Wednesday (1966). In a dramatic turn, in the NBC television movie When Every Day Was the Fourth of July (1978) he portrayed Ed Cooper, an attorney in the 1930s who agrees to defend a man who has been accused of murder, accepting the case only after urging from his daughter. Jones reprised the role of Ed Cooper in the ABC television sequel The Long Days of Summer (1980). He appeared with Gregory Peck and Danny DeVito as Bill Coles, the president of Peck's company, which was fighting a hostile takeover by DeVito, in Other People's Money (1991).

Jones, who was known for playing pleasant characters, took on the role as Dr. Herman Varnick, the evil veterinarian, in the family film Beethoven (1992). Jones employed method acting for the first time in his career and did not break character off-set throughout the film's shooting period much to the surprise of cast members as well as family and friends who had never seen him so immersed in a role. He maintained his relationship to the Beethoven franchise by providing the voice of George Newton in the television version of Beethoven. He also appeared in a small role as Director of Central Intelligence Judge Arthur Moore in the film adaptation of Tom Clancy's Clear and Present Danger (1994), which stars Harrison Ford.

Jones also appeared in two episodes of Murder, She Wrote, which starred Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher, a crime writer who also solves murders.

Personal life

Jones' first marriage to Mae Inez Entwisle ended in divorce in 1970; the couple had two daughters. He was married to actress Lory Patrick from 1973 until his death in 2015. Lory had a son, Michael Pastick, who was Jones' stepson.

Jones became a devout born-again Christian in 1973 or 1974. His book Under Running Laughter (1982) recounts his experience of Christianity. He had previously suffered from bouts of depression. His wife, Lory, said, "One night he got down on his knees and prayed that God would free him from the miserable moods that he had always suffered. He told me that in an instant it was gone and he felt peace and joy flood into his heart."[3]

Jones appeared in several Christian films. He also voiced the narrator in Birdwing Records' 1979 studio album, Nathaniel the Grublet, as well as voicing the standard English narration for the 80 minute Bible overview, God's Story: From Creation to Eternity.

On July 25, 1994, Jones was a guest on 100 Huntley Street, a Canadian Christian discussion program.

In 1998, Jones founded the Christian Rescue Committee (CRC), an organization that helps provide a "way of escape to Jews, Christians, and others persecuted for their faith."[7]

Death

Jones died from Parkinson's disease in Los Angeles, California on September 1, 2015, aged 84. His body was cremated.[2]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1956Somebody Up There Likes MePrivate in Rocky's TentUncredited
1956These Wilder YearsHardware Clerk
1956Tea and SympathyOllie
1956The Opposite SexAssistant Stage ManagerUncredited
1956The RackLieutenantUncredited
1956The Great American PastimeBuck Rivers
1957SlanderNewscasterUncredited
1957Ten Thousand BedroomsDan
1957Designing WomanAssistant Stage Manager (Boston)Uncredited
1957Until They SailUS Marine LieutenantUncredited
1957Jailhouse RockTeddy Talbot
1958Handle with CareZachary Davis
1958Imitation GeneralCpl. Terry Sellers
1958Torpedo RunLieutenant Jake "Fuzz" Foley
1959Night of the Quarter MoonLexington Nelson
1959Never So FewSgt. Jim Norby
1963Under the Yum Yum TreeDavid Manning
1964The New InternsDr. Lew Worship
1965Two on a GuillotineVal Henderson
1965That Darn Cat!FBI Agent Zeke Kelso
1966The Ugly DachshundMark Garrison
1966Any WednesdayCass Henderson
1967Monkeys, Go Home!Hank Dussard
1968Blackbeard's GhostSteve Walker
1968The Horse in the Gray Flannel SuitFred Bolton
1968The Love BugJim Douglas
1970Mr. SuperinvisiblePeter Denwell
1971The Million Dollar DuckProfessor Albert Dooley
1972Snowball ExpressJohnny Baxter
1976The Shaggy D.A.Wilby Daniels
1977Herbie Goes to Monte CarloJim Douglas
1978Born AgainCharles Colson
1986St. John in ExileSt. John
1991Other People's MoneyBill Coles
1992BeethovenDr. Herman Varnick
1994Clear and Present DangerJudge Arthur Moore
1994The Visual Bible: ActsLuke the Evangelist
1996A spasso nel tempoProfessor Mortimer / Joe
1997That Darn CatMr. Flint
1998Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZeroDean Arbagast (voice)Direct-to-video film
2007Lavinia's HeistTony CavalettiShort film
2009Mandie and the Secret TunnelJason Bond
2009God ProvidesAbrahamDirect-to-video film (final film role)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1960Zane Grey TheatreDeputy Bill DevlinEpisode: "The Sunday Man"
1960The AquanautsJohn AndersonEpisode: "The Stowaway"
1960OutlawsDanny CannonEpisode: "Beat the Drum Slowly"
1960Stagecoach WestJoe BradyEpisode: "Red Sand"
1961The Dick Powell ShowDetective Phil WinslowEpisode: "Who Killed Julie Greer?"
1961BonanzaDanny KiddEpisode: "The Friendship"
1961Tales of Wells FargoJamie CoburnEpisode: "A Killing in Calico"
1962Target: The Corruptors!Barry SteeleEpisode: "Play It Blue"
1962Wagon TrainLt. BurtonEpisode: "The Lieutenant Burton Story"
1962–63Ensign O'TooleEnsign O'TooleMain role (32 episodes)
1963Ben CaseyDr. Richard ConnellEpisode: "Fire in a Sacred Fruit Tree"
1963Burke's LawRudy DavisEpisode: "Who Killed Eleanora Davis?"
1965Kraft Suspense TheatreEddie CarewEpisode: "The Rise and Fall of Eddie Carew"
1965Vacation PlayhouseAlec TateEpisode: "Alec Tate"
1968Walt Disney's Wonderful World of ColorNarrator (voice)Episode: "The Mickey Mouse Anniversary Show"
1971The Chicago Teddy BearsLinc McCrayMain role (13 episodes)
1972The Great Man's WhiskersJames E. CooperTelevision film
1973Guess Who's Sleeping in My Bed?George GregoryTelevision film
1973Walt Disney: A Golden Anniversary SaluteHimself – HostTelevision special
1974Medical CenterDr. RonstonEpisode: "Spectre"
1976Good HeavensBradEpisode: "Coffee, Tea, or Gloria"
1977Once Upon a Brothers GrimmJacob Grimm / GrandmotherTelevision film
1978When Every Day Was the Fourth of JulyEd CooperTelevision film
1978The Wonderful World of DisneyHimself – Guest starEpisode: "Mickey's 50"
1980The Long Days of SummerEd CooperTelevision film
1981Aloha ParadiseAlexEpisode: "Alex and Annie"
1982Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th AnniversaryMr. LaneTelevision special
1982Herbie, the Love BugJim DouglasMain role (5 episodes)
1983The Gospel According to ScroogeNarrator (voice)Television film
1984Don't Ask Me, Ask GodFuture FatherTelevision special
1984The Love BoatMarty ChenaultEpisode: "Julie and the Producer" (Part 1 & 2)
1984Finder of Lost LovesSteve MarshEpisode: "Yesterday's Child"
1984Murder, She WroteMarcus BoswellEpisode: "It's a Dog's Life"
1988Murder, She WroteLeonard PalmerEpisode: "Harbinger of Death"
1989Fire and RainJack AyersTelevision film
1992The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the BibleKing Ahasuerus (voice)Episode: "Queen Esther"
1992Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian StyleHarry BannisterTelevision film
1994BeethovenGeorge Newton (voice)Main role (26 episodes)
1995The Computer Wore Tennis ShoesDean Webster CarlsonTelevision film
1995Nowhere ManJonathan CraneEpisode: "Father"
1996Special Report: Journey to MarsDr. Scott BerlinTelevision film
1996The Real Adventures of Jonny QuestDr. Karel (voice)Episode: "DNA Doomsday"
1997Nightmare NedAbraham LincolnEpisode: "Monster Ned"
1997Superman: The Animated SeriesCol. Sam Lane (voice)Episode: "Monkey Fun"
1997The Love BugJim DouglasTelevision film
1998Adventures from the Book of VirtuesChauncey (voice)Episode: "Trustworthiness"
2001Scrooge & MarleyEbenezer ScroogeTelevision film

Stage productions

Dates Title Role Theatre venue
February 29, 1960 – March 12, 1960There Was a Little GirlStan WaltersCort Theatre (New York City)
November 16, 1960 – April 15, 1961Under the Yum Yum TreeDave ManningHenry Miller's Theatre
April 26, 1970 – May 28, 1970CompanyRobertAlvin Theatre
October 22, 1986 – October 26, 1986Into the LightJames PrescottNeil Simon Theatre
April 11, 1993 – April 12, 1993CompanyRobertVivian Beaumont Theater

References

  1. "Dean Jones - D23". The Official Disney Fan Club. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  2. Flaherty, Mike (September 2, 2015). "Dean Jones, Affable Star in 'Love Bug' and a Disney Fixture, Dies at 84". The New York Times. p. B19.
  3. "Man at Work—Finally", People, November 11, 1991
  4. "Dean Jones '53 addresses Asbury community". Asbury University. 4 March 2011.
  5. theatermania.com "How Now, Dean Jones?" Archived 2007-12-22 at the Wayback Machine, theatermania.com; accessed January 23, 2016.
  6. A Conversation with Dean Jones Herbie Mania
  7. Disney Icon Dean Jones Dies at 84. Christianity Today (originally published as "At Home with Dean Jones", Jan/Feb 2004); accessed December 10, 2017.
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