Richard Deacon (actor)
Richard Deacon (May 14, 1921 - August 8, 1984), born in Philadelphia, was a television and motion picture actor.
He was a very tall (6'4"), bald-pated and usually bespectacled character actor who often portrayed imperious authority figures. His best-known roles are Mel Cooley on The Dick Van Dyke Show and Fred Rutherford on Leave It to Beaver.
In real life, he was a gourmet chef. In the 1970s and 1980s, he wrote a series of cookbooks and hosted a television series on microwave cooking. He also appeared as a guest on the 1970s game show Match Game. He appeared opposite Phyllis Diller in a production of the musical Hello Dolly.
He made appearances on The Jack Benny Show as a salesperson. He would stand behind a desk and say to customers "I'm standing behind here because in a moment of spontaneity, I sold my pants".
Posthumously, he was included as a gay actor and his interview with Hadleigh was published in Boze Hadleigh's Hollywood Gays (ISBN# 1-56980-083-9/PN1995.9.H55H33), pp. 67-76.
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