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Richard Deacon (May 14, 1921 – August 8, 1984), born in Philadelphia, was a television and motion picture actor. He was a 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. He also appeared as a guest on the 1970s game show Match Game. He appeared as Horace Vandergelder opposite Phyllis Diller's Dolly Gallagher Levi in a touring production of the musical Hello Dolly. 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 has also 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". Deacon died from cardiovascular disease at the age of 63. Posthumously, he was included as a gay actor and his interview with Hadleigh was published in Boze Hadleigh's Hollywood Gays (ISBN
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