Donald John DeFore (August 25, 1913 – December 22, 1993) was an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet from 1952 to 1957 and the sitcom Hazel from 1961 to 1965, the former of which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.
After graduating from Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, DeFore attended the University of Iowa.[6] He initially studied law while also playing basketball, track, and baseball before becoming interested in acting. Since acting was not a major study at the university, he left and enrolled at the Pasadena Community Playhouse, where he won a scholarship and stayed for three years.[7]
During this time, four fellow students and he wrote a play called Where Do We Go from Here? It was presented in a little theater in Hollywood with DeFore in the cast. As a young man, DeFore toured the country in stock companies for several years before making his Broadway debut in Where Do We Go from Here? in 1938, when Oscar Hammerstein II offered to take it to Broadway, and DeFore and five of the original cast members went along. The show ran for four weeks, and DeFore was soon recognized as a member of legitimate theater. He remained in New York and won a key role in The Male Animal, which ran for almost eight months on Broadway[8] and eight months on the road.
From 1961 to 1965, DeFore was a co-star of the television series Hazel as George Baxter, employer of the spirited, domineering housekeeper Hazel Burke, played by Shirley Booth and based on the cartoon character appearing in The Saturday Evening Post.[10] DeFore was not the original actor to portray George Baxter. In the pilot episode, the role was played by character actor Edward Andrews. DeFore took over the role when the series was green-lighted. The series ran on NBC for four seasons (1961-65); DeFore and his co-star Whitney Blake were written out of the series when CBS picked up the series for its final season (1965-66).[13]
In 1970, DeFore appeared as Mayor Evans on the TV Western The Men from Shiloh in the episode titled "Colonel Mackenzie Versus the West". In that role, he played a murderer, which was a major shift from the comedy roles for which he was better known on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and Hazel.
For his contribution to the television industry, Don DeFore has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6804 Hollywood Blvd.[14]
Writing
In 1965, DeFore and his daughter Penny wrote With All My Love, a book detailing Penny's experiences working in a Korean orphanage. DeFore's memoirs, "Hollywood DeFore 'n After" were never published, however, his youngest son, Ron, included portions in his book, "Growing Up in Disneyland", Waldorf Publishing 2019, along with his own biography. The title was a metaphor for his life in a celebrity family but was also literal as his father was the only person to own a food establishment bearing the name of a real person: "Don DeFore's Silver Banjo Barbecue" in Frontierland 1957 - 1962.[15]
Personal life
Marriage and children
Appearing with daughter Penny in the play Generation in 1967 at Pheasant Run Playhouse
DeFore married singer Marion Holmes (January 21, 1918 - November 17, 2011) on February 14, 1942. Judy Garland served as Holmes' matron of honor.[16] Holmes performed with the Henry Busse Orchestra from 1935 to 1939, and later with Art Kassel and his "Castles in the Air" from 1939 until their marriage.[17] They had five children: Penny, David, Dawn, Ron, and Autumn. They remained married until DeFore's death in 1993.[16]
Politics and other activities
DeFore and his family were longtime residents of the Mandeville Canyon section of Brentwood and attended the Village Church of Westwood Lutheran.[18] DeFore served as Brentwood's honorary mayor and also served as a member of the advisory committee for the California Department of Rehabilitation.[19] DeFore was also a 33rd degree Scottish Rite and Master Mason Freemason.[19]
A long-time Republican, DeFore supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election and was a delegate at the 1976 and 1980 Republican National Conventions.[20] His friend, former actor and 40th President of the United States Ronald Reagan, appointed him to the Presidential Advisory Council to the Peace Corps.[21] His youngest son, Ron, also held political positions within the Reagan Administration, which he highlights in his book, Growing Up in Disneyland, Waldorf Publishing, 2019, that was both an autobiography and partial biography of his father.
