You know him and love him…or at least tolerate him…in the classic film Grease and the not-so classic sequel Grease 2, in which he played the ultra-geeky Eugene Felnic. But I remember him even more from one of my childhood staple films Midnight Madness, the crummy all-niter scavenger hunt film that was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and put Michael J. Fox on the map. This film contained Deezen’s oft-quoted (at least by my sister Denise and me) line, “Hug Me!”
Although you don’t see him around much anymore, he did have his day when his work as a nerd was in such high demand that he was turning away roles in famous films such as Meatballs and Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, in favor of roles in classic films such as 1941 and WarGames, and TV spots on The Facts of Life, Magnum P.I., and a recurring role in Punky Brewster. More recently, he provided one of the voices in The Polar Express.
My friend Bob had picked me up a signed photo of Deezen below when he appeared at one of the Hollywood Collectors Shows around 2003. Even though he was only charging the minimal fee of $5.00 for his signature, Bob still sarcastically remarked “money well spent!”
When I was attending the Evening with Carol Burnett and Tim Conway at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, on Tuesday, April 27, 2010, I asked my friends Bob and Steve if they had seen any celebrities roaming around, Steve notified me that Eddie Deezen was sitting a few seats over with his mother in tow. This wasn’t surprising since Deezen had collaborated a few times with Tim Conway in the past, namely in his Dorf series.
He was sitting in the aisle seat when I approached him and confirmed that he was Eddie Deezen. I asked him if he would mine posing for a photo with me and he enthusiastically accepted. In fact, he offered to go out into the lobby to pose. I told him that I didn’t want to trouble him, and merely crouched down next to his seat. Had I known he would be this cordial – and I had thought about it – I might have asked him to repeat my favorite line of his…HUG ME!
Return to the Carol Burnett show…
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