#mel cooley

Richard Deacon’s balding visage is probably familiar to Boomers. He played Lumpy’s dad in Leave It to Beaver (1957-1963) and Mel Cooley, the grumpy producer of the show within the show, on the Dick Van Dyke series (1961-1966). He also played various prissy, and imperious figures on TV throughout the 1960s to the 1980s in show such as The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, the Twilight Zone, Green Acres, and the Addams Family.

Deacon himself described his TV persona as:

"As a straight man, I'm hired for my buttoned-down quality. I'm nearly always an executive of some sort, in suit and tie, and somebody always pricks my bubble of dignity. I've been called every adjective - smug, lugubrious, unctuous, bland, you name it.”

Some would be surprised to learn that Deacon was also a gourmet chef. He wrote several cookbooks and hosted a cooking show on Canadian TV.

Everyone would be surprised that Richard Deacon was Gay. In his later years Deacon was asked if he thought the public guessed he was gay. He replied:

“No, not even gays. Most would be surprised… a serious (unsmiling) guy in a suit isn't how people think of gay men.”

He added:

"I'm nearly the exact opposite of a Paul Lynde."

Except for his close personal friends, Deacon said he didn’t think anyone within the film industry knew that he was gay.

Deacon with his friend Charles Pierce, a professional female impersonator.

I made a meme…

Did I combine a niche British comedy group with an old American tv show? (the Dick Van Dyke show) Yes. Yes I did.

The Dick Van Dyke Show

Buddy: Rebuke? Is that a word?

Mel: You have all invoked my fury! You will all pay recompense for your transgressions!

May 14, 1921

Richard Deacon was born in Philadelphia, although he and his family later moved to Binghamton, New York. He attended West Junior High and Binghamton Central High School, where he met fellow Binghamton resident Rod Serling.

During World War II, Deacon served in the Army medical corps. In 1946, upon completion of his service, he returned to Binghamton where he attended Ithaca College, first as a medical student, but later developed an interest in acting, engaging in some nighttime radio announcing.

He made his screen debut in the 1953 low budget sci-fi film Invaders from Mars as an MP (uncredited).  The very next year he made his TV debut on a March 1954 episode of “Four Star Playhouse”. 

His first time at Desilu was two guest star appearances on their hit sitcom “December Bride” in 1956. In his second episode “The Sunken Den” he actually played Desi Arnaz’s butler, James.  

It’s not surprising that he was cast as Tallulah Bankhead’s butler Winslow in “The Celebrity Next Door,” a 1957 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.”  

From 1956 to 1961 Deacon did four episodes of “The Danny Thomas Show,” filmed at Desilu Studios.  Also filmed at Desilu Studios was “The Dick Van Dyke Show”.  Deacon played Mel Cooley for 80 episodes of the series from 1961 to 1966.  

He made three appearances on Desilu’s “The Real McCoys” from 1959 to 1962, all as different (urban) characters. 

In 1960 he did a day on “My Three Sons” filmed at Desilu. He played an elderly man in an episode that also featured William Frawley. 

In February 1960 he was in an episode of Desilu’s hit gangster series “The Untouchables” titled “The Unhired Assassin: Part One”.  Both parts were also shown as “The Guns of Zangara”. 

In January 1961 he did an episode of Desilu’s short-lived “Guest-Ward Ho!” 

In 1963 he played Harvey Rittenhouse in the Ball / Hope film Critic’s Choice. 

In October 1964, Deacon and Lucille Ball both played themselves on “Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theatre: Have Girls, Will Travel”. 

He was employed again by Desi Sr. as a regular on “The Mothers-in-Law” (1968-69). The role of Roger Buell was played during the first season by Roger C. Carmel. When he held out for more money to do a second season, executive producer Desi Arnaz replaced him with Deacon (top left), who ended up doing more episodes than his predecessor. 

On February 8, 1971, Deacon guest starred on the first of two episodes of “Here’s Lucy” in “Lucy and Carol Burnett aka The Hollywood Unemployment Follies” (HL S3;E22).  He played Harvey Hopple, frustrated playwright and performer, who works for the Hollywood Unemployment Office. 

Deacon gets to perform “The Indian Love Call” with guest-star Carol Burnett. 

In his second appearance on the series, Deacon played Elmer Zellerbach, a Loan Officer on the “Here’s Lucy” episode “Lucy Sublets the Office” (HL S4;E21) on January 31, 1972. 

Deacon was a gourmet chef in addition to working as an actor. He wrote a series of cookbooks and hosted a Canadian television series on microwave oven cooking.  

His final screen appearance was posthumously in the 1984 film Bad Manners. 

He died on August 8, 1984, at age 63. Deacon was never married, and was said to be homosexual.  

buddy: *turns in gun and badge*