Don DeFore

Generally cast as the good-natured, friendly-neighbor type, character actor Don DeFore is best remembered for his television appearances of the '50s and '60s in "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" and "Hazel." DeFore took to the stage early, in church plays led by his mother, and he later studied drama at the Pasadena Playhouse. Starting in the late '30s he appeared in both films and plays, including a run on Broadway in "The Male Animal," and reprising his role in the subsequent filmed version. Further film parts followed, including a GI with noble dreams in the 1947 postwar romantic comedy "It Happened on Fifth Avenue." He gained greater visibility with the recurring character of friendly neighbor "Thorny" in the popular family comedy "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet." In the early '60s, he landed another choice spot in a well-loved series, as the supposed master of the house on "Hazel," with Shirley Booth as the housekeeper of the title. He continued acting until 1987, with a final appearance in an episode of "St. Elsewhere." Off-screen, DeFore acted in radio plays, served a one-year term as President of the National Academy of Arts & Sciences, and was instrumental in organizing the first televised broadcast of the Emmy Awards in '55. He also has the rare distinction of opening the only independent restaurant in Disneyland, Silver Banjo Barbecue.