He might be best known as "the guy who played the nerdy guy in Grease," but the actor permanently
associated with the role of Eugene Felsnic, the bullied and bespectacled Rydell High student
who could surprisingly hurl a cream pie with remarkable precision, has a name: Eddie Deezen.
Deezen turned in a memorable performance in the 1978 classic and went on to appear in
lots of other projects.
How did this fellow maintain a steady and interesting stream of work for decades in
a business that can chew up even the hottest A-list stars at the drop of a hat?
Let's take a closer look at Eddie Deezen.
Revenge of the nerd
By the time Grease left theaters, it was the fifth-highest growing film of all-time, cementing
the pop culture status of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
And then there's Eddie Deezen, who arguably had a more important career, being the very
model of the "movie nerd."
Many movies from the ‘80s needed nerd characters to operate these new things called computers,
to serve as punching bags for cool characters, or to turn the tables on those cool characters.
Deezen did it better than anyone, playing nerds in such classics as Midnight Madness,
Zapped!, WarGames, and a return to the role of Eugene in Grease 2.
Ironically, the one nerd-centric '80s film he didn't appear in?
Revenge of the Nerds.
"Haha"
He'll 'B' seeing you
For someone so typecast, Eddie Deezen has thrived, making a living as a working actor
for more than 40 years and counting.
Sure, he's not starring in big blockbusters, but he has appeared in a ton of late-night,
cable-ready B-movies, including such schlocky titles as Laserblast, Teenage Exorcist, Beverly
Hills Vamp, Critters 2 and Assault of the Killer Bimbos.
Deezen even enjoyed top-billing in Surf II, where he plays a nerd who exacts revenge on
surfers by turning them into mutants.
Don't worry, you don’t need to see Surf I to understand it.
“Do you know how many brain surgeons, nuclear physicists or Nobel laureates have been surfers?
I’ll tell ya’!
None!”
He's a very vocal guy
Eddie Deezen has the nerd voice to go along with the nerd image.
Over the past 20 years, Deezen's career has shifted almost entirely to animation.
From rival child scientist Mandark on Dexter's Laboratory, to fast food manager Ned on Kim
Possible, to the geeky Know-It-All in The Polar Express, Deezen has remained in his
nerdy wheelhouse.
Deezen's also had a prolific career as a voiceover performer in television commercials, including
being the voice of Pop, as in Rice Krispies’ Snap, Crackle, and Pop.
He also auditioned to play one of the most famous ad characters ever, the AFLAC Duck.
Ultimately, he lost that ducky gig to Gilbert Gottfried.
“So I’m very happy to be here, but I’m happy to be here, I mean anywhere, I’m happy
to be anywhere.”
Here's a fun fact
The Hollywood history books are full of actors who, when the big roles dried up, or out of
a need for creative fulfillment, turned to writing.
Examples include Justin Theroux, Emma Thompson, and Seth Rogen.
Add Eddie Deezen to that list, whose writing niche is very much in line with his nerd reputation.
The curious actor is a big fan of trivia and fun facts, and as such, he's worked for a
number of big players in that particular publishing arena.
Deezen has contributed fact lists and articles for the long-running Uncle John's Bathroom
Reader series, as well as online trivia repositories such as Neatorama and Mental Floss.
Deezen loves to write about music, particularly the Beatles, the subject of his 1978 movie
I Want to Hold Your Hand.
“Listen, I know everything there is to know about the Beatles, there’s nothing I don’t
know about the Beatles.”
She loves you, Eddie Deezen
Eddie Deezen has played comfortable variations of himself on the big screen and small screen
for decades.
However, it wasn’t until 2012 that he got to portray the part he was born to play: Eddie
Deezen.
Written by, directed by, and starring indie filmmaker Sherry Mattson, I Love You, Eddie
Deezen is about a woman who is so bored with her humdrum, Midwestern existence that she
decides to head for Hollywood and seeks out the man of her dreams, king of the dorks,
Eddie Deezen.
As the film's copy states, "nerds need love, too.”
Deezen was very game for the 13-minute film, which allowed him to play the hunky leading
man for the first time.