Donald John DeFore (August 25, 1913 â€" 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.DeFore was one of seven children born in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, to Joseph Ervin, a railroad engineer who worked at the
Chicago and North Western Transportation Company and was also a local
politician, and Albina Sylvia DeFore (née Nezerka). Albina, who
occasionally directed plays at their local church, was the daughter of
Czech immigrants from the former Poděbrady district. Her father Jan
Nežerka (1846-1928) was born in PÃsková Lhota (baptized Catholic in
Kostelnà Lhota) and her mother Marie Najbrtová (1852-1930) was born
in Chvalovice (baptized Evangelical in Hořátev).After graduating
from Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, DeFore attended the
University of Iowa. 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.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 and eight
months on the road.
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.DeFore was one of seven children born in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, to Joseph Ervin, a railroad engineer who worked at the
Chicago and North Western Transportation Company and was also a local
politician, and Albina Sylvia DeFore (née Nezerka). Albina, who
occasionally directed plays at their local church, was the daughter of
Czech immigrants from the former Poděbrady district. Her father Jan
Nežerka (1846-1928) was born in PÃsková Lhota (baptized Catholic in
Kostelnà Lhota) and her mother Marie Najbrtová (1852-1930) was born
in Chvalovice (baptized Evangelical in Hořátev).After graduating
from Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, DeFore attended the
University of Iowa. 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.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 and eight
months on the road.
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