Dean Jones dies at 84

September 3, 2015 2:43 AM

Dean Jones dies at 84; starred in 'The Love Bug,' 'That Darn Cat!' and 'Beethoven'. He is also remembered for originating the role of Bobby in Stephen Sondheim's Company.
posted by hippybear (32 comments total)

For older gen x or younger boomers, this guy was the face of children's movies in 70s. Him and Don Knotts pretty much had the market all to themselves. RIP.
posted by Beholder at 2:59 AM on September 3, 2015 [9 favorites]

He was, after all, The Shaggy D.A.
posted by hippybear at 3:06 AM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

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posted by condour75 at 3:13 AM on September 3, 2015

Definitely a big figure of my childhood. I remember seeing The Million Dollar Duck in the theater as a double bill (heh) with Now You See Him, Now You Don't.
posted by octothorpe at 3:41 AM on September 3, 2015

This man's movies were a staple of the early days of the Disney Channel when it was a subscription service and like Beholder says, the face of movies in my childhood (older gen x). This is sad news indeed. (And I'd like to throw my favorite out there: Blackbeard's Ghost)
posted by dances with hamsters at 4:12 AM on September 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

Ah, The Million Dollar Duck, staple of early-period Disney Channel along with The Cat From Outer Space.
posted by JHarris at 4:12 AM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

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He was in EVERYTHING as a kid.
posted by Mezentian at 4:41 AM on September 3, 2015

Geez, yeah, he and Kurt Russell were very much the kings (well, Russell was more of a prince, being pretty young still) of those old Disney movies. For a while, The Love Bug and its sequels even took over from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as my primary sentient car obsession.

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posted by Halloween Jack at 4:46 AM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

I love how us old people are all coming in to say the same thing. Good ol' Dean!
posted by JanetLand at 4:49 AM on September 3, 2015

For a while, The Love Bug and its sequels even took over from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as my primary sentient car obsession.

Does KITT count?
posted by Mezentian at 4:49 AM on September 3, 2015

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posted by Thorzdad at 4:55 AM on September 3, 2015

Damn.

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posted by allthinky at 5:01 AM on September 3, 2015

The movies still hold up! During a recent get-together here, several children were seen cackling with delight at That Darn Cat, while parents all agreed that with a slightly different haircut, Dean Jones would be a heart-throb today.
posted by mittens at 5:01 AM on September 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

I was actually a bit too old to get into Knight Rider by the time it was on the air; AI notwithstanding, I no longer really believed in thinking cars.

...god, I am old.
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:03 AM on September 3, 2015

Hard to remember that Disney always stayed within its little niche of G-rated films with a pretty strict house style until The Black Hole in '79.
posted by octothorpe at 5:59 AM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

One of the first actors I had a crush on. The Love Bug, indeed. RIP, Dean Jones.
posted by GrammarMoses at 6:02 AM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

I vaguely remember not liking "The Love Bug" and being kind of disturbed by the concept.
posted by thelonius at 6:02 AM on September 3, 2015

Dean Jones was the face of benevolence in the movies for me when I was kid. And I do recall feeling really disturbed by the dream sequence with the series of Herbies with teeth.
posted by Quaversalis at 6:37 AM on September 3, 2015

What a hottie.
posted by maggiemaggie at 6:43 AM on September 3, 2015

When we lost Stritch last year I remember someone posted those Company videos, and I was gobsmacked that it was Dean Jones singing Bobby with such passion. I had always thought of him as the loveable goofball from all of those Disney movies. What a talented man.

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posted by blurker at 7:12 AM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

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posted by Atreides at 7:48 AM on September 3, 2015

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posted by jabo at 8:43 AM on September 3, 2015

There was a time when I was a kid when That Darn Cat was my favorite movie.

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posted by Gelatin at 8:55 AM on September 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

We were dragged out of class once in elementary school to see That Darn Cat in our gymnasium -- for no particular reason that I can recall. I still remembered the theme song even before I clicked that link.

RIP, Dean Jones. You held your own against a charismatic Siamese and so much more.
posted by maudlin at 10:11 AM on September 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

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posted by Splunge at 10:36 AM on September 3, 2015

We were dragged out of class once in elementary school to see That Darn Cat in our gymnasium -- for no particular reason that I can recall. I still remembered the theme song even before I clicked that link.

I vaguely remember a local junior high doing something like this on Summer weekends, but I wonder how that worked, exactly? Did schools get entertainment budgets or something? Was this a cross business venture between studios and school districts? I don't remember if tickets were sold or not.
posted by Beholder at 10:41 AM on September 3, 2015

We were dragged out of class once in elementary school to see That Darn Cat in our gymnasium -- for no particular reason that I can recall. I still remembered the theme song even before I clicked that link.

Me too. They'd always do this as a year-end event before summer break when I was in Elementary school.

I'm sure it was only coincidence that they ran Monkeys, Go Home! one year.
posted by mazola at 10:51 AM on September 3, 2015

He was a familiar face for younger gen Xers also. His movies were always on Disney, so you'd catch pieces here and there.

Nothing induces pangs of nostalgia quite like watching blocks of promos from classic Disney Channel and Nick on YouTube. They were so ubiquitous, and yet not something you can quite re-experience in the same way as watching an entire episode or movie from that period on DVD.
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 11:01 AM on September 3, 2015

We are not going to have any peace in this house until he realizes he is not a dachshund.
posted by bukvich at 12:20 PM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

I was amazed to see "That Darn Cat" as an adult and discover it's a good movie!
posted by acrasis at 2:43 PM on September 3, 2015

"Maybe there's one more in me." His rendition of Being Alive from Company, linked above, is just so beautiful.
posted by How the runs scored at 7:45 PM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

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posted by the sobsister at 7:56 PM on September 3, 2015