Eddie Deezen (born March 6, 1958) is an American actor and voice actor, primarily known for playing teenage nerds in movies throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. He's mainly known by younger generations for his voice acting work, most notably the character of Mandark on the Cartoon Network series Dexter's Laboratory. His unique style of acting has garnered him a small but devoted cult following.
Deezen started out in the business with aspirations of becoming a stand-up comedian. After three failed performances at The Comedy Store, he set his sights on acting. He landed his first role in the smash film Grease, playing nerdy Eugene Felnic, a character that he would later reprise in the 1982 sequel. He followed up with bit parts in other successful mainstream films such as Laserblast, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, 1941, and WarGames.
In 1980, Deezen was cast in a major role in the Disney film Midnight Madness, which failed at the box office but quickly gathered a strong cult following. In 1984, he was cast in the lead role for the independent comedy Surf II, alongside such legendary comic actors as Lyle Waggoner and Ruth Buzzi. For the remainder of the 80s and the early 90s, he was cast in leading roles in a handful of independent comedies, such as Beverly Hills Vamp, Hollywood Boulevard II, Mob Boss, and Teenage Exorcist.
Due to his uniquely high-pitched nasally voice, it was easy for Eddie to find work doing voiceovers. One of his first voice acting jobs was in the 1991 Don Bluth animated film Rock-A-Doodle, followed by a role on the short-lived animated series Grimmy. Since then, Deezen's worked steadily in television voiceovers, appearing in such cartoons as Darkwing Duck, Duckman, Johnny Bravo, What's New, Scooby-Doo?, Kim Possible, and Dexter's Laboratory, where he created his trademark role of Mandark, the show's main villain.
