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Dennis Dugan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dennis Dugan (born September 5, 1946, in Wheaton, Illinois) is an American actor and film director.
American comic actor Dennis Dugan did quite well for himself trading out a bumbling-but-huggable screen image. On screen at least since 1972, Dugan established his screen persona in brief doses in such films as Harry and Walter Go To New York (1976) and Norman Is That You (1976).
In 1979, he was ideally cast as the time-displaced hero in Unidentified Flying Oddball, Disney's updated remake of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Television has always a welcome mat for Dugan: he was the star of the short-lived series Richie Brockelman, Private Eye (1977) (a character who originated on The Rockford Files), Empire (1984) and Shadow Chasers (1984), and was a semi-regular as an erstwhile "caped crusader" on Hill Street Blues (when Dugan's character was killed off, many disconsolate viewers wrote in to warn that they would never watch the show again). Dugan's films credits of the 1980s have been plentiful if not distinguished, including Can't Buy Me Love (1987) and The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988).
Dugan has also made a career as a television and film director. Films directed by Dennis Dugan include the 1990 John Ritter comedy Problem Child, the 2001 comedy Saving Silverman starring Jack Black, Steve Zahn, and Amanda Peet, the 2003 Martin Lawrence/Steve Zahn comedy National Security, and the 1996 and 1999 Adam Sandler comedies Happy Gilmore and Big Daddy. Dugan has directed episodes of such television series as Moonlighting, Ally McBeal, and NYPD Blue.
Dennis Dugan's most recent film was The Benchwarmers, a comedy released on April 7, 2006. It stars Jon Heder of Napoleon Dynamite fame, along with Jon Lovitz, David Spade, and Rob Schneider. The film, co-written by Adam Sandler, is about trio of guys who try to make up for missed opportunities in childhood by forming a three-player baseball team to compete against standard Little League squads.