‘Ozzie and Harriet’ actor left hit ‘50s sitcom for starring role, got a surprise second act from Disney: son

Don DeFore became a familiar face to millions of Americans when he played Thorny Thornbury in "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." But at the height of the show’s fame, he decided to walk away.

"My dad was only there for five years," Ron DeFore, the actor’s son, told Fox News Digital. "What he went through is what a lot of actors went through and probably still go through now."

"If you’ve been a co-star, but not star billing in a TV show like that one, a very popular TV show… he and his agent felt, ‘Hey, you’ve done your dues. You’ve paid your dues. You’re good enough now. Let’s shop around for your own show where you can be the main star.’"

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"He and his agent felt, ‘Hey, you’ve done your dues. You’ve paid your dues. You’re good enough now. Let’s shop around for your own show where you can be the main star.’"

— Ron DeFore, Don DeFore's son.

Don DeFore (left) played Ozzie Nelson’s good friend Thorny Thornbury in "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" from 1952 to 1958. (Courtesy of Ron DeFore)

Ron has written a new memoir, "Growing Up in Disneyland Second Edition," which details the beloved patriarch’s decades-long Hollywood career. The TV and film star passed away in 1993 at age 80.

"My dad had written a book, but it was never published," Ron explained. "But about 20 years ago, my brother and I started doing presentations that I titled ‘Growing Up in Disneyland,’ which was about my father’s restaurant in Disneyland. . . . But there was so much more we wanted to tell about our father."

"Growing Up In Disneyland Second Edition" by Ron DeFore is out now. (BearManor Media)

"It dawned on me that my father had this unpublished manuscript that was all about his life, some 800 pages," said Ron. "I wanted to share my own experiences of growing up in a celebrity family, but I wanted my dad’s experiences to be told in his own words, too."

Don DeFore played George Baxter in "Hazel" from 1961 to 1965. (Courtesy of Ron DeFore)

From 1952 to 1958, DeFore played Ozzie Nelson’s good pal, one of the first next-door-neighbor roles on television, the Los Angeles Times reported. Despite the sitcom’s success, DeFore was eager to make his mark as a star.

But it didn’t exactly go as planned.

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"[After ‘Ozzie and Harriet’] he made two pilots," Ron explained. "Unfortunately, they didn’t go anywhere… He was trying. But then what came along was some pretty successful stuff in another part of his career. He was President of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1954."

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In 1954, Don DeFore was elected president of the Television Academy. He helped sell the first telecast of the Emmy Awards to NBC. (John Springer Collection/Corbis via Getty Images)

"He sold the very first national broadcast of the Emmy Award show to NBC in 1954," he shared. "Before then, it had been a local show. . . . When he accomplished that, he was voted to serve another year."

DeFore then got a call from an unlikely fan – Walt Disney.

Don DeFore married singer Marion Holmes in 1942. They remained together until his death in 1993. (Courtesy of Ron DeFore)

"Walt said, ‘Look, I used to be on the board of the Academy, and we couldn’t give the show away, so I want to meet the guy that was able to sell it,’" Ron chuckled. "So, he invited my dad out to the Disney Burbank studios.

Don DeFore is seen here at the Disneyland Parade opening day. (Courtesy of Ron DeFore)

"Fast-forward to July 1955, he invited our whole family to be in the opening-day parade for Disneyland. And a year after that, some space opened up in Frontierland. He was asked if he wanted to open up a barbecue restaurant in Disneyland. That’s where Don DeFore’s Silver Banjo came about. He had a lease for five years."

Judy Garland served as Marion Holmes' matron of honor. (Courtesy of Ron DeFore)

"Disneyland was our backyard," Ron reflected. "We would go there almost every weekend and during the summers for weeks on end."

But DeFore never forgot his time on "Ozzie and Harriet." Ron said that his father had a close bond with his castmates.

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Don DeFore with the Nelsons. (Courtesy of Ron DeFore)

"Ozzie Nelson was a genius," said Ron. "He put his ego in his back pocket for my father. In many of the scenes [they shared], most of the laugh lines are given to my dad. If Ozzie hadn’t put his ego in his back pocket, he wouldn’t have written the scenes that way, because he and his brother wrote the scripts. He could have given himself all the laugh lines. But he didn’t. He allowed my dad to shine."

The first episode of "Hazel" with Ron DeFore (center), his father Don DeFore (right) and Shirley Booth, circa 1961. (Courtesy of Ron DeFore)

The classic TV series, which starred the real-life Nelson family, continues to symbolize the idyllic American household of the ‘50s. Ron said there’s a good reason why the show is still revered by fans since it ended in 1966.

"Television was in its infancy at that time," Ron explained. "The idea of watching weekly television shows or comedies, like ‘Ozzie and Harriet,’ really didn’t take hold until 1950. It was the beginning of a whole new phenomenon for people. You didn’t have to go to the theater. . . . You didn’t have to listen to the radio and imagine the visuals. This was the first time real-life people came into the living rooms."

Don DeFore made his mark on Broadway, television and film. (Courtesy of Ron DeFore)

"And it changed my father’s life, too," he said. "During that period, he would get recognized. But it wasn’t, ‘That’s Don DeFore, the TV star.’ They looked at him as if they were recognizing a neighbor, but they just couldn’t put the name with the face. And my dad had a great sense of humor. 

"They would say, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ And my dad would go, ‘We’re doing good. I haven’t seen you in a while. How are the kids?’ It would go on. And about 30 seconds later, their jaws would drop and go, ‘Wait a minute, you’re Don DeFore!’ Us kids would just giggle, and my dad would give an autograph. And that scene repeated itself so many times."

Don DeFore ran a BBQ restaurant in Disneyland from 1957 to 1962 called Don DeFore’s Silver Banjo. (Courtesy of Ron DeFore)

After "Ozzie and Harriet," DeFore played patriarch George Baxter in "Hazel" from 1961 to 1965. He later had guest roles in "St. Elsewhere" and "Murder, She Wrote" in the late ‘80s.

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Marilyn Monroe and Don Defore are seen here playing cards on a train from New York City to Warrenburg, New York, circa 1949. Monroe was in New York City to promote her film "Love Happy." Monroe and DeFore traveled to Warrenburg to present Photoplay Magazine's Dream Home contest winner Virginia McAllister the key to her new house.  (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

But during Hollywood’s golden era, he befriended many icons, including an up-and-coming actress named Marilyn Monroe.

"It was kind of a fluke," said Ron. "They were just randomly picked, two stars [who] just had a picture released. They were going to New York to start their publicity tour. A magazine had run a contest to give away a brand-new home. . . . They somehow decided that they would want my dad and this new ingénue, Marilyn Monroe, to be the ones to give away the house."

Marilyn Monroe is seen here sitting on a train to Warrenburg, New York, to present the keys to a new house to the winner of a Photoplay Magazine contest.  (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

"They connected in New York," he continued. "They sat on the train together. My dad got to know her pretty well, and the rest is history."

Don Defore and Marilyn Monroe having fun in a "dream house" that was later given to one lucky reader of Photoplay Magazine. (Pictorial Parade/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

"After doing the event in New York, [my dad] talked about walking into the Fox Studio several years later after she had become a big box office success," Ron revealed. "He was wondering if she would even remember him, and she did."

DeFore also befriended a young Ronald Reagan. 

From left: Ronald Reagan, Phyllis Thaxter and Don DeFore in a scene from "She's Working Her Way Through College." (Warner Brothers/Alamy)

DeFore was later appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council to the Peace Corps, the Los Angeles Times reported. According to the outlet, he was also a delegate to the Republican national conventions nominating Reagan and President George Bush.

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Don DeFore (left) and Ronald Reagan became friends on the set of 1952's "She's Working Her Way Through College." (Courtesy of Ron DeFore)

Reagan and DeFore first met on the set of the 1952 film "She’s Working Her Way Through College."

"They became good friends," said Ron. "They shared [the same] political views. They were both conservative… My dad produced one of Ronald Reagan’s first political events before Ronald Reagan became governor of California. . . . My dad was the president of the men’s club in his church in Santa Monica. They wanted to do a fundraiser and have a well-known speaker. . . . My dad said, ‘How about Ronald Reagan?’

"He arranged it… When Reagan decided to run for governor, my dad campaigned for him. My dad campaigned for Reagan as well for president. Ultimately, my dad and I became Reagan appointees in his presidential administration."

Ron DeFore is seen here shaking Ronald Reagan's hand as dad Don DeFore looks on, circa 1983. (Courtesy of Ron DeFore)

Reagan wasn’t the only conservative in Hollywood DeFore became pals with on set.

"When my dad co-starred with John Wayne in 1946’s "Without Reservations," they would spend a lot of time in between scenes or even out for the evening," said Ron. "Everybody knew John Wayne was pretty conservative. He taught my dad a lot. He [also] brought my dad to a couple of political rallies. One of them was a rally for Reagan when he was thinking of running for governor."

From left: Don DeFore, Claudette Colbert and John Wayne in 1946's "Without Reservations." (Courtesy of Ron DeFore )

Today, Ron hopes readers will learn more about his father’s life and legacy.

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Don DeFore is seen here showing his son Ron DeFore how to install TV cabinets, circa 1953. (Courtesy of Ron DeFore)

"It was like the Goldilocks era," he said. "I’m not saying that America was perfect at that time. By all means, it was not. But I was very fortunate to grow up in a time when we never locked our doors. I didn’t even have to tell my mom I was going for the day to hike up in the hills. . . . My dad also experienced many transformations and met lots of interesting characters along the way. . . . It really was growing up in Disneyland."