Ronald Charles DeanYahoo.com (August 15, 1938 – October 5, 2025) was an American film and television actor. He appeared in films including Risky Business, The Breakfast Club, Cocktail, The Babe, The Fugitive, Rudy, The Client, and The Dark Knight. He is known for having often played detectives and other law-enforcement characters, most notably as Det. Marion Zeke Crumb in the fantasy comedy-drama television series Early Edition.
Background Dean was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 15, 1938. He attended DeKalb School of the Arts."You Want A Chicago Actor? Meet Ron Dean", Chicago Now. He died at a hospital in Chicago on October 5, 2025, at the age of 87.
Career Dean's early films included The Last Affair (1976) and Continental Divide (1981). He appeared in three films starring Tom Cruise: Risky Business (1983), The Color of Money (1986), and Cocktail (1988). Other films include Teachers (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), Code of Silence (1985), Nothing in Common (1986), Above the Law (1988), The Babe (1992), The Fugitive (1993), Rudy (1993), The Client (1994), Eye for an Eye (1996), Chain Reaction (1996), The Guardian (2006), and The Dark Knight (2008).
His television roles included guest appearances in T. J. Hooker, Wiseguy, Perfect Strangers, NYPD Blue, Murder, She Wrote, ER, The West Wing, Chicago Hope, Without a Trace, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Cold Case, Still Standing, Numb3rs, Six Feet Under, Chicago P.D., as well as recurring roles playing Seattle cop Frank Collins in Frasier, Det. Marion Zeke Crumb in Early Edition, and Commanding Chief Fire Marshal of the CFD's Office of Fire Investigations James Whoritsky in Chicago Fire.
Select filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1976 The Last Affair David 1981 Continental Divide Plesko 1983 Risky Business Detective With Bullhorn The Big Score Kowalski 1984 Teachers Guard 1985 The Breakfast Club Mr. Clark, Andy's Father Code of Silence Detective Brennan 1986 Nothing in Common Ed Bedsole The Color of Money Guy In Crowd 1987 Big Shots Policeman #2 Light of Day Mourner 1988 Above the Law Detective Lukich Cocktail Uncle Pat 1989 The Package Karl Richards 1992 The Babe Umpire Owens 1993 The Fugitive Detective Kelly Rudy Coach Yonto 1994 The Client Johnny "Uncle Johnny" Sulari House of Angels – The Second Summer Sven Pettersson 1995 Steal Big Steal Little Nick's Boy 1996 Eye for an Eye Detective At McCann House Chain Reaction Sergeant Nick Zingaro 1997 Chicago Cab Old Snack Trucker 2006 The Guardian Navy Captain 2008 The Dark Knight Detective Wuertz 2012 One Small Hitch Art Burke
Television Year Title Role Notes 1985–1986 Lady Blue Sergeant Gino Gianelli Main cast 1985 T. J. Hooker Detective #2 Episode: "The Chicago Connection" 1986–1987 Crime Story Chief Kramer Recurring role, 9 episodes 1988 Wiseguy Detective Mulcahy Episode: "Phantom Pain" 1990 DEA Detective Tom Neally Episode: "America's War on Drugs" 1991 Perfect Strangers Fire Chief Newton Episode: "Great Balls of Fire" 1992 Angel Street Detective Branigan Main cast, 4 episodes (4 unaired) 1993 Flying Blind John Doe Episode: "The Spy Who Came in from the Old" 1994–1998 Frasier Frank 3 episodes 1994–2004 NYPD Blue Joe Brockhurst / Vincent Mackie 5 episodes 1995 Pig Sty Tony Falcone Episode: "The Maltese Falcone" Murder, She Wrote Lieutenant Shawn Reilly Episode: "Unwilling Witness" 1996 Life's Work Mr. Zafrani 2 episodes 1996–2000 Early Edition Detective Marion "Zeke" Crumb Recurring role, 17 episodes 1998 ER Uncle Joey Episode: "The Good Fight" 1999 Chicago Hope Baseball Scout Episode: "Vigilance and Care" 2001 What About Joan? Mr. Howard Evans Episode: "Joan Meets the Parents" Special Unit 2 Police Captain 2 episodes 2002 Raising Dad Mr. Zafrani Episode: "The House of Stewart" 2004 The West Wing Tom Broderick Episode: "Full Disclosure" Wild Things 2 Judge Ruben Television film Without a Trace Willie Episode: "Legacy" CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Woody Episode: "Turn of the Screws" 2004–2006 Still Standing "Slim" Callahan 2 episodes 2005 Numb3rs Peter Watson Episode: "Dirty Bomb" Six Feet Under Karl Holzenchenko Episode: "Eat a Peach" Cold Case Troy Cage In 2005 Episode: "Colors" 2009 The Beast Petransky 1 episode 2012–2013 Chicago Fire James Whoritsky 3 episodes 2015 Sense8 "Duke" Episode: "I Am Also a We" 2016 Chicago P.D. Ray Sharansky Episode: "In a Duffel Bag"
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