Ron Dean

This article is about the actor. For the Australian footballer for Collingwood, see Ron Dean (footballer, born 1916). For the Australian footballer for Richmond, see Ron Dean (footballer, born 1943).

Ronald Charles ”Ron” Dean^[1] (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.

Ron Dean
Born	(1938-08-15)August 15, 1938 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	October 5, 2025(2025-10-05) (aged 87) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1976–2016

Background

Dean was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 15, 1938.^[2] He attended DeKalb School of the Arts.^[3] He died at a hospital in Chicago, on October 5, 2025, at the age of 87.^[4][5]

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).^[4] Other films include Teachers (1984),^[4] The Breakfast Club (1985),^[4] Code of Silence (1985),^[5] Nothing in Common (1986),^[4] Above the Law (1988),^[5] The Babe (1992),^[4] The Fugitive (1993),^[4] Rudy (1993),^[4] The Client (1994),^[4] Eye for an Eye (1996),^[4] Chain Reaction (1996),^[5] The Guardian (2006),^[5] and The Dark Knight (2008).^[4]

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 playng Seattle cop Frank Collins in Frasier,^[4] Det. Marion Zeke Crumb in Early Edition,^[4] and Commanding Chief Fire Marshal of the CFD's Office of Fire Investigations James Whoritsky in Chicago Fire.^[4]

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
2004	Wild Things 2	Judge Ruben	Straight-to-video
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
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"
1995	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"
	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	Pilot
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"