Character actor Don Defore was the son of an Iowa-based locomotive engineer. His first taste of acting came while appearing in church plays directed by his mother. Defore briefly thought of becoming an attorney, but gave up a scholarship to the University of Iowa to study at the Pasadena Playhouse. He began appearing in films in 1937 and in professional theatre in 1938, billed under his given name of Deforest. Defore's career turning point was the Broadway play The Male Animal, in which he played a thickheaded college football player; he repeated the role in the 1942 film version, and later played a larger part in the 1952 remake She's Working Her Way Through College. In most of his film assignments, Defore was cast as the good-natured urbanized "rube" who didn't get the girl. For several years in the 1950s, Defore played "Thorny" Thornberry, the Nelson family's well-meaning next door neighbor, on TV's Ozzie and Harriet. Don Defore's best-known TV role was George Baxter on the Shirley Booth sitcom Hazel (1961-65).
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | ||||
|
A Rare Breed
Actor |
1981 | |||
|
Hazel: Season 03
Actor |
1963 | |||
|
Hazel: Season 02
Actor |
1962 | |||
| 1961 | ||||
|
Hazel: Season 01
Actor |
1961 | |||
|
The Facts of Life
Actor |
1960 | |||
| 1958 | ||||
|
Battle Hymn
Actor |
1956 | |||
|
Tales of Adventure
Actor |
1954 | |||
|
And Now Tomorrow
Actor |
1952 | |||
|
Jumping Jacks
Actor |
1952 | |||
|
No Room for the Groom
Actor |
1952 | |||
| 1952 | ||||
| 1952 | ||||
|
A Girl in Every Port
Actor |
1951 | |||
|
The Guy Who Came Back
Actor |
1951 | |||
|
Dark City
Actor |
1950 | |||
|
Southside 1-1000
Actor |
1950 | |||
|
My Friend Irma
Actor |
1949 | |||
|
Too Late for Tears
Actor |
1949 | |||
|
One Sunday Afternoon
Actor |
1948 | |||
|
Romance on the High Seas
Actor |
1948 | |||
| 1947 | ||||
|
Ramrod
Actor |
1947 | |||
|
Without Reservations
Actor |
1946 | |||
|
The Affairs of Susan
Actor |
1945 | |||
|
The Stork Club
Actor |
1945 | |||
|
You Came Along
Actor |
1945 | |||
|
A Guy Named Joe
Actor |
1944 | |||
| 1944 | ||||
|
The Human Comedy
Actor |
1943 | |||
|
Right to the Heart
Actor |
1942 | |||
|
The Male Animal
Actor |
1942 | |||
|
Wings for the Eagle
Actor |
1942 | |||
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You Can't Escape Forever
Actor |
1942 | |||
|
We Go Fast
Actor |
1941 | |||
|
Freshman Year
Actor |
1938 | |||
|
Kid Galahad
Actor |
1937 | |||
|
Submarine D-1
Actor |
1937 |







