(January 25, 1931 – September 1, 2015)
Dean Carroll Jones was an American actor.
Jones was best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977 such as The Love Bug (1968). Jones also originated the role of Bobby in Stephen Sondheim’s Company.
Jones’ first marriage to Mae Inez Entwisle ended in divorce in 1970. He has two children from that union. He was married to actress Lory Patrick from 1973 until his death in 2015.
Dean Jones became a devout born-again Christian in 1973–1974, before his father’s death in 1979. His book Under Running Laughter (1982) recounts his experience of Christianity. He had had a history of suffering from depression. His wife Lory said, “One night he got down on his knees and prayed that God would free him from the miserable moods that he had always suffered. He told me that in an instant it was gone and he felt peace and joy flood into his heart.” Jones appeared in several Christian films.
In 1998, Jones founded the Christian Rescue Committee (CRC), an organization that helps provide a “way of escape to Jews, Christians, and others persecuted for their faith.”
Jones died on September 1, 2015, at the age of 84, of Parkinson’s disease.
