Dennis Dugan

Not to be confused with Dennis Duigan.

Dennis Barton Dugan (born September 5, 1946) is an American film director, actor, and comedian. He is known for directing the films Problem Child, Brain Donors, Beverly Hills Ninja and National Security, and his partnership with comedic actor Adam Sandler, for whom he directed the films Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy, The Benchwarmers, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, Grown Ups, Just Go with It, Jack and Jill and Grown Ups 2. Dugan is a four-time Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director nominee, winning once.

Dennis Dugan
Born	Dennis Barton Dugan (1946-09-05) September 5, 1946 Wheaton, Illinois, U.S.
Education	Goodman Theater School (BFA)
Occupations	Film director actor comedian
Years active	1968–present
Notable work	Beverly Hills Ninja Happy Gilmore Big Daddy Grown Ups
Spouses	Joyce Van Patten ​ ​ (m. 1973; div. 1987)​ Sharon O'Connor (present)
Children	1

Early life

Dugan was born in Wheaton, Illinois, the second of four sons of Marion, a housewife, and Charles Dugan, an insurance executive. He graduated from The Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University) and started his acting career in 1969 in New York City.

Career

He moved to Hollywood in 1972 and appeared in his first TV show, The Sixth Sense. Later, he played in the 1973 TV movie The Girl Most Likely to.... Other early film appearances include Night Call Nurses (1972), Night Moves (1975), Smile (1975), Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976) and Norman... Is That You? (1976). In 1979, he was cast as the time-displaced hero in Unidentified Flying Oddball, Disney's very loose adaptation of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. In 1981, he appeared in Joe Dante's The Howling.

Dugan made guest appearances on several TV series during the 1970s including The Mod Squad, The Waltons, Cannon, Columbo, The Rockford Files, and Alice. He also appeared in the mini-series Rich Man, Poor Man, as well as two episodes of M*A*S*H and in 1978 starred in the short-lived series Richie Brockelman, Private Eye, a spin-off from The Rockford Files.

He took on a recurring role as an aspiring caped crusader who called himself "Captain Freedom" on Hill Street Blues. He also appeared on Empire (1984) and Shadow Chasers (1984). He played Walter Bishop, briefly the husband of Maddie Hayes (Cybill Shepherd) on Moonlighting. Dugan's other film credits of the 1980s include Water (1985), Can't Buy Me Love (1987), She's Having a Baby (1988), The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988) and Ron Howard's Parenthood (1989).

Dugan launched a career as a television and film director, making cameo appearances in many of his films. Ones he directed include the comedy Problem Child (1990), Brain Donors (1992), the comedy Saving Silverman (2001) (in which Dugan plays a football referee), the comedy National Security (2003), and the Adam Sandler comedies Happy Gilmore (1996) (in which Dugan plays Doug Thompson, the golf tour supervisor) and Big Daddy (1999) (with Dugan as a man who reluctantly gives candy to a trick-or-treating Julian). Dugan has directed episodes of such television series as Moonlighting (was also a guest star in some episodes), Ally McBeal, and NYPD Blue.

Dugan directed The Benchwarmers (2006), a comedy co-produced by Sandler, about a trio of men who try to make up for missed opportunities in childhood by forming a three-player baseball team to compete against Little League squads. Dugan himself has a bit part as Coach Bellows in that film while his dad Charles portrayed the Video Stop boss Marty. He then directed two more Sandler vehicles, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007) and You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008).

Dugan directed Grown Ups (2010), which follows a group of high school friends who are reunited after thirty years for the Fourth of July. The film again stars Sandler, along with Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Rob Schneider, Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, and Maya Rudolph while Dugan had a bit part as a basketball referee; it was released in the summer of 2010 with major box office success.

Dugan's Just Go with It (2011) was his sixth film with Sandler; it also starred Jennifer Aniston and Brooklyn Decker. Dugan directed Jack and Jill (2011), again with Sandler, and Grown Ups 2 (2013), with Sandler, James, Rock and Spade, all reprising their roles while Dugan had a bit part as Dr. Larry. Schneider was unable to reprise his role due to scheduling conflicts.

To date, Dugan's films have grossed over $1.8 billion worldwide.

Personal life

Dugan's first marriage was to actress Joyce Van Patten in 1973. They divorced in 1987, and he later wed Sharon O'Connor, to whom he is still married.

In June 2009, Dugan's son Kelly was drafted with the 75th overall selection by the Philadelphia Phillies in the Major League Baseball Draft. A graduate of Notre Dame High School of Sherman Oaks, California, he played for five of the club's minor league teams through 2015, followed by shorter stays in the Chicago Cubs (2016) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2017) organizations before moving on to independent baseball (2018–2024).

Filmography

Film

Director

Year	Title	Notes
1990	Problem Child
1992	Brain Donors
1996	Happy Gilmore
1997	Beverly Hills Ninja
1999	Big Daddy	Nominated- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director
2001	Saving Silverman	Also known as Evil Woman
2003	National Security
2006	The Benchwarmers
2007	I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry	Nominated- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director
2008	You Don't Mess with the Zohan
2010	Grown Ups
2011	Just Go with It	Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director
	Jack and Jill
2013	Grown Ups 2	Nominated- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director
2020	Love, Weddings & Other Disasters	Also writer

Acting roles

Year	Title	Role
1976	Norman... Is That You?	Garson Hobart
1979	Unidentified Flying Oddball	Tom Trimble
1981	The Howling	Chris Halloran
1985	Water	Untitled
1987	Can't Buy Me Love	David Miller
1988	She's Having a Baby	Bill
	The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking	Mr. Settigren
1989	Parenthood	David Brodsky
1990	Problem Child	All American Dad
1996	Happy Gilmore	Doug Thompson
1999	Big Daddy	Reluctant Trick-or-Treat Giver (uncredited)
2006	The Benchwarmers	Coach Bellows
2010	Grown Ups	Basketball Referee
2012	That's My Boy	School janitor
2013	Grown Ups 2	Dr. Larry
2020	Love, Weddings & Other Disasters	Eddie Stone
2024	Knox Goes Away	Philo Jones
2024	Father There Is Only One 4	Himself
2025	Happy Gilmore 2	Doug Thompson

Television

Year	Title	Notes
1973	The Waltons	Episode: "The Theft"
1974	Cannon	Episode: "The Deadly Trail"
1976	Columbo	Episode: "Last Salute to the Commodore"
1978–79	The Rockford Files	3 episodes
1978	Richie Brockelman, Private Eye	5 episodes
1979	Supertrain	Episode "Superstar"
1982	Hill Street Blues	4 episodes
1987	Hunter	2 episodes
1988	Wiseguy	Episode: "Phantom Pain"
1988–89	Moonlighting	5 episodes
1985–86	Shadow Chasers	14 episodes
1975, 1983	M*A*S*H	2 episodes
1993	Doogie Howser, M.D.	Episode: "What Makes Doogie Run"
	Columbo	Episode: "Butterfly in Shades of Grey"
1993–94	L.A. Law	2 episodes
1993–2004	NYPD Blue
1994	Burke's Law	Episode: "Who Killed Nick Hazard?"
1994	Traps
	The Byrds of Paradise	2 episodes
1994–95	Picket Fences	2 episodes
1995	Marker	Episode: "The Pilot"
	Chicago Hope	Episode: "Freeze Outs"
1998	Love Boat: The Next Wave	Episode: "Smooth Sailing"
	Ally McBeal	Episode: "Alone Again"
1999	Shasta McNasty	Episode: "Pilot"
2004	The Mullets	Episode: "Silent But Deadly"
2005	Hope & Faith	Episode: "Wife Swap" (Parts 1 and 2)

TV movies

• The Shaggy Dog (1994)
• A Screwball Homicide (2003)
• Karroll's Christmas (2004)

External links

• Dennis Dugan at IMDb
• Dennis Dugan at AllMovie