At the age of five Dean Riesner was a child actor (aka "Dinky Dean") in
films such as
The Pilgrim (1923) with
Charles Chaplin. Dean's father,
writer/director
Charles Reisner, worked
with and was friends with Chaplin and
Buster Keaton, giving young Dean a foot in
the door to a film career.
Dean would have continued as a child actor had his mother not told his
father, "Let the boy have his childhood". Years later, when Dean
reached adulthood, his father asked him if he wanted to return to the
film business, and if so in what capacity. Dean said he preferred
writing. Thus began a career that coined such lines as "Do you feel
lucky? Well, do you punk?" from
Dirty Harry (1971) and the original,
"They'll tie you naked to a chair and get medieval with you" from
Charley Varrick (1973).
Dean later developed a reputation as a script doctor, doing uncredited
work on such films as
High Plains Drifter (1973),
Blue Thunder (1983) and
The Godfather Part III (1990).
His reputation for hard work was more than deserved--even in this 80s,
he wrote every day.
Bill and Coo(1948)
Fatal Beauty(1987)
Arthur Hailey's the Moneychangers(1976)
The Enforcer(1976)
The Keegans(1976)
Rich Man, Poor Man(1976)
Mesa of Lost Women(1953)as Aranya Henchman
Gunfire(1950)as Outlaw Mack
Operation Haylift(1950)as Lt. Richter
Young Man with a Horn(1950)as Joe
The Traveling Saleswoman(1950)as Tom
Starman(1984)
Sudden Impact(1983)
The Sting II(1983)
Blue Thunder(1983)
Das Boot(1981)
The Long, Hot Summer(1965)
Skipalong Rosenbloom(1951)
Train to Tombstone(1950)
I Shot Billy the Kid(1950)
Play It Again: A Look Back at 'Play Misty for Me'(2001)as Self
Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow(1987)as Self
Unknown Chaplin(1983)as Self
The Chaplin Revue(1959)as Little Boy (segment: The Pilgrim)