Dean Cameron

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title: "Dean Cameron" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1962-births", "living-people", "american-atheists", "american-libertarians", "american-male-film-actors", "american-male-television-actors", "male-actors-from-illinois", "male-actors-from-oklahoma", "people-from-morrison,-illinois", "people-from-norman,-oklahoma"] description: "American actor, comedian, and musician" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Cameron" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actor, comedian, and musician ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Dean Cameron
image	Dean Cameron headshot.jpg
caption	Cameron in July 2015
birth_name	Dean Eikleberry
birth_date
birth_place	Morrison, Illinois, U.S.
known_for	Francis "Chainsaw" Gremp in Summer School, Dave Marshak in Ski School and Ski School 2 and for The Nigerian Spam Scam Scam
occupation	{{flatlist
years_active	1983–present
website
children	1
spouse
::

| name = Dean Cameron | image = Dean Cameron headshot.jpg | caption = Cameron in July 2015 | birth_name = Dean Eikleberry | birth_date = | birth_place = Morrison, Illinois, U.S. | nationality = | other_names = | known_for = Francis "Chainsaw" Gremp in Summer School, Dave Marshak in Ski School and Ski School 2 and for The Nigerian Spam Scam Scam | education = | employer = | occupation = {{flatlist|

• Actor
• comedian
• musician}} | years_active = 1983–present | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | signature = | website = | children = 1 | spouse = | footnotes =

Dean Cameron (born Dean Eikleberry; December 25, 1962) is an American actor and musician. He is known for his role as Francis "Chainsaw" Gremp in the 1987 Mark Harmon comedy Summer School. He also played Dave Marshak in Ski School and Ski School 2. Cameron, along with comedian Victor Isaac, tour in a two-person show that Cameron wrote, called The Nigerian Spam Scam Scam.

Early life

Cameron was born in Morrison, Illinois, the son of Kay Elizabeth (Kytle) Huff and Burton Robert Eikleberry. He spent his childhood in Oklahoma and summers in Santa Barbara, California.

Career

Cameron's film roles included Francis "Chainsaw" Gremp in the Mark Harmon film Summer School (1987), the pizza delivery man in Men at Work (1990), and Dave Marshak in Ski School (1991) and Ski School 2 (1994). He has also starred in short-lived television series like Spencer (1984), Fast Times (1986, a spinoff of the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High), They Came from Outer Space (1990), and Mister Sterling (2003). He made guest appearances on many TV series, including The Facts of Life, ALF, My Sister Sam, Will & Grace, Mad About You, ER, Felicity, Psych, Shameless, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

He performs a two-person show, The Nigerian Spam Scam Scam, in which he and actor Victor Isaac read from Cameron's 11-month correspondence with a Nigerian 419 scammer. The show was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Festival in 2004 and 2005, the Just For Laughs festival and the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in 2006 and ran in Los Angeles from September 2004 to December 2004. The first professional show was at The Amaz!ng Meeting, TAM2 for the James Randi Educational Foundation in 2004.

Cameron co-wrote the 2001 feature film Hollywood Palms, wrote and directed a short film, "Glutton Falls" and directed/choreographed "Bukowsical", a late night musical theater parody at the Sacred Fools Theater Company in Los Angeles, California. Cameron directed the videos "Fat Girl" and "Pussy Whipped" for heavy metal band Steel Panther as well as co-wrote the song "Girl From Oklahoma" on their 2009 debut album Feel the Steel and "Supersonic Sex Machine" on their 2011 follow-up album Balls Out. Cameron also co-wrote and directed a presentation pilot for Steel Panther.

In 2006, he originated the role of Carl in Love Tapes, a play based on videotapes sent by a fan to guitarist Steve Vai. Love Tapes was written by Steven Banks and Penn Jillette and directed by Cameron's wife, Jessie Marion.

Cameron was one of the camera operators during the filming of the 2005 film The Aristocrats. During the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, he and comedian Paul Provenza shot a live version of The Aristocrats. The intent was to release it on the Special Features of the DVD. Cameron explained to actor Samm Levine in an interview, "We ended up naked and had props like mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup... applejuice... puppets... ". Because they were shooting late at night in a Scottish pub, no one had releases with them, one of the actors refused to sign the form afterwards and the film was never released.

Cameron is mentioned in the comedy-drama TV show Psych when character Shawn Spencer (played by actor James Roday) states, "No one paints a scene like Dean Cameron". The Robot Chicken television series also mentions him on their Christmas special during the introduction. The Star Trek parody opening says "Christmas, the birthday of Jesus, also the birthday of actor Dean Cameron, who played Chainsaw in the movie Summer School, now we celebrate these equally important men with the Robot Chicken Christmas Special".

Since late 1999, has worked as voiceover talent for radio and television commercials and animated series like Regular Show and We Bare Bears.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Isaac_Cameron_Emery_Randi_TAM13.jpg" caption="Victor Isaac, Cameron, [[Emery Emery]] and [[James Randi]] at the [[James Randi Educational Foundation]]'s [[The Amaz!ng Meeting]] in 2015"] ::

Music

His first purchased album was the hip hop record Straight Outta Compton which he played "the hell out of". Cameron credits his ability to play the guitar to Tammy Moore, a girl from the ninth grade. She asked him if he could play an instrument and he lied and said "I play banjo," The next day, he told her that he also played the guitar. "I had to learn how to play the guitar pretty quickly". He spent the next six months learning to play "Stairway to Heaven" from a friend. In the 1980s, he switched to the bass guitar.

In 2003, Cameron played bass guitar for a LA, local band called The Thornbirds (formerly called The Ducks). Cameron co-wrote the songs "Girl from Oklahoma" and "Supersonic Sex Machine" for the band Steel Panther, two of the members later joined The Thornbirds. When that group released All The Same in 2004, both of the songs were on that album. Cameron is also in a karaoke band that parodies actor/musicians, Corey Haim, Corey Feldman and Corey Hart called Coreyoke. Cameron says on his website that "may be the most fun i’ve ever had in my long life." The story line behind Coreyoke is that they are musicians from the 1980s who are trying to revive their careers and play backup for Michael Jackson.

Personal life

Cameron is married to Jessie Marion, granddaughter of actress Elena Verdugo, and lives in Los Angeles. Their son, Duncan, was born in August 2009. Cameron grew up without religion, and was a teen before he realized that "there was a thing called atheism". He credits his father with teaching him and his siblings to think critically.

Listed as a hard-core Libertarian on Cameron's IMDB profile, he tells interviewer Samm Levine that he prefers the term "Freedom Fighter".

File:Dean Cameron & Victor Isaac TAM2014 Nigerian Spam Scam Scam.JPG| Cameron and Isaac at James Randi Educational Foundation TAM13 2015 File:Dean Cameron TAM2014 Nigerian Spam Scam Scam.JPG |Nigerian Spam Scam Scam 2015 Las Vegas File:Isaac Cameron Emery Randi TAM13.jpg |Isaac (L), Cameron, Emery Emery, and James Randi at TAM13 2015

Filmography

::data[format=table title="Film"]

Title	Year
Dead Sea	2024
Radio America	2015
Grindsploitation	2015
Straight Outta Compton	2015
Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer	2011
Hole in One	2010
The Growth	2009
Arrow Heads	2009
Doing His Best	2007
I'm Not Gay	2005
Rainbow's End	2005
The Benefits of Drinking Whiskey	2005
The Curse of the Hideous Gimp	2005
Grace and the Storm	2004
Tan Lines: The Making of Suntanned Bikini	2003
The Palindrome Affair	2003
Sit and Spin	2002
Hollywood Palms	2001
Deep Core	2000
It's a Shame About Ray	2000
Two-Eleven	1999
Hi-Life	1998
Some Girl (uncredited)	1998
Midnight Blue	1997
Highball	1997
Kicking and Screaming	1995
Ski School 2	1994
Sleep with Me	1994
Charlie's Ghost Story	1994
The Killing Box	1993
Miracle Beach	1992
Ski School	1991
Men at Work	1990
Disturbed	1990
Rockula	1990
Bad Dreams	1988
Summer School	1987
Facing It: My Friend's an Alcoholic	1985
::

::data[format=table title="Television"]

Title	Year
Paradise	2025
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia	2016
Shameless	2014
Psych (season 8, episode 120)	2014
TMI Hollywood	2014
The Comeback Kids	2014
Instant Mom	2013
The Newsroom	2013
Glee	2013
The Neighbors	2013
American Horror Story	2012
See Dad Run	2012
The Mentalist	2012
Southland	2012
Doing His Best James Dean	2007
Mister Sterling	2003
State of Emergency	1994
They Came from Outer Space	1990
ALF	1990
Fast Times	1986
Prince of Bel Air	1986
Things Are Looking Up	1984
Spencer	1984
::

References

References

1. "Dean Cameron Work History".
2. (April 15, 2013). "Episode 34".
3. "urgent & confidential dean cameron's nigerian spam scam scam".
4. (October 22, 2010). "Fat Girl". Steel Panther.
5. (October 3, 2014). "Steel Panther – Pussywhipped".
6. "Steel Panther – Presentation".
7. (April 12, 2012). "Psych's Dean Cameron shout-out".
8. (February 2022). "Star Wars Robot Chicken Intro". Robot Chicken.
9. Levine, Samm. (June 2015). "KPC: Dean Cameron #237". Kevin Pollaks Chat Show.
10. (June 6, 2014). "on the line with dean cameron".
11. "''Coreyoke'' Playlist". Coreyoke.
12. "Dean Cameron Bio".
13. (April 8, 2015). "Episode 167".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::