Dennis Wayne Freeman

Dennis Wayne Freeman was born on October 24, 1941 to Ken and Alice Freeman in Los Angeles, California. Dennis was Ken and Alice’s first child and they loved their spunky boy. Dennis was always more on the adventurous side. You could always find him running around with his brother Gary and picking on his little sisters Nancy and Kathy.

Being so close to Hollywood, Alice enrolled Dennis in the Screen Actors Guild and he landed his first commercial audition when he was only 9 months old. This early introduction to the motion picture industry led Dennis to discover his career as a stand-in actor. On television, Dennis was a stand in for shows including Dukes of Hazards, Remington Steel, Star Trek, 7th Heaven and M*A*S*H. On the big screen, Dennis worked in National Lampoon’s Vacation, The Hunt for Red October and many others. He always had the best stories retelling his interactions with old-time stars like Sean Connery, Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, George Hamilton, Faye Dunaway, and Dolly Parton, to name a few.

Dennis was married at a young age and had his first daughter Wendy when he was 23 years old. After his first marriage ended, Dennis was a bachelor for 35 years and spent most of his days working, causing a raucous with his friends and spending time with Wendy. They loved going to the beach, theme parks, and having pizza on a Friday night.

In 2000, Dennis and Annie met through a mutual friend over the phone. After a few months of talking every night, Annie was going to be in California for a high school reunion and Dennis offered to pick her up and take her to her reunion so that they could meet. Being a bachelor for 35 years, Dennis was excited to meet Annie and probably a little nervous to meet her daughter, Arianne. Luckily, Dennis hit it off with both of them and Dennis and Annie married on July 5, 2000. Annie and Arianne moved to California to be with Dennis and they all moved to Las Vegas when Dennis retired at 62 years old.

Dennis loved retirement! Most days he would play golf with his friends, garden in the backyard and work out. Dennis never met a taco or enchilada he didn’t like and he enjoyed having an ice cream every night after dinner. In 2013, he was diagnosed with metastatic malignant melanoma, which is an invasive form of skin cancer. Yet, the diagnosis never changed Dennis’ easy-going attitude and kindness for others. After the diagnosis, he continued to enjoy life by watching his westerns on Netflix, hanging out by the pool, and travelling the world with Annie and Arianne. He will always be remembered for his gentleness, fighting spirit, and love for life.

Dennis is survived by his wife Annie; his two daughters, Wendy (Hudson Fisk) and Arianne (Brad Tucker); six grandchildren, Kyley, Dylan, Mariya, Hunter, Lilaca and Zephyr; and two great-granddaughters, Phoenyx and Farrah. He will also be fondly remembered by his step-father Jim and his two sisters, Nancy and Kathy.