Actor was known for Disney films

Dean Jones, whose boyish good looks and all-American manner made him Disney’s favourite young actor for such lighthearted films as

That Darn Cat! and The Love Bug, has died of complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 84.

Released in 1965, That Darn Cat! was the first of 10 Disney films Jones would make, most of them in the supernatural vein.

The Love Bug (1969) was the most successful of the genre, with Jones playing a struggling race-driver who acquires a Volkswagen that wins races for him.

After The Love Bug, Jones returned to the stage, winning the lead role of Robert in Company, Stephen Sondheim’s now-classic musical about marital angst. He withdrew from the 1970 production, citing family problems, but he is heard on the Grammy-winning Broadway cast album.

It was in Disney’s gentle family comedies, however, that Jones truly hit his stride, including Monkeys, Go Home and Million Dollar Duck.

He returned to the Disney studio in 1977 for one more film, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo.

Twenty years later, he had smaller parts in the remake of That Darn Cat and the TV version of The Love Bug.

He worked regularly into his 70s, appearing often on TV and in films. His later credits included St. John in Exile, Beethoven and Other People’s Money.