Skip Young (actor)

Skip Young
Skip Young in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet as Wally Plumstead
Born	Ronald Plumstead March 14, 1930 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	March 17, 1993 (aged 63) Apple Valley, California
Resting place	Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1956–89

Skip Young (born Ronald Plumstead, March 14, 1930 - March 17, 1993)^[1] was an American actor best known for his decade-long role as Wally Plumstead in the ABC sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. When chosen to join Ozzie Nelson's television series, Young suggested that the last name of his character be "Plumstead".

In 1957, Young had a part as Elvis Presley's friend Teddy in the movie "Loving You". In 1958, he portrayed Sam the Bass Player in the picture Earth v. the Spider. In 1959, he was cast as Martin in the episode "Premonition" of the anthology series Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond. In 1960, he played George Allison in the episode "Bud Lives It Up" of NBC's Father Knows Best with Robert Young as Jim Anderson and Billy Gray as his son, Bud Anderson. In 1961, he played George Collingwood in the episode "Mike in a Rush" of ABC's My Three Sons, with Fred MacMurray as Steve Douglas and Tim Considine as oldest son, Mike Douglas.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

Between 1956 and the end of the series in 1966, Young appears in 66 of the 435 episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. He portrays a friend of the Nelson brothers, David and Rick, who frequently must rescue the mischief-prone Wally from his self-created predicaments. In the series, Wally has a girlfriend Ginger, played by Charlene Salerno, which was virtually her only acting role. Young's first Ozzie and Harriet episode is "The Kappa Sigma Party" (3 October 1956), in which his character was called "Wally Dippel" (as he was in his second appearance, as well). "Trip Trap" (1966) is Young's last episode.

Other roles

Young had few roles after The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. He appeared as a campaign worker in the 1968 episode "The Candidate" of CBS's Green Acres sitcom, starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor. He guest starred as a deputy district attorney in the 1969 episode "Log 123: Courtroom" of NBC's police drama Adam-12, starring Martin Milner and Kent McCord, who had also appeared as a friend of the Nelson brothers in twelve episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Young played a bartender in the 1977 episode "Long Walk Down A Short Dirt Road" of the ABC crime drama Starsky and Hutch, starring Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul. In 1979, he appeared in the film Smokey and the Hotwire Gang. In 1987, he hosted a special TV Turkeys: The World's Worst Television Shows. Young's last roles were in 1989: as Mr. Zip in the film Lobster Man from Mars and as a coffee shop regular in the episode "Mike and Julie's Wedding" of the ABC sitcom Growing Pains.

Death

Young died of complications from diabetes^[2] at his residence in Apple Valley near Victorville in San Bernardino County, California. In his last years, Young had been a radio host and a judge of beauty contests.^[3] A veteran of the United States Navy in the Korean War, Young is interred at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.^[2]

References

1. "Skip Young; Co-Starred in 'Ozzie & Harriet'". Los Angeles Times. March 21, 1993. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
2. "Skip Young". Findagrave.com. Retrieved March 18, 2009. Photo is attached.
3. "Skip Young, Actor, 63". The New York Times, March 19, 1993. 19 March 1993. Retrieved March 18, 2009.