Robert Willard "Bobby" Buntrock (August 4, 1952 – April 7, 1974) was an American

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...

. Buntrock was widely known for his role as Harold "Sport" Baxter on the 1960s

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

Hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...

''.

Career

Buntrock was born in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Colorado, to Robert E. Buntrock and Maxine Buntrock. He had two sisters, Stella and Deanne. When he was three, the family moved to

Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, and is part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States census, 2010 census figure. Whittier ...

, where neighbours urged Buntrock's parents to get their son into acting. After submitting Buntrock's picture to various agents, he was signed by Marcella Belle Rinehart. When he was seven years old, Buntrock landed his first role, on an episode of ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

''. Early in 1959 in a show starring Bette Davis, he played one of seven children in The Ella Lindstrom Story which aired on Feb 4 1959. He also appeared in guest spots on ''

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse ''Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu Productions. The show ran on the Columbia Broadcasting System between 1958 and 1960. Three of its 48 episodes served as pilots for the 1950s televis ...

'', ''

Mister Ed ''Mister Ed'' is an American television sitcom produced by Filmways that aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966. The show's title character is a talking horse which orig ...

'', and ''

The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her Pediatrics, pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage childr ...

''. He also did the early 1960s commercials for

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots ''Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots'' is a two-player action toy and game designed by Marvin Glass and Associates and was first manufactured by the Marx toy company in 1964. It features two dueling robot boxers, Red Rocker and Blue Bomber, mechanic ...

. In 1961, Buntrock won the role of Harold "Sport" Baxter on the sitcom ''Hazel'', starring

Shirley Booth Shirley Booth (born Marjory Ford; August 30, 1898October 16, 1992) was an American actress. One of 24 performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, Booth was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and three Tony Awards. ...

. The series aired for five seasons, first on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

with

Don DeFore Donald John DeFore (August 25, 1913 – December 22, 1993) was an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the sitcom ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' from 1952 to 1957 and the sitcom ''Hazel'' from 1961 to 1965, the former of w ...

and

Whitney Blake Whitney Blake (born Nancy Ann Whitney; February 20, 1926 – September 28, 2002) was an American film and television actress, director, and producer. She is known for her four seasons portraying Dorothy Baxter, the mother, on the 1960s sitco ...

in the role of Harold's parents, George and Dorothy Baxter. In the fifth and final season (1965–1966) shown on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, the series was retooled after DeFore and Blake were dismissed and Harold lived with his Uncle Steve Baxter (

Ray Fulmer Raymond Stover Fulmer (February 17, 1933 – February 6, 2013) was an American actor known for playing the role of Steve Baxter in the final season of the sitcom television series ''Hazel'' (1965–1966). Life and career Raymond Stover Fulmer wa ...

), Aunt Barbara (

Lynn Borden Lynn Marie Freyse (March 24, 1937 – March 3, 2015) was an American film and television actress. She was known for playing Barbara Baxter in the final season of the American sitcom television series ''Hazel''. Life and career Borden was born ...

), and Cousin Susie ( Julia Benjamin). During the run of ''Hazel'', Buntrock was tutored on the set and attended Lake Marie Public School in Whittier when the show was on hiatus. After ''Hazel'' ended its run in 1966, Buntrock appeared in two guest spots on '' The Virginian'' in 1967 after which he retired from acting.

Personal life and death

Buntrock moved with his family to

Keystone, South Dakota Keystone is a city in the Black Hills region of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 240 at the 2020 census. It had its origins in 1883 as a mining town, and has since transformed itself into a resort town, serving ...

, where he graduated from

Sturgis Brown High School Sturgis Brown High School is located in Sturgis, South Dakota and is part of the Meade School District. Located east of Sturgis at 12930 E. Hwy 34, the school draws students from all over the city. Notable alumni * Raymond W. Carpenter, Unite ...

in 1970, and lived for the last five years of his life. On April 7, 1974, Buntrock died at age 21 in an automobile accident when his car veered off a bridge under construction into

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

, drowning him in the submerged car. He is buried in Keystone Cemetery in Keystone.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buntrock, Bobby 1952 births 1974 deaths 20th-century American male actors Accidental deaths in South Dakota Male actors from Whittier, California American male child actors American male television actors Male actors from Denver Male actors from South Dakota Road incident deaths in South Dakota People from Pennington County, South Dakota