Ken Olfson (April 2, 1937 â€" December 31, 1997) was an American film,
theater and television actor in the 1970s and 1980s.Olfson was born on
April 2, 1937, in Boston, Massachusetts. He began acting at the age of
ten and was active in Boston Children's Theatre until he was 18. He
attended Syracuse University before studying at the American Theatre
Wing. In 1967, he created the role of Dr. Schoenfeld in Bruce Jay
Friedman's off-Broadway play, "Scuba Duba." He was cast as a standby
for Charles Nelson Riley in Neil Simon's God's Favorite which was
produced on Broadway in 1974.In 1976, he co-starred on The Nancy
Walker Show as Terry Folson, the first gay principal character on
American television. In 1978, he appeared on the short-lived series
Flying High. Other series included: Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, One
Day at a Time, Happy Days, Charlie's Angels, Eight is Enough, Gimme a
Break, Three's Company, Diff'rent Strokes, The Jeffersons, Murder She
Wrote, Trapper John M.D, and Amazing Stories. His films included:
Spaceballs, Mr. Mom, Odd Jobs, and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.
After many years of volunteering as a lay counselor at Southern
California Counseling Center, he was given a staff position as the
head of the Training Lay Counselors program (TLC), and asked to design
it from scratch.In later life, he became a lay counselor at the
Southern California Counseling Center and headed a group designed to
help other lay counselors in organizations across the city. This group
was well-attended and wildly popular. Ken had a twin, Lewy Olfson, who
wrote children's books. Olfson died of a heart attack on December 31,
1997, in Los Angeles after a two-month illness. He was 60 years old.
theater and television actor in the 1970s and 1980s.Olfson was born on
April 2, 1937, in Boston, Massachusetts. He began acting at the age of
ten and was active in Boston Children's Theatre until he was 18. He
attended Syracuse University before studying at the American Theatre
Wing. In 1967, he created the role of Dr. Schoenfeld in Bruce Jay
Friedman's off-Broadway play, "Scuba Duba." He was cast as a standby
for Charles Nelson Riley in Neil Simon's God's Favorite which was
produced on Broadway in 1974.In 1976, he co-starred on The Nancy
Walker Show as Terry Folson, the first gay principal character on
American television. In 1978, he appeared on the short-lived series
Flying High. Other series included: Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, One
Day at a Time, Happy Days, Charlie's Angels, Eight is Enough, Gimme a
Break, Three's Company, Diff'rent Strokes, The Jeffersons, Murder She
Wrote, Trapper John M.D, and Amazing Stories. His films included:
Spaceballs, Mr. Mom, Odd Jobs, and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.
After many years of volunteering as a lay counselor at Southern
California Counseling Center, he was given a staff position as the
head of the Training Lay Counselors program (TLC), and asked to design
it from scratch.In later life, he became a lay counselor at the
Southern California Counseling Center and headed a group designed to
help other lay counselors in organizations across the city. This group
was well-attended and wildly popular. Ken had a twin, Lewy Olfson, who
wrote children's books. Olfson died of a heart attack on December 31,
1997, in Los Angeles after a two-month illness. He was 60 years old.
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