Frank Buxton

Buxton, a veteran of television, movies and radio and a familiar and beloved face on the Kitsap arts scene for more than a quarter of a century, died Tuesday morning. Buxton, who moved to Bainbridge Island with his wife, Cynthia Sears, in 1989, was 87 and had been battling health issues for two years. During his long career, Buxton acted alongside Buster Keaton (in "Three Men on a Horse") and had roles in "What's Up, Tiger Lily" and "Overboard," among others. He worked extensively in a number of capacities in television, and created, wrote, produced and directed the Peabody Award-winning series "Hot Dog" for NBC. After graduating from Northwestern University (BS) and Syracuse University (MS) Buxton got his start as host and producer of the ABC documentary series "Discovery" in 1962. In addition to his acting and voice-acting career, he also hosted the game show "Get the Message" and co-wrote "The Big Broadcast," a book about the golden age of radio, with Bill Owen (with whom he also co-wrote "Radio's Golden Age"). He worked as a writer, producer and director for Paramount Television, serving as story editor for the anthology series "Love, American Style," and wrote and directed episodes of series including "The Odd Couple," "Happy Days" and "Mork & Mindy." TV Guide named one of his "Odd Couple" episodes, "Password," as the fifth greatest TV segment of all time.