Bobby Buntrock, the child actor best known for playing Harold Baxter on the 1960s sitcom Hazel, died tragically at age 21 in a car crash in South Dakota, decades after he had quietly left Hollywood behind and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and his 21st birthdayouth Dakota, and and Buntrock was born on August 4th 1952 in Denver, Colorado, to Robert andMaxine Buntrock. Hhe had two sisters, Deian and Stella. The family moved to California when Bobby was very young, and neighbors suggested to his parentsthat they encourage him to pursue acting. When he was seven years old,in 1959,he landed his first role on the TV Western Wagon Train.
He also appeared on Mr. EdandThe Donna Reed Show during this early period, as well asin commercials for Rockham sockum robots, a toy line. In 1961, he won the role of Harold Baxter, the young son in the NBC comedy Hazel, starring Shirley Booth as a live-in housekeeper for the Baxter family. The show ranfor five seasons, with Don DeFore andWhitney Blake portraying Harold’s parents during the first four yearson NBC.
When the series movedtoCBS for its final season in 1965–66, the format was changed: DeFore andBlake were dismissed, and Harold was placed inthe care of his Uncle Steve, played byRay Fulmer, and Aunt Barbara, played byLynn Bordon. After Hazel ended in 1966, Buntrock appeared inonly two episodes ofThe Virginian in 1967, then he never acted professionally again. Buntrock later movedwith his family toKeystone, South Dakota, where he graduated fromSturgis Brown High School in 1970. Tragically, on April 7th,1974, he was involved in a car crash ona bridge that was under construction.
His car plunged intoBattle Creek,and he drowned. He was only21 years old. Buntrock was buried inthe Keystone Cemetery inKeystone, South Dakota. Though his acting career lasted only abouta dozen years, his role asHarold Baxter remaineda lasting memory for viewers ofHazel, a show that many families watched weekly during the 1960s.
Buntrock’s death at such ayoung age cut short a life that had already moved far away from the Hollywood spotlight, leaving onlythe legacy of his childhood television appearances.
