Skip Young (actor)

Skip Young (born Robert Plumstead, March 14, 1930&mdash;March 17, 1993) 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 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 twenty-three episodes between 1959 and 1965, Young appears with his fictititous girlfriend, Ginger, played by Charlene Salerno, in what 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). His subsequent appearances follow:


 * The Duenna (6 February 1957), second appearance
 * Ricky's Big Night (6 November 1957)
 * Christmas Tree Lot (18 December 1957)
 * David and the Stewardess 15 January 1958
 * International Set (28 May 1958)
 * Rick's Riding Lesson (19 November 1958)
 * Rick's Dinner Guests (21 January 1959)
 * The Exploding Book (4 March 1959)
 * The Treasurer's Son (15 April 1959)
 * Rick Gets Even (16 December 1959)
 * Dave's Car Fathers night at the fraternity 12 to 1959Payments (20 January 1960)
 * His Brother's Girl (19 October 1960)
 * David Gets a Raise (26 October 1960)
 * A Sweater for Rick (9 November 1960)
 * David's Almost In-Laws (23 November 1960)
 * David Hires a Secretary (30 November 1960)
 * Girl in the Emporium (14 December 1960)
 * A Piano for the Fraternity (21 December 1960)
 * The Girl That Loses Things (4 January 1961)
 * The Chaperones (25 January 1961)
 * Dave's Golf Story (8 March 1961)
 * Rick's Broken Arm (15 March 1961)
 * Selling Rick's Drums (19 April 1961)
 * The Fraternity Rents Out a Room (19 October 1961)
 * Rick, the Milkman (14 December 1961)
 * The Special Cake (18 January 1962)
 * Fraternity Cook (8 February 1962)
 * Operation Barry (15 February 1962)
 * Making Wally Study (22 February 1962)
 * Lending Money to Wally (8 March 1962)
 * Lonesome Parents (15 March 1962)
 * The Student Nurse (5 April 1962)
 * Rick and the Maid of Honor (27 September 1962)
 * Rick Sends a Picture (15 November 1962)
 * Rick, the Host (22 November 1962)
 * Game Inventors (27 December 1962)
 * The Girl at the Ski Lodge (17 January 1963)
 * Dave and the Teenager (7 February 1963)
 * Any Date in a Storm (7 March 1963)
 * Dave and the Fraternity Lease (18 April 1963)
 * Rick's Wedding Ring (9 October 1963)
 * Getting Wally in Shape (16 October 1963)
 * Blue Moose (23 October 1963)
 * Wally's Pen Pal (6 November 1963)
 * The Dean's Birthday (12 February 1964)
 * Wally's TV Set (26 February 1964)
 * Rick Is Late for Dinner (25 March 1964)
 * Kris Plays Cupid (2 May 1964)
 * A Letter of Recommendation (14 October 1964)
 * The Ballerina (4 November 1964)
 * Exotic Housemother (9 December 1964)
 * The Petition (6 January 1965)
 * Rick Grows a Beard (20 January 1965)
 * Rick's Raise (17 February 1965)
 * Painting from the Past (17 March 1965)
 * A Rose a Day (22 September 1965)
 * Kris & the Queen (29 September 1965)
 * The Nelsons Revisited (20 October 1965)
 * Wally, the Author (3 November 1965)
 * A Message from Kris (10 November 1965) (referring to Rick Nelson's wife, Kristin Harmon Nelson, sister of actor Mark Harmon)
 * The Equestrian (24 November 1965)
 * The Ghost Town (8 December 1965)
 * Kris, the Little Helper (5 January 1966)
 * Wally's Traffic Ticket (22 January 1966)
 * Trip Trap (19 February 1966), 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 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. A veteran of the United States Navy in the Korean War, Young is interred at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.