Frank Buxton

Frank Buxton (February 13, 1930 – January 2, 2018) was an American actor, television writer, author, and television director. Buxton grew up in Larchmont, New York. He was a graduate of Northwestern University (B.S.) and Syracuse University (M.S.), and served in the U.S. Army in Korea.

Career

Buxton's acting career extends from summer theatre in ''Three Men on a Horse'' with the legendary Buster Keaton at age 19. He worked as a producer-director at WGN-TV in Chicago, as well as Buffalo stations WGR-TV and WBUF-TV. Turning to performing, Buxton performed his own stand-up comedy act at comedy clubs from coast to coast. He toured Australia for a year as Albert in '' Bye Bye Birdie''. His first TV credit was as host and producer of the ABC television documentary series, '' Discovery'' co-hosted by actress/singer Virginia Gibson from 1962 to 1966. Buxton also did the narration, as well as all of the voices, for the "Silly Record" LP (1962 on Harmony Records).

In 1966, Buxton teamed up with Hal Seeger in the animated cartoon series '' Batfink'', providing the voice for the title character in all 100 episodes, as well as its recurring villain Hugo A-Go-Go. As a writer, Buxton co-authored with Bill Owen on two books covering the golden age of radio - ''The Big Broadcast'' and ''The Golden Age''. Owen succeeded Buxton as host of ''Discovery'' from 1966 to 1971. Buxton also hosted the game show '' Get the Message'' for ABC in 1964, later to be replaced by Robert Q. Lewis.

For much of the 1970s, Buxton worked as a writer, producer and director for Paramount Television. He served as a story editor for the comedy anthology series '' Love, American Style'', in addition to writing and directing episodes of '' The Odd Couple'', ''Happy Days'' and ''Mork & Mindy''. Buxton also created, wrote, produced and directed the television series '' Hot Dog'' for NBC, which starred Woody Allen, Tom Smothers, Jonathan Winters, and Joanne Worley. The series won a Peabody Award in 1970. Buxton played roles in numerous TV series, movies, and commercials such as Xerox and Safeway Markets, to name a few.

He spent the end of his life in Bainbridge Island, Washington, where he was active in community theatre and numerous philanthropic activities. Buxton continued to perform regularly with The Edge, an improvisational comedy group at Bainbridge Performing Arts. He was also a regular cast member on the web cooking show ''Cookus Interruptus''.

Death

Frank Buxton died on January 2, 2018, in Bainbridge Island, Washington from heart-related issues.
At the time of his death, he was still active in local theater and improv.

Filmography

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Buxton, Frank
1930 births
2018 deaths
Male actors from Massachusetts
American male voice actors
American male stage actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American television writers
American male television writers
American television directors
People from Wellesley, Massachusetts
People from Bainbridge Island, Washington
Screenwriters from Massachusetts
Screenwriters from Washington (state)