Ken Olfson (April 2, 1937 – December 31, 1997) was an American film, theater and television actor in the 1970s and 1980s.

Olfson was born on April 2, 1937, in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He began acting at the age of 10 and was active in Boston Children's Theatre until he was 18. He attended Syracuse University, then studied at theAmerican Theatre Wing. In 1967, he created the role of Dr. Schoenfeld in Bruce Jay Friedman's off-Broadway playScuba Duba. He was cast as a standby forCharles Nelson Reilly inNeil Simon'sGod's Favorite, produced on Broadway in 1974.^[1]

In 1976, he co-starred onThe Nancy Walker Show as Terry Folson, the first gay principal character on American television.^[2] In 1978, he appeared on the short-lived seriesFlying 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.; andAmazing Stories. His films includedSpaceballs,Mr. Mom,Odd Jobs, andBreakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.

After many years of volunteering as a lay counselor at the Southern California Counseling Center, he was given a staff position as the head of the Training Lay Counselors program and asked to design it from scratch. This group was well-attended and wildly popular.

He had a twin, Lewy Olfson, who wrote children's books.^[1]

Ken Olfson died of a heart attack on December 31, 1997 in Los Angeles after a two-month illness. He was age 60.^[3]

• Ken Olfson atIMDb
• Ken Olfson atTV Guide

• 1937 births
• 1998 deaths
• 20th-century American male actors
• American male television actors
• American male film actors
• Male actors from Boston

• Articles with short description
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