The Tragic Death of Child Star Bobby Buntrock, and How TV's 'Hazel' Shirley Booth Protected him

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Former child star Bobby Buntrock's life ended in tragedy.

Best known as Harold “Sport” Baxter on the popular 1960s TV sitcom Hazel, Butrock died at only 21 years old in a car accident in 1974.

A Closer Look

Bobby Buntrock was born in Denver, Colorado, to Robert and Maxine Buntrock. He had a younger sister, Stella. When he was 3 years old, the Buntrock family moved to Whittier, California, where neighbors encouraged Bobby's parents to get their son into acting.

After submitting Buntrock’s photo to various agents, the soon-to-be-child-star was signed by Marcella Bell. Shortly after signing with Bell, a 4-year-old Buntrock was cast in his premiere role in a TV episode Wagon Train. He later made guest appearances on Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, Mister Ed, and The Donna Reed Show.

Years after Hazel was canceled, the show's stars Shirley Booth, Don DeFore, and others in the cast, including Whitney Blake (mother to actress Meredith Baxter), who played DeFore's TV wife, moved on to other projects.

In 1967, following his third appearance on TV's The Virginian, Buntrock returned to the life of a non-Hollywood child. Sometime after that, he and his family (which now included younger sister Stella) relocated to South Dakota where, in 1970, graduated from Sturgis High School and later joined the National Guard.

The Accident

In 1974, on the evening of April 7, Bobby Buntrock was on his way to visit a friend and had to drive over a Y-shaped bridge over Battle Creek. In 1972, the crossing had been damaged by some major flooding and had been under construction for two years. However, it was lacking safety barriers, signs, or anything else alerting drivers to a gaping hole between the two layers of the bridge that was large enough for a full-size car to drive into.

Unfortunately, Buntrock was one such unlucky driver who did just that.

Most reports say that rescue crews were called quickly but failed to arrive in time. Even if help had arrived in 5 minutes, however, Buntrock's chances of survival may have still been slim.

Buntrock attempted to exit the vehicle, but the sides of the hole blocked him from opening the car door more than 4 inches. If he had access to a window-breaking hammer-type device of some sort, Buntrock might have been able to break out the back window and escape.

Shirley Booth was Protective of Buntrock

Hazel leading lady Shirley Booth was reportedly distraught upon hearing the news of Bobby Buntrock's tragic death. Upon learning of Buntrock's demise, Booth said, "It was a terrible shock to me and everyone that loved that darling boy."

Booth and Buntrock had grown close while working on the series. The senior actress was very protective of the young actor. She made sure that no one mistreated him on the set of her series, and they remained close after the show ended.

A Brief History of Hazel

The TV sitcom, Hazel was based on the Saturday Evening Post comic strip by Ted Keys. Starring Shirley Booth, the series ran for five seasons on NBC and then CBS from September 28, 1961, to April 11, 1966.

The show changed casts in the final year on CBS, with only Booth and Bobby Buntrock remaining from the NBC season. Throughout it all, however, Booth, who won the Best Actress Academy Award for her riveting performance in the 1953 feature film Come Back Little Sheba, remained a nurturing figure for all of her co-stars on Hazel. That included Don DeFore, who for years before had also performed in the movies, and as a regular on another hit TV sitcom, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (ABC, 1952-1966).

Although Booth's maid Hazel character and DiFiore's boss Harold Baxter's character did not always get along on the show, behind the scenes the actors were dear friends. But whereas DiFore was an adult with a great deal of knowledge as to how Hollywood works, Bobby Buntrock, who played his son on the series, was not that experienced. And that's when Booth stepped up to the plate to defend her young co-star.

Booth did not stand for any kind of abuse of the set of Hazel.

One day, Booth noticed one of the show's directors screaming at the young Buntrock, and she was not having any of that. Immediately, Booth flew to Buntrock's side and defended the boy, as scolded the director to never talk to Buntrock or anyone else on the set like that again.

The revered actress, who later starred in the short-lived ABC sitcom, A Touch of Grace, died on October 16, 1992. But she had stayed in contact with the entire cast of Hazel, including DeFore, and Buntrock, to whom she remained loyal until the very end.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, as with many former child stars before and after him, Bobby Buntrock died long before his time.

Rumors had circulated for years that Buntrock’s mother perished in an accident on the same bridge a year or two before his demise. But that was not true. She died two years before her son, at home from cardiac arrest.