Ken Mayer, 66, Longtime Actor in Television and Movies, Dies
Ken Mayer, whose theatrical excursions ranged from a key supporting role in television’s “Space Patrol” to a bearded Texan peddling shock absorbers, died Jan. 30 in North Hollywood, apparently of a heart attack.
Mayer was 66 and known to a generation of young TV viewers as Maj. Robbie Robertson of “Space Patrol,” a popular children’s weekend series of the early 1950s.
In films he appeared in “Spencer’s Mountain” and “Little Big Man,” and was a frequent guest artist on such TV Westerns as “Bonanza,” “Gunsmoke” and “Wanted: Dead or Alive.”
Mayer also was a longtime advocate of Stroh’s beer on television and portrayed “Tex” on the Monroe shock absorber commercials.
He was last seen opposite Marvin Kaplan in a dinner theater version of “The Odd Couple.”
Mayer is survived by his wife, Ruth, a daughter, Danielle, a son, Scott, and two grandchildren.
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