Nelson Olmsted; Actor in Radio, TV, Films

Nelson Olmsted, veteran character actor of radio, television and motion pictures, has died at 78.

Olmsted died Wednesday in a Torrance nursing home of complications after a stroke, his daughter, Lynn Bell, said Friday.

Olmsted, who was born in Minneapolis, grew up in Texas and began his career as a radio announcer at a local station. He soon moved to the networks, working from Chicago and New York on such dramas as “Ma Perkins.”

An ability to do multiple character voices won him his own radio show, “Olmsted Theater,” for which he told stories and acted out all the characters.

During World War II, he worked for Armed Forces Radio. Returning to his network storytelling, Olmsted also became an expert on the writer Edgar Allan Poe, recording many of Poe’s works, including “Tales of Terror” and “The Raven.”

Moving on to television in the 1950s, Olmsted had leading roles in dramas for such shows as “Kraft Theater” and “Playhouse 90.” He also played the recurring role of the base psychiatrist in “The Phil Silvers Show.”

In Hollywood, he became a frequent guest on such series as “Dr. Kildare,” “Maverick” and “McHale’s Navy.”

His screen credits include “Lover Come Back,” “That Touch of Mink,” “Fitzwilly” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”

In addition to his daughter, Olmsted is survived by two sons, Ross and Marc, and a granddaughter.

The family has asked that any memorial donations be made to the Motion Picture and Television Fund, 23300 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, Calif. 91364, or to CARE, P.O. Box 13140, Philadelphia, Penn. 19101.