---
name: "David Ketchum"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/david-ketchum"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "4 February 1928"
died: "10 August 2025"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T16:28:08.497324+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# David Ketchum

Writer. Born 4 February 1928 in Quincy, Illinois, USA. Died 10 August 2025.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 4 February 1928, Quincy, Illinois, USA
- **Died:** 10 August 2025
- **Also known as:** Dave Ketchum

## Biography

David Ketchum was an American actor and television writer. He appeared as the recurring character Agent 13 on the sitcom *Get Smart* (1966–1967), often hidden in confined spaces such as mailboxes and vending machines. He also had regular roles as Mel Warshaw on *I'm Dickens, He's Fenster* (1962–1963) and Counselor Spiffy on *Camp Runamuck* (1965–1966).

Ketchum wrote episodes for numerous series, including the *M*A*S*H* episode 'Tuttle' (1973), for which he received a Writers Guild of America nomination. His other writing credits include episodes of *Happy Days*, *Laverne & Shirley*, *Wonder Woman*, *The Bionic Woman*, *MacGyver* and *Full House*. He began writing in 1967 while continuing to act in guest roles on shows such as *The Andy Griffith Show* and *The Mary Tyler Moore Show*.

Born in Quincy, Illinois, Ketchum studied physics at UCLA and later worked in radio before entering television. He was married to singer Louise Ketchum from 1957 until his death in Thousand Oaks, California, in 2025.

*Sources: nytimes.com, en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *M*A*S*H* (1972), Fi1m 85, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/m-a-s-h-1972.md)

## Also known for

- *MacGyver* (1985), Writer
- *Wonder Woman* (1975), Writer
- *The Munsters* (1964)
- *Get Smart* (1965), Agent 13, Writer
- *Happy Days* (1974), Writer
- *The Bionic Woman* (1976), Writer
- *Highway to Heaven* (1984), Writer
- *The Love Boat* (1977), Writer

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/david-ketchum