Peter Oliphant

{{short description|American actor and video game designer (1950–2023)}}

{{sources|date=June 2023}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Peter Oliphant

| image = Peter Oliphant (Matt Chat).jpg

| caption = Oliphant in 2012

| birth_date = {{birth date|1950|09|01}}

| birth_place = United States

| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|05|24|1950|09|01}}

| occupation = Actor, video game designer

| yearsactive = 1960–2000

}}

Peter Oliphant (September 1, 1950 – May 24, 2023) was an American actor and video game designer.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k1OWDwAAQBAJ|title=Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games 2e|page=276|first1=Matt|last1=Barton|first2=Shane|last2=Stacks|publisher=CRC Press|date=April 18, 2019|isbn=9781351273398|via=Google Books}} He was best known for playing Freddie Helper on the American sitcom television series The Dick Van Dyke Show.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YX_daEhlnbsC|title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 Through 2010, 2d Ed.|first=Vincent|last=Terrace|page=259|publisher=McFarland|date=January 10, 2014|isbn=9780786486410|via=Google Books}} Oliphant later became a video game designer, programmer, and producer. Some games he worked on include Stonekeep and Lexi-Cross. He worked at Mattel Electronics creating handheld electronic games.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQkp-Sb0OqE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/pQkp-Sb0OqE |archive-date=December 15, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Matt Chat 134: Peter Oliphant on the Dawn of the Videogames Industry |last=Barton|first=Matt|date=January 27, 2012|work=YouTube|access-date=February 3, 2012}}{{cbignore}}

Oliphant died on May 24, 2023, at the age of 72.{{cite web |title=Peter Oliphant |url=https://sierrachest.com/index.php?a=person&id=1040 |website=The Sierra Chest |access-date=30 June 2023}}