Kolden was born in Torrance, California, the son of Janet Louise (née Wilford) and Lloyd Cameron Kolden. His father was a design supervisor for Hughes Aircraft. Kolden grew up with an older sister, Karen Patricia Kolden (b. 1957), an older brother, Lloyd Cameron "Cam" Kolden, Jr. (b. 1958) and later, a younger sister, Katherine Courtney Kolden (b. 1977).[1]
From the time he was a baby, friends commented on Kolden's photogenic looks, suggesting to his mother that she get him into show business.[1] Years later, when recounting how he began his acting career, Kolden explained, "I got started at about 7½ [or] 8-years-old. I was just the little kid that was kind of the ham-bone. I'd do funny voices and I was putting on a show for the relatives and friends and I guess enough people bugged mom saying 'Gee you oughta get him in show business.'"[2]
Kolden's mother took him to a commercial talent agent. The agency signed him, sent him on three auditions, and he was promptly hired for all three commercials.[1] Kolden continued, "I guess I just had the right look at the right time [because] every [audition] I seemed to go on, I just started getting them."[2] After starting as essentially a child model in commercials, Kolden quickly transitioned to acting roles.[1]
In January 1971, The Los Angeles Times reported that Paramount Television was filming a new pilot for CBS, tentatively titled The Plumbum. The pilot reportedly starred Kenneth Mars and Kolden as a bachelor plumber and his young cousin, however, no record of the pilot or subsequent series having aired has been found.[3] According to IMDb, Kolden made his television debut in a small role as Bobby on the 1971 comedy series Funny Face.[4] The following year, he landed a co-starring role as Scott Reynolds, the son of Ted Bessell and Anita Gillette on the short-lived CBS comedy series Me and the Chimp.[5]
In 1973, Kolden landed his co-starring role as Scotty Stuart on the Sid & Marty Krofft Saturday morning comedy-fantasy series Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, once again paired alongside fellow child star Johnny Whitaker as his brother, Johnny.[13] The series was a success and aired on NBC from 1973 to 1975, becoming the first Krofft Saturday morning series to be picked up for a second season and co-starring such veteran character actors as Billy Barty, Mary Wickes, Rip Taylor and Margaret Hamilton, among others.[14][15][16]
On September 7, 1973, Kolden also appeared as Scotty Stuart on the NBC Saturday Morning Preview special introducing the new Saturday morning offerings of the 1973–1974 season alongside fellow Sigmund co-stars, Johnny Whitaker and Billy Barty.[17][18] In 1980, Kolden made his final on-screen appearance as Steve, the son of Jim Davis in the science-fiction feature film, The Day Time Ended.[10]
During his years working on Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Kolden attended Wilmington Junior High School in Wilmington, California. His favorite hobbies at that time were sports, playing drums, baseball and riding his unicycle.[1] After leaving show business, Kolden graduated from Phineas Banning High School in Wilmington, California in 1979.[21]
On October 19, 1985, Kolden married Lorraine Vanek. He is the father of six children: four sons and two daughters.[22]
Since February 2003, Kolden has served as Technical Arts Director at Discovery Church in Simi Valley, California.[23]
Filmography
This filmography lists only Kolden's film and television appearances as an actor. See the "External links" section below for an IMDb link to a complete filmography of his work as a sound engineer.
