He was a veteran of 92 movies and television programs. His television career began at age 29 playing a high school boy on the December 26, 1953 Adventures of Superman episode titled My Friend Superman with George Reeves, Jack Larson, and Noel Neill. Ryder preceded this with playing Ronald on the January 31, 1953 Space Patrol episode Runaway Planetoid.
1950s
Ryder would go on in the 1950s to appear in several TV series, many as an uncredited actor, and top films.
Television: He then performed in John Drew Barrymore's Matinee Theater episode of The Alumni Reunion which aired September 26, 1956 with Don Keefer and Constance Ford. He continued on in minor TV roles on The Ford Television Theatre and Goodyear Theatre,Casey Jones,M Squad, the popular Make Room For Daddy,The Thin Man, and Steve Canyon. He also co-starred as Eliot on The Dennis O'Keefe Show. In 1954 he guest-starred in an episode of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show as an aspiring entertainer, capably performing several celebrity impressions, including James Stewart and James Cagney.
The 1960s brought several credited appearances in major TV and film.
Television: Four episodes in 1964 of Death Valley Days, as Mason on Combat! , The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, as Dr. Simon Agurski on Dr. Kildare, The Munsters, The Twilight Zone, The Dick Van Dyke Show and three episodes of Bonanza. He also played Winston "Bones" Snodgrass in Our Miss Brooks.
Film: His film career during this time yielded a secondary role in the film Son of Flubber with Fred MacMurray. In 1963, the massive $9 million, 12 star-studded production, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World which starred Sid Caesar, Ethel Merman, Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, and Milton Berle among others gave Ryder the role of air traffic control staffer. The Oscar nominated for two Academy Awards and starring notables Milton Berle, Elke Sommer, Joseph Cotten, Tony Bennett, and Walter Brennan. Ryder won the role of Sgt. Gilroy in Not with My Wife, You Don't! starring Tony Curtis and played a minor role in The Big Mouth starring Jerry Lewis.
Directing: In 1969, Ryder directed the Get Smart episode "Greer Window".
1970s
The 1970s kept Ryder in television as a secondary actor and mostly making single appearances.
Television: Here Come the Brides, Get Smart, , Bonanza, and several appearances in Mannix, among many others.
Film: Ryder was cast in the campy Stacy and Her Gangbusters and Mel Brooks's High Anxiety, his last film appearance.
During the 1980s, Ryder appeared in The Dukes of Hazzard, Hill Street Blues, and General Hospital. In 1986, Ryder appeared in the comedy film A Masterpiece of Murder with Bob Hope and Don Ameche.
