Elected vice president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1987.
He served in the Army in Germany 1946-'48.
He made his NY debut in 1950 when he replaced Eli Wallach in the role of Stefanowski in the original Broadway production of "Mister Roberts." He later played another role (Gerhart) in the movie version of Mister Roberts (1955).
After he was discharged from the Army, he enrolled in the Dramatic Workshop at the New School for Social Research in New York City.