Actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the level-headed Sgt. Rock in "Fixed Bayonets" (1951). Born Eugene Evans, he began his career performing in stock companies at the Penthouse Theatre in Altadena, California, where he was discovered by a talent scout. After being given several screen and vocal tests, he was brought to the attention of director R.G. Springsteen. Impressed by his reddish good looks, distinctive voice, and manly physique, he arranged for him to begin a career in the film industry beginning with him being under his supervision in "Under Colorado Skies" (1947). From there, he would go on to flourish as a notable character actor appearing in over 100 features; often typecast as husbands, fathers, military men, soldiers, cowboys, sheriffs, sidekicks, faithful friends, love interests, henchmen, blue-collared guys, policemen, doctors, educators, landlords, neighbors, clergymen, retail clerks, eccentrics, farmers, authority figures, and, in his later years, patriarchs. He appeared in such feature films as "Berlin Express" (1948), "Criss Cross" (1949), "Armored Car Robbery" (1950), "I Was an American Spy" (1951), "Storm Warning" (1951), "Mutiny" (1952), "The Golden Blade" (1953), "Cattle Queen of Montana" (1954), "Crashout" (1955), "Jet Pilot" (1957), "Revolt in the Big House" (1958), "Operation Petticoat" (1959), "Gold of the Seven Saints" (1961), "Shock Corridor" (1963), "Apache Uprising" (1965), "Waco" (1966), "The War Wagon" (1967), "Support Your Local Sheriff!" (1969), "The Intruders" (1970), "Gentle Savage" (1973), "Knife for the Ladies" (1974), "The Magic of Lassie" (1978), and "Split" (1989). During the advent of television, he became an even more familiar face appearing in various guest spots on such syndicated sitcoms as "The Lone Ranger," "My Friend Flicka," "Wagon Train," "Rawhide," "Death Valley Days," "Bonanza," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "The Virginian," "Daniel Boone," "Gunsmoke," "The Iron Horse," "Branded," "Mannix," "Longstreet," "Alias Smith and Jones," "Spencer's Pilots," "The Incredible Hulk," "Fantasy Island," "Charlie's Angels," "Hart to Hart," "M*A*S*H," "Simon & Simon," "Murder, She Wrote," "The A-Team," and "Scarecrow and Mrs. King". During his career, he served in the United States Army during World War II, was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, was supportive of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, had been one of the founding members of the Canyon Theatre Guild, was a theatrical instructor for the Pasadena Playhouse, had been an active parishioner of the Methodist church, was an active member of the Hollywood Democratic Committee, presided as a chairman for his local charters of the American Red Cross and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, and he was married to fellow stage actresses Patricia Wallis and Mary Hert (his first union ended in divorce, his second upon Hert's death; one daughter was produced from his first marriage). Upon his retirement in 1989, he spent the final years of his life being a regular attendee at autograph conventions and being a generous benefactor for several libraries and state parks, until his death.