Actor. He is best remembered for his recurring portrayal of the level-headed Howard Trask in the syndicated sitcom "Days of Our Lives." Born into a traditional working-class family, he began his career as a leading man on the stage in little theatres and stock companies. Upon being introduced to director Sidney Salkow while attending a social function at the Beverly Hills Hotel, he was so impressed by his dark good looks, average physique, and remarkable dry wit that after taking notice of his potential, he arranged for him to begin a career in the film industry beginning with him appearing under his supervision per a major role on an episode of "Overland Trail." From there, he would go on to flourish as a notable character actor, appearing in over 30 features. Often typecast as husbands, fathers, relatives, boyfriends, blue-collared guys, authority figures, eccentrics, landlords, neighbors, curmudgeons, retail clerks, bankers, politicians, detectives, reporters, policemen, authority figures, con artists, city slickers, cowboys, clergymen, and patriarchs. He appeared in such feature films as "The Music Man" (1962), "Wall of Noise" (1963), "Dear Heart" (1964), "Your Cheatin' Heart" (1964), "Hotel" (1967), "Once You Kiss a Stranger..." (1969), and "The Hunted Lady" (1977). On television, he appeared in numerous guest spots on such syndicated sitcoms as "Bronco," "Outlaws," "Maverick," "Surfside 6," "The Man and the Challenge," "77 Sunset Strip," "Dennis the Menace," "Dr. Kildare," "Temple Huston," "The Donna Reed Show," "Profiles in Courage," "I Spy," "Hazel," "Dirty Sally," "The Incredible Hulk," "240-Robert," "Little House on the Prairie," "Fame," "WKRP in Cincinnati," "Nurses," and "Gabriel's Fire." During his career, he was supportive of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, was a regular parishioner of the Lutheran church, was an active member of the Hollywood Republican Committee, was a commercial model for the Ford Agency, had been active within his local charters of the American Red Cross and the Boy Scouts, was a theatrical instructor for the Pasadena Playhouse, had been a celebrity spokesman for Maxwell House Coffee and BIC Ballpoint Pens, had been among the many founding members of the Canyon Theatre Guild, and he was married to mild manner housewife Helmi Happa from 1945 to 1993 (their union ended upon her death and produced no children). Following his 1993 retirement, he spent the remainder of his life living comfortably in the suburbs, devoting time to charitable ventures and religious observation, and was a regular attendee at autograph conventions until his death from undisclosed causes.