Actor. He is best remembered for his recurring portrayal of the foreign sleuth Charlie Chan in several feature films during the 1940s. Born Roland Winternitz, he was raised in a family of wealth and position, the son of opera singer Antoinette Iverson and concert violinist Felix Winternitz. After beginning his career as a leading man on the Broadway stage, he was introduced to fellow actor Orson Welles during a dinner party at the prestigious Sardis Restaurant. Impressed by his mature stealth, articulate voice, and professionalism, he took notice of his potential and arranged for him to begin a career in the film industry beginning with him appearing in a supporting role in "Citizen Kane" (1941). From there, he would go on to flourish as a notable character actor appearing in over 100 features, often typecast as white-collared workers, politicians, doctors, lawyers, educators, philanthropists, businessmen, adventurers, eccentrics, authority figures, and patriarchs. He appeared in such feature films as "13 Rue Madeline" (1946), "The Chinese Ring" (1947), "Docks of New Orleans" (1948), "The Feathered Serpent" (1949), "Guilty of Treason" (1950), "Follow the Sun" (1951), "She's Working Her Way Through College" (1952), "So Big" (1953), "Jet Pilot" (1957), "Never Steal Anything Small" (1959), "Blue Hawaii" (1961), "Follow That Dream" (1962), and "Loving" (1970). During the advent of television, he became an even more familiar face appearing in various guest spots on such syndicated sitcoms as "Treasury Men in Action," "Meet Millie," "Robert Montgomery Presents," "The Milton Berle Show," "Doorway to Danger," "Mama," "Lux Video Theatre," "The Kaiser Aluminum Hour," "You Are There," "Broken Arrow," "Studio One," "The Millionaire," "Schlitz Playhouse," "Date with the Angels," "Colgate Theatre," "Play of the Week," "Naked City," "Alcoa Premiere," "The Defenders," "Life With Archie," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "Hazel," "The Lucy Show," "Arrest and Trial," "Route 66," "The Cara Williams Show," "Profiles in Courage," "The Addams Family," "My Brother the Angel," "Bewitched," "The Carol Burnett Show," "Green Acres," "The Red Skelton Hour," "Adam's Rib," and "The Dain Curse". During his career, he was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, was supportive of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, had been a regular parishioner of the Temple Israel of Hollywood, was an active member of the Hollywood Democratic Committee, had been a theatrical instructor for the Pasadena Playhouse, was one of the founding members of the Canyon Theater Guild, served as an honorary vice-president for Actors Equity, presided as a chairman for his local charters of the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity, and he was married to stage and radio actress Ada Howe from 1930 to 1959 (their union ended upon her death and produced no children). Upon his 1982 retirement, he spent the final years of his life focused on charitable and religious causes, until his death from complications of a stroke.