Actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the level-headed Lt. Watson in "Operation Petticoat" (1959). Born into poverty, he began his career as an actor appearing as leading man in stock companies. After being discovered by actress Josephine Hull while appearing alongside one another in the original stage production of "Harvey", she 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 "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947). From there, he would go on to flourish as a notable character actor appearing in over 50 features; often typecast as husbands, fathers, boyfriends, doctors, retail clerks, white-collared workers, sailors, soldiers, salesmen, cowboys, policemen, reporters, deputies, lawyers, district attorneys, foreigners, and aristocrats. He appeared in such feature films as "Jigsaw" (1949), "Wabash Avenue" (1950), "Stangers on a Train" (1951), "One Minute to Zero" (1952), "The Band Wagon" (1953), "D-Day the Sixth of June" (1956), "Wolf Larsen" (1958), "Al Capone" (1959), "Blueprint for Robbery" (1961), and "Jack the Giant Killer" (1962). On television, he became an even more familiar face appearing in numerous guest spots on such syndicated sitcoms as "Ford Star Jubilee," "Ford Television Theatre," "The Walter Winchell File," "Gunsmoke," "Black Saddle," "Hotel de Paree," "Alcoa Theatre," "Lock Up," "Men into Space," "Hawaiian Eye," "The Dupont Show with June Allyson," "Death Valley Days," "The Untouchables," "General Electric Theatre," "Perry Mason," "Pony Express," "Peter Gunn," "The Aquanauts," "Have Gun - Will Travel," "Vacation Playhouse," and "Nichols". During his career, he was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, was supportive of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, had been a chairman for his local charters of the American Red Cross and the Boys & Girls Clubs, was a regular parishioner of the Presbyterian church, had been a member of the Hollywood Republican Committee, presided as the Head of the School of Arts, had been one of the founding members of The Group, served on the board of directors for Synanon, and he was married to fellow actress Agnes Moorehead from 1954 to 1958 (their union ended in divorce and produced no children). Following his 1975 retirement, he spent the final years of his life dividing time between his homes in Australia and California, was a regular attendee at autograph conventions, and was involved in charitable and religious ventures, until his death from the complications of undisclosed causes.