Actor. The son of a real estate broker, he dropped out of high school at the age of fourteen and worked as a cowboy in various western states. He then joined the US Marine Corps during the Korean War and spent most of his enlistment on the Alaska Aleutian Islands. Following his discharge, he worked as a bodyguard for Howard Hughes and as a ranch hand. In the 1960s, with no formal training, he started performing in live theater in Los Angeles, California and as a stunt man in western films. His first major casting was as a blacksmith in the 1970's CBS television series "The Waltons". His first featured role was in "The China Syndrome" (1979). followed by "Absence of Malice" (1981), "The Thing" (1982), "Tender Mercies" (1983), and "The Natural" (1984). In 1985 his first leading role came in Ron Howard's "The Cocoon" as 'Ben Luckett', the leader of a group of geriatrics who encounter a magically reinvigorating swimming pool next door to their retirement home, followed by its 1988 sequel "Cocoon: The Return", "The Firm" (1993), and "In and Out" (1997). He then moved to working in independent productions for Turner Network Television (TNT), including "Crossfire Trail" (2001), and made various television appearances, including commercials, most notably for Quaker Oats. In 2005 he won a Golden Boot Award for his contributions to western films and television. Musically, he was considered a fine singer and in 2003 he released the jazz album "This Time, The Dream's on Me". Along with his second wife, he began the nonprofit organization Hands Across the Saddle (HATS) that provides assistance to those in the Big Horn Basin in Wyoming. Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, he also worked with the American Diabetes Association to raise awareness especially in veteran hospitals. He died at the age of 85 from kidney disease.