Actor. He is best remembered for his portrayals of well-off and sophisticated gentleman in several cinematic features of the 1930s through 1950s. After attaining his degree in theatrical arts from UCLA, he began his acting career with the Walter Hampden Repertory Company and made his stage debut in 1929's "Other Men's Wives"; he also appeared on stage in productions of "Dishonored Lady", "Tomorrow and Tomorrow", "The Animal Kingdom", "Best Years", "Conquest", "Over 21", and "South Pacific". After being discovered by a talent scout, he was brought out to Hollywood, California, and was given a film contract with Paramount Pictures making his film debut in "The Cheat" (1931) opposite Tallulah Bankhead. Proving so successful at screen acting, he became a freelance actor floating around all the major studios, appearing in over 50 films between 1931 and 1965; some of his other screen credits include appearances in "Jimmy and Sally" (1933), "Evelyn Prentice" (1934), "After Office Hours" (1935), "The Murder Man" (1935), "Toughguy" (1936), "Maid of Salem" (1937), "King of Gamblers" (1937), "Dangerous to Know" (1938), "The Oklahoma Kid" (1939), "Beau Geste" (1939), "Abe Lincoln in Illinois" (1940), "Sargent York" (1941), "The Courtship of Andy Hardy" (1942), "George Washington Slept Here" (1942), "Three Young Texans" (1954) and "North by Northwest". With the advent of television, Stephens career continued to flourish, often appearing as either a father, grandfather, uncle, lawyer, doctor, politician, or patriarch, in guest spots on such sitcoms as "Four Star Playhouse", "Cavalcade of America", "The Millionaire", "Tales of Wells Fargo", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "Playhouse 90", "77 Sunset Strip", "Bat Masterson", "Wagon Train", "The Untouchables", "Checkmate", "Perry Mason", "Margie", "Bonanza", and "Slattery's People". In 1965, Stephens retired from acting to focus on family and global traveling.