Born and raised in the Bronx

Entered the Navy by lying about his age

Won naval boxing championship, lightweight division

Played semi-professional football after leaving the navy

Worked as a commercial artist

Employed by the Bellevue Mental Hygiene Clinic in Manhattan

Employed by the psychiatric department of Queens General Hospital in Queens NY

Worked as a disc jockey in NYC; hosted "The Dick Miller Show" on WMCA and WSR

Co-hosted (with Bobby Sherwood) "Midnight Snack" on the local CBS affiliate; reputedly TV's first live late-night talk show

Met actor Jonathan Haze ("The Little Shop of Horrors" 1960) at the Bird in the Hand Restaurant and became fast drinking buddies

Began performing on the Broadway stage

Wrote, produced, and directed live TV shows out of NYC

Moved to California to seek work as a writer

Introduced to Roger Corman by Jonathan Haze

Feature acting debut in Corman's Western "Apache Woman" playing an Indian, a cowboy, and a posse member; first of numerous collaborations with producer-director Corman at American International Pictures

First starring role in a feature, "Rock All Night", as a sharp-tongued barfly

Starred in his signature role of Walter Paisley, the anti-hero of Roger Corman's horror comedy, "A Bucket of Blood"

Feature screenwriting debut as co-scripter of Jerry Lewis' "Which Way to the Front"

Appeared in Jonathan Kaplan's "Night Call Nurses" at New World Pictures; first of eight film collaborations (as of 1994) with director Kaplan (released 1974)

Co-scripted "T.N.T. Jackson", a Filippino-shot "blaxploitation" favorite

Reprised the role of Walter Paisley in Joe Dante and Allan Arkush's "Hollywood Boulevard"; first of ten film collaborations (as of 1994) with Dante

Appeared in the recurring role of a sleazy motel clerk in the daytime soap "General Hospital" (date approximate)

Joined the cast of the high school drama "Fame", then in first-run syndication, as Mr. Lou Mackie

Directed "The Fix", an episode of the trendy cop series "Miami Vice"

Guest starred in a two-part episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space 9"