This imposing, gray-haired character actor has specialized in playing dads and authority figures in everything from heavy drama to mindless comedy. The Texas native left college in the late 1960s to work in local theater companies, eventually moving to California in the mid-70s. Once there, he did bits on shows like "Starsky and Hutch" and "Charlie's Angels" while keeping up his theater work, playing Shakespearean roles in Los Angeles companies.

He began playing small roles in TV movies such as "The Runaway Barge" (NBC, 1975), "The Summer of My German Soldier" (NBC, 1978) and "Fog" (CBS, 1981),