he was conscripted into military service in 1965. six months after he completed his service, and with dramatic training by lillian randolph, eckstine made his acting debut in the 1967 film "the love-ins". he appeared in the tv movie "shadow on the land" (1968), an adaptation of sinclair lewis's novel "it can't happen here", and had guest roles in the television series "room 222" and "cannon".