he began working as a child actor. he was successful on the new york stage, appearing in more than a dozen plays as a teenager. he later starred in many television roles including the long running cbs television series, "i remember mama" and "young dr. malone". later he would star or co-star in many feature movies including mel brooks' "robin hood: men in tights", charlton heston's "soylent green" and the academy award winning "charly".