born in somerville, new jersey, u.s.. his first roles were the villain jack colby in the western classic "high noon" (1952) with gary cooper, and the sci fi movie "the beast from 20,000 fathoms" (1953) as corp. stone. other classic western movies, he played a minor role in "gunfight at the o.k. corral" (1957), as ed bailey, and "the tin star" (1957), as ed mcgaffey.