He was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan and attended the University of Illinois, graduating in 1949. He initially sought employment in Chicago working for advertising agencies, but left for New York to work for Viking Press. His first "show-business" job came when he impulsively stepped into an audition line and was cast in a revival of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
He is most well known for his work on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, an American television show which aired from 1968-1973, in which he played various characters including a smoking Nazi with the tag-line "Verrry interesting..."