Metrano’s first film role was as a truck driver in the 1961 Cold War thriller Rocket Attack U.S.A.. Among Metrano’s TV appearances were a 1968 episode of Ironside, a 1968 episode of Bewitched, a 1976 episode of The Practice, and The Streets of San Francisco. In 1977, he was a regular in the cast of the short-lived CBS situation comedy Loves Me, Loves Me Not. He also made frequent appearances on talk and variety shows in the early 1970s, especially The Tonight Show, as a “magician” performing absurd tricks, such as making his fingers “jump” from one hand to another, while constantly humming an inane theme song – “Fine and Dandy”, an early 1930s composition by Kay Swift. Art worked with Dick Towers, a singer and entertainer, as his straight man early in his career.

Metranos’ perhaps best remembered role came in 1985 as Lt./Capt./Cmdt. Mauser in Police Academy 2 and its 1986 sequel Police Academy 3.

After his 1989 fall accident, Metranos’ on-screen appearances became limited during his rehabilitation. He did, however, return to television a year later and continued making guest appearances and small roles until his retirement from acting in 2001. Between 1993 and 2001, Metrano infrequently toured a one-man show titled “Jews Don’t Belong on Ladders…An Accidental Comedy”, which has raised more than $75,000 for Project Support for Spinal Cord Injury, to help buy crutches, wheelchairs, and supplies for disabled people. After a final limited set of shows in 2008, Metrano retired.

In September 1989, Metrano broke his neck and seriously injured his spinal cord after falling off a ladder while working on his house. While he was initially a quadriplegic, he has since regained the use of his arms and legs, and is able to walk short distances with the help of crutches, although he regularly uses a motorized wheelchair.

In December 2007, Metrano filed a lawsuit against Seth MacFarlane, the producers and studio behind the television show Family Guy, asserting copyright infringement, and asking for damages in excess of two million dollars. The case was settled out of court in 2010 with undisclosed terms.