Raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, he went to Lincoln High School, briefly attended Jersey City State College, Rutgers University, and graduated with honors from New York’s historic American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1969. He also trained at the HB Studio in New York, with William Hickey and Michael Becket, and at The Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg.

He is probably best known for his role as Lieutenant Boomer on the original Battlestar Galactica television series. Later, in the 1980 spin-off Galactica 1980, his character was promoted to Colonel, and had moved up in the chain of command to become the Executive Officer of the Galactica.

In 2015 he appeared in the cameo role of Admiral Grant (Ben) Satterlee in the pilot of the web-based series Star Trek: Renegades (the pilot episode was developed for television, but was rejected, and subsequently made available on the Internet). In 2007 he portrayed Captain Gault, a freedom fighter, in the Internet mini series Star Trek: Of Gods and Men, from the same independent production company.