Father of David Abbott.
He served as a B-24 bomber pilot in the United States Air Force during World War II and was awarded an Air Medal and three oak leaf clusters.
He served as the honorary mayor of Tarzana in the early 1970s, and served terms as the president and board chairman of the Los Angeles United Cerebral Palsy-Spastic Children's Foundation.
Studied at Fordham University and the Pasadena Playhouse, Abbott was a co-founder of Theatre West, a Los Angeles stage company. His work there included "The Web and the Rock," "O' Socrates," "Sonata for Rimbaud" and a critically acclaimed adaptation of Robert Frost's poem "Promises to Keep".
Was survived by sister Mary and brothers J.C. and Robert.
With actress/wife Jane Dufrayne, he had two sons, David and Nelson, and a daughter, Denise.