Began his young career on radio as a teenager in 1945 when he was heard on "Quiz Kids".
Cast as "Sparks " in the film of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), only 3 years later he had a regular spot on a submarine as the voice of "Phones" in the UK Children's TV series "Stingray" (1964).
Coached actor Forest Whitaker to an Oscar and Golden Globe with his Ugandan dialect as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2006).
He appeared in the original "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1962) TV series, as well as the movie version (The Beverly Hillbillies (1993)).
Is known as the "Henry Higgins of Hollywood". Is a master of dialects, and frequently coaches other actors.
Lived for a time in San Antonio, Texas.
Was a "Quiz Kid", a renowned group of high-IQ children in the 1930s and 1940s.
While a student at the University of Texas in the Spring of 1949, he was inititated into Phi Eta Sigma, a national honorary scholastic fraternity for men.