Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he was swiftly relocated to the plains of Kansas whose broad fields forever opened to him the joys of openness and freedom. Mom (Mary, 1915) provided the best of Irish upbringing while Dad (Neil, 1917) provided the German organization and humor. Catholic schooled for 12 years, working in Dad's corner grocery from the age of twelve for five cents an hour till eighteen and two-seventy-five an hour, swimming every spare moment, exploring the woods and creeks were everything.His wife, Karen, was the real beginning of his career in acting. She showed him that he was basically a lazy son of a gun with not much ambition to do anything but play. After she divorced him, he returned to college and ended up in acting classes just to prove she was right. Eventually, that led to the prestigeous position in the acting community that he now holds.