Born in Seattle, Washington in 1944, he was a movie buff and an amateur thespian through high school, community theater, and college productions. He was accepted into the U of W's BFA Professional Actor's Training Program in 1970, then in its third year of existence; still turning out actors 36 years later. He worked in Regional Theatre in the Northwest for a few years, and then relocated to Los Angeles. In 1977, he took a job at an agency for the blind that was located near Hollywood, and he found a new love; special education. He returned to college, getting his MA in Education, and has been working with blind people for 30 years.