American character actor specializing in tough guys and heavies. A native of Yonkers, New York, he worked on the Broadway stage and then became an increasingly familiar figure in Westerns and crime dramas after World War II. Although almost as familiar a presence in films as his contemporaries Warren Oates, Robert J. Wilke, and Leo Gordon, for some reason Lambert never became as well-known as these, even by film buffs, despite having appeared in a great number of similar roles and films. His credits are often confused with those of the Scots actor of the same name, Jack Lambert.