Grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and acted in little theaters in the Milwaukee area. After acting with Ethel Waters in a touring company of "The Member of the Wedding", he went to the High School Institute at Northwestern University, in Illinois, and studied under acting coach Alvina Krause (whose other students included Charlton Heston, Jennifer Jones, Richard Benjamin, and Karen Black). He then pursued an acting career in Hollywood, while getting a master's degree at the Univ. of California, Los Angeles. In 1967, he was accepted into the Assistant Director training program from the Directors Guild and the Motion Picture Producers Association, and graduated in 1969.