Joel Fabiani was born September 28, 1936 in Watsonville, California. He didn't act until he went to college, after a stint in the Army. After majoring in English, Fabiani went to San Francisco to study at the Actors Workshop for two years.Fabiani left California for New York in the early 60s and found his first success in theater. His Broadway debut was in "The Affair" in 1962. His television debut was on the CBS religious program, Look Up and Live (1954), a year later. Fabiani mixed work in plays, television shows, and commercials throughout the 1960s. Among his early credits were roles in the pilot episode of Ironside (1967) and on the cult classic, Dark Shadows (1966). Fabiani's face was never seen on "Dark Shadows".