Lyle Kanouse was born in Fort Worth, Texas. After graduating from Castleberry High School, he earned a B.A. degree from Texas Wesleyan University (from which he also received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1998) and a M.S.Ed. degree from Indiana University. Lyle is a former college administrator/teacher at Miami University (Ohio). He made his film debut in Tough Enough (1983), his TV debut on Dallas (1978) and his Broadway debut in "The Miser" (1981), followed by "Chaplin" (1983), "City of Angels" (1990) and "Big River" (2003), for which he received a Tony Award Honor for Excellence in Theatre.He appeared in nine national tours of Broadway shows, including "Fiddler on the Roof" (1978-79), "South Pacific" (1979), "1776" (1980), "Oklahoma!" (1980-81), "Jesus Christ Superstar" (1985), "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" (1989-90), "Chess"(1990-91), "City of Angels" (1992), and "Guys and Dolls" (1992-94).Lyle once wrestled a 400-pound black bear, fought a bull in Mexico, played in 11 Softball World Series including two World Champion Softball teams and had a tryout with the Dallas Cowboys. He shares homes in Texas and Hollywood, California, with actress Audrey Wasilewski.Lyle can be seen opposite Annette Bening, Alfred Molina and Frances Fisher in "The Cherry Orchard" at The Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles from Dec.27, 2005 - March 19, 2006. He recently played the Ol' Cap'n in the revival of "Purlie" opposite Loretta Devineat the Pasadena Playhouse and the Goodman Theatre-Chicago and was directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Sheldon Epps. In 2004, Lyle played patriarch H.C. Curry in the Pasadena Playhouse Production of "110 In The Shade" opposite Marin Mazzie, Jason Danieley, Tom Wilson and Adam Wiley and directed by "Frasier" (1993)_ creator David Lee.