A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
As a young man, he acted in productions of the Armenian Youth Theater in Philadelphia. After the war, he attended drama school. He worked in live television productions, which led to roles in westerns and crime dramas on TV and in movies.
He made a career of playing tough guys on both sides of the law.
He was an Army flight instructor during WWII.
His mother was Armenian actress Arousiak Abrahamian.
Is a superb chef who's especially adept at Chinese and Armenian cookery.
Studied drama at the Bessie V. Hicks School of Drama in post-war Philadelphia after his discharge from the Army.
The son of Mgerdich der Abrahamian, who's a revolutionary Armenian and a founder of the Republic of Armenia.