Right before playing his most famous role of the 1950s TV dad, Ward Cleaver on Leave It to Beaver, he played Jesse James in NBC's Tales of Wells Fargo.
He played football while at the University of Chattanooga and later studied at the University of Southern California.
He was also a TV Director and a Methodist preacher.
He married Kathryn Adams Doty in 1942.
Jerry Mathers played his son on Leave it to Beaver.
