Robert Quarry (1925-2009) [Count Yorga, Vampire (1970); Rollercoaster (1977)] was born in Santa Rosa, California. His father was a doctor. Robert's grandmother first introduced him to the world of theater. Quarry was on the swimming team in high school which he finished at age 14. In the early 40s he was a busy juvenile actor on the radio; he even had a regular part on the Dr. Christian program. He joined the Army Combat Engineers at age 18 during World War II and formed a theatrical group which put on a hit production of the play The Hasty Heart that Quarry both acted in and helped produce. Quarry made his film debut with a small role in Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943). He acted alongside Paul Newman in both Winning (1969) and WUSA (1970).

Anthony Quayle (1913-1989) [Lawrence of Arabia (1962); The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)] was born John Anthony Quayle in Ainsdale, Southport, Lancashire (now Aindale, Sefton, Merseyside), England, UK. He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1952 and awarded Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in 1985 for his services to drama. He was a British army Major during World War II and then played one in The Guns of Navarone (1961). He was nominated for Broadway's 1956 Tony Award as Best Featured or Supporting Actor (Dramatic) for his role in the play, Tamburlaine the Great. He formed his own theatre company, 'Compass' which toured the provinces introducing theatre to new audiences.

Ford Rainey (1908-2005) [White Heat (1949) (uncredited); Purgatory Flats (2002)] was an American character actor of stage, films, and television. A native of Idaho, Rainey was the son of a colorful character who was, among many other things, a champion of local dance contests. As a boy, Rainey was painfully shy, but found an outlet in school plays. He pursued stage work in regional companies, then went to New York to study with the legendary Michael Chekhov. He worked numerous "civilian" jobs while attempting to make a career as an actor, including work as a logger, a lineman, and a licensed carpenter. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, then went to California where he helped start the Ojai Valley Players and then acted in his first film in 1949. He became a familiar face in films and television shows of all sorts during the next five decades while maintaining a deep attachment to the theatre. In his ninetieth year, he played Giles Corey in "The Crucible" at Theatricum Botanicum, the Topanga, California theatre founded by his friend, the late Will Geer.

Tony Randall (February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) [Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957); The Odd Couple TV series (1970-1975); Down with Love (2003)] was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia (née Finston) and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer. He attended Tulsa Central High School and then Northwestern University for a year before traveling to New York City to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. He studied under Sanford Meisner and choreographer Martha Graham around 1935. As Anthony Randall, he worked onstage opposite stars Jane Cowl in George Bernard Shaw's Candida and Ethel Barrymore in Emlyn Williams's The Corn Is Green. Randall then served for four years with the U.S. Army Signal Corps in World War II, refusing an entertainment assignment with Special Services. Then he worked at the Olney Theatre in Montgomery County, Maryland before heading back to New York City. Prior to his appearance in Candida, Randall worked as an announcer at radio station WTAG, Worcester MA.

Ron Randell (1918-2005) [It Had to Be You (1947); Most Dangerous Man Alive (1961)] was born in Sidney, Australia hwere he began his six-decade-long career in his teens on radio for the Australian Broadcasting Commission. He promptly moved to stage where he acted with the Minerva Theatre Group from 1937 to 1946, while intermittently appearing in Australian films, which was interupted for service as a fighter pilot in the Australian Air Force during WW II. He shot down five Japanese planes in combat.

John Randolph (1915-2004) [The Naked City (1948); Prizzi's Honor (1985)] was born Emanuel Cohen in the Bronx, NY. He was a Tony Award-winning character actor whose union and social activism in the '40s and '50s caused him to be blacklisted during the McCarthy era. He was not a household name, but he was a regular face in movies and TV for over four decades. He began his dramatic training in the '30s, studying under Stella Adler and changing his name to the less ethnic moniker of "John Randolph". He served in the Army Air Force during WWII. He married actress Sarah Cunningham in Chicago in 1945 while performing in Orson Welles's stage production of Native Son.

Monte Rawlins (1907-1988) [Hop-a-long Cassidy (1935); Across the Plains (1939] was born Dean Spencer in Yakima, Washington. His job as an aerial barnstormer in the 1930s landed him some aerial stuntwork in a few films. His big break came when he got the starring role in The Adventures of the Masked Phantom (1939), but the film, an independent effort, didn't have major studio backing and wound up being distributed via the states-rights system. After a few more small roles, Rawlins joined the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. He stayed in the Marine Reserves after the war ended and was called up for service during the Korean conflict. In civilian life he had given up acting and took up a career in the sound recording field, first at Monogram Pictures and then at Walt Disney Studios. After retiring from Disney he moved to Hawaii, where he lived until his death.

Aldo Ray (1926-1991) [Battle Cry (1955); The Naked and the Dead (1958)] was born Aldo DaRe in the borough of Pen Argyl, in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of California at Berkley, served as a US Navy frogman during WWII and saw action on Iwo Jima. While constable of Crockett, California, Ray drove his brother Guido to an audition for the film Saturday's Hero (1951). Director David Miller hired him for a small role as a cynical football player. Ray's husky frame, thick neck and raspy voice made him perfect for playing tough sexy roles. He was one of the reminiscing lovers in George Cukor's The Marrying Kind (1952) and starred opposite Rita Hayworth in Miss Sadie Thompson (1953). Ray died of throat cancer on 27 March 1991. -- [Excerpted from IMDB]

Gene Rayburn (1917-1999) [It Happened to Jane (1959) - TV game show host: Tic Tac Dough (1956); Dough Re Mi (1958); The Match Game (1962)] was born Eugene Rubessa in Christopher, Illinois and died in Gloucester, Massachusetts of congestive heart failure. After Rayburn's father died at a very young age, his mother moved to Chicago and married Milan Rubessa, and Gene adopted his stepfather's name. As Gene Rubessa, he acted in high school plays and hoped to follow an acting career. He moved to New York City in the 1930s where he was a page for NBC, later working as an usher for the NBC symphony orchestra. Before World War II, he went to announcers school and worked with various radio personalities around New York City. He married Helen Tricknor, in 1940, with whom he had one child, Lynn, in 1942. Soon afterwards, he was called to Military Service and joined the U.S. Air Corps. After the war, Gene worked on the Rayburn and Finch Show and, later, the Gene Rayburn Show in the early fifties.

Martha Raye (1916-1994) [Rhythm on the Range (1936); The Phynx (1970)] was born Margaret Teresa Yvonne Reed in Butte, Montana, backstage at a local vaudeville theatre where her song-and-dance Irish immigrant parents Pete Reed and Mabelle Hooper were performing. Two days later her mother was back doing the act. Martha became an overnight star in 1936, after being spotted by producer/ director Norman Taurog performing comedy skits at the Trocadero nightclub, with Jimmy Durante and Joe E. Lewis as straight men. She was in front of the cameras the following day, doing a comic drunk routine in Bing Crosby's Rhythm on the Range. She had so little formal schooling that her scripts had to be read to her. She entertained U.S. troops with the USO service organization during World War II and conflicts in Korea, and Viet Nam. Troops lovingly called her "Colonel Maggie" but the rank of Lt. Colonel and membership of the Green Beret Special Forces unit were both honorary. The entertainer was also an honorary Colonel in the United States Marine Corps. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November 1993 by President Bill Clinton and died of pneumonia a year later at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She is buried at Fort Bragg, NC, the only woman buried in the special forces part of the cemetery.

Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911–2004) [Knute Rockne All American (1940); Hellcats of the Navy (1957)] was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). After completing fourteen home-study Army Extension Courses, Reagan enlisted in the Army Enlisted Reserve on April 29, 1937, as a private assigned to Troop B, 322nd Cavalry at Des Moines, Iowa. He was appointed Second Lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corps of the Cavalry on May 25, 1937, and on June 18 was assigned to the 323rd Cavalry. Reagan was ordered to active duty for the first time on April 18, 1942. Due to his nearsightedness, he was classified for limited service only, which excluded him from serving overseas. His first assignment was at the San Francisco Port of Embarkation at Fort Mason, California, as a liaison officer of the Port and Transportation Office. Upon the approval of the Army Air Force (AAF), he applied for a transfer from the Cavalry to the AAF on May 15, 1942, and was assigned to AAF Public Relations and subsequently to the 1st Motion Picture Unit (officially, the "18th AAF Base Unit") in Culver City, California. On January 14, 1943 he was promoted to First Lieutenant and was sent to the Provisional Task Force Show Unit of This Is The Army at Burbank, California. He returned to the 1st Motion Picture Unit after completing this duty and was promoted to Captain on July 22, 1943.

In January 1944, Captain Reagan was ordered to temporary duty in New York City to participate in the opening of the sixth War Loan Drive. He was re-assigned to the 18th AAF Base Unit on November 14, 1944, where he remained until the end of World War II. He was recommended for promotion to Major on February 2, 1945, but this recommendation was disapproved on July 17 of that year. He returned to Fort MacArthur, California, where he was separated from active duty on December 9, 1945. By the end of the war, his units had produced some 400 training films for the AAF.

Tom Reese (1928- ) [Marines, Let's Go (1961); North Dallas Forty (1979)] was born "Tom Allen" in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His father and uncle were country-western singers, "The Chattanooga Boys," that traveled around performing their bluegrass music with the family, including Tom, in tow. Around 1940 the Allens relocated to New York, where Tom's dad supported the family working as a steelworker in the daytime and a singing waiter at night. Tom later held the expected assortment of odd jobs (Automat busboy, usher, etc.) in New York, and (starting at 17) served two tours of duty in the Marine Corps, missing WW II by just weeks. He later studied dramatics at the American Theater Wing under the G.I. Bill and spent 15 years on the road working nightclubs (emceeing, stand-up, etc.). He studied with Lee Strasberg, did some work off-Broadway and in local TV shows and made his film bow in John Cassavetes' New York-made Shadows (1959). Cassavetes also had Reese fly to Hollywood for a part in an episode of his detective series "Johnny Staccato" (1959), Reese's Hollywood debut. He was ready to return to New York after doing the show but an agent signed him "and I've been here [California] ever since." His first major film was Flaming Star (1960), an Elvis Presley western and the start of Reese's long career in big- and small-screen oaters, including "Gunsmoke" (1955) "Bonanza" (1959), "The Virginian" (1962), "Rawhide" (1959) and "Branded" (1965). In July 2006, Reese was a guest at the Western Film Fair in Charlotte, NC along with Ben Murphy, Roger Davis, Steve Kanaly, Mark Goddard, Marjorie Lord, Coleen Gray, Ronnie Schell, Russ Tamblyn, and Cheryl Rogers.

George Reeves (1914-1959) [The Monroe Doctrine (1939); Westward Ho the Wagons! (1956); tv, Clark Kent in Adventures of Superman (104 episodes, 1951-1958)] was raised in Pasadena, California, and educated at Pasadena Junior College. He was a skilled amateur boxer and musician. He interned as an actor at the famed Pasadena Playhouse, and was discovered there. He was cast as Stuart Tarleton in Gone with the Wind (1939). Over the next ten years he was contracted to Warners, Fox and Paramount. He achieved near-stardom as the male lead in So Proudly We Hail! (1943), but war service interrupted his career, and after he returned it never regained the same level. While in the Army Air Corps he appeared on Broadway in Winged Victory, then made training films. Career difficulties after the war led him to move to New York for live television.

Steve Reeves (1926-2000) [Jail Bait (1954); Vivo per la tua morte (1968)] was originally a Montana boy born on a cattle ranch in 1926. His destiny was revealed early in the game when, at the age of six months, he won his first fitness title as "Healthiest Baby of Valley County." His father Lester died in a farming accident when Steve was just a boy, and his family moved to Oakland, California. He first developed an interest in bodybuilding while in high school. He joined the Army in his late teens where his job was loading boxcars and trucks. He also worked out loyally at the gym during his free time and the combination helped develop his body quite rapidly. Following Army service (he served for a time in the Pacific), he decided to pursue bodybuilding professionally.

Carl Reiner (1922- ) [The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966); Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)] is a true comedy legend. In a career spanning more than 60 years, he has made a lasting impact on the worlds of television, films, comedy albums and books. He first came to fame during the Golden Age of Television as a co-star on Your Show of Shows (1950-1954). He would later change the face of television comedy with the creation of The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966). As a filmmaker, he directed such movies as Oh, God! (1977) and The Jerk (1979). The Directors Guild of America presented him with its Honorary Life Member Award. Born in the Bronx, Reiner enrolled in drama school at age 16, and soon landed a part in an updated version of The Merry Widow. During World War II, he trained as a radio operator in the Air Force and studied French to serve as an interpreter. He continued to entertain as a comedian and actor with Maurice Evans' Special Services Entertainment Unit, touring the Pacific for eighteen months in G.I. revues.

Bert Remsen (1925-1999) was an American character actor (mostly TV) who became a casting director following an accident, then returned to acting years later. The son of a New York policeman, Remsen lived a colorful life before turning to acting. He was a World War II veteran who served as a coxswain on a destroyer. He won a Purple Heart during his tour of duty.

Don Rickles (1926- ) is one of the most respected talents in entertainment. He got his start in night clubs, toiling for over 20 years before his film debut in Run Silent Run Deep (1958). The movie was a big hit and Rickles continued acting, starring in films like X (1963), Bikini Beach (1964), Enter Laughing (1967), and Kelly's Heroes (1970). In 1973 Don became a regular on Dean Martin's Celebrity Roasts. From 1973 until 1984 Don appeared frequently on Dean's show, paying tribute to some of his friends, like Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball. He was even the roast master on the roast for Dean Martin himself. In 1976 Don got his own TV series, "C.P.O. Sharkey," which enjoyed a two year run. After 1984, Don began taking it easy, appearing in a few minor film roles. But, in 1995 he made a big comeback, appearing as the grouchy Mr. Potato Head with Tom Hanks and Tim Allen in Toy Story. In 1999 he returned as Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story 2. Rickles served in the US navy aboard the USS Cyrene in World War II. -- [Text excerpted from IMDB]

Jason Robards, Jr. (1922-2000) [A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966); All the President's Men (1976)]. Son of stage and film star Jason Robards Sr., he was born in Chicago, but raised mostly in Los Angeles. A star athlete at Hollywood HS, he served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, where he saw combat as a radioman. Contrary to popular rumors, he is not listed in official rolls of Navy Cross winners, despite claims some -- not he -- have made. Neither was he at Pearl Harbor during the Dec. 7, 1941 attack. His ship was at sea at the time.

Chuck Roberson (1919-1988) [Outcasts of Black Mesa (1950); Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973)] was born near Shannon, Clay County, Texas, the son of Allie W. and Jannie Hamm Roberson. Raised on cattle ranches in Shannon, Texas, and Roswell, New Mexico, he left school at 13 to become a cowhand and oilfield roughneck. He married and took his wife and daughter to California, where he joined the Culver City Police Department and guarded the gate at MGM studios. Following army service in World War II, he returned to the police force. During duty at Warner Bros. studios during a labor strike he met stuntman Fred Kennedy who alerted him to a stunt job at Republic Pictures. Roberson got the job, due both to his expert horsemanship and his resemblance to John Carroll, whom Roberson doubled in his first picture, Wyoming (1947). His close physical resemblance to John Wayne led to nearly 30 years as Wayne's stunt double. He often played small roles and stunted in other roles in the same film, which frequently resulted in his "shooting" himself once the picture was cut together. He graduated to larger supporting roles in westerns for Wayne and John Ford, and to a parallel career as a second-unit director. At the time of his death, he was one of the most respected stunt men in Hollywood.

Pernell Roberts (1928-2010) [Desire Under the Elms (1958); Checkered Flag (1990)] was born Pernell Elvin Roberts, Jr. in Waycross, Georgia, he was singing in local USO shows while still in high school, where he appeared in plays and played the horn. Although he appeared in more than two hundred movies and TV shows, he may be best remembered as Adam Cartwright, the eldest son of the Carwright clan, on the long running TV series, Bonanza. He attended both Georgia Tech and the University of Maryland but flunked out of both colleges, with a two-year stint in the Marine Corps stuck somewhere in between. He eventually decided to give acting a chance and supported himself as a butcher, forest ranger, and railroad riveter during the lean years while pursuing his craft.

Cliff Robertson (1923-2011). [Picnic (1955); PT 109 (1963); Riding the Bullet (2004)] A serious and talented actor, at his best playing somewhat troubled characters, Cliff Robertson was a fairly successful leading man through most of his career without ever becoming a major star. Following strong stage and television experience, he made an interesting film debut in a supporting role in Picnic (1955). He then played Joan Crawford's deranged young husband in Autumn Leaves (1956) and was given leads in films of fair quality such as The Naked and the Dead (1958), Gidget (1959) and The Big Show (1961). After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, eighteen year-old Cliff -- then serving on a merchant ship in the Pacific -- was erronously reported dead to his family in California. Robertson died of natural causes on Sept. 10, 2011, in Stony Brook, New York, a day after his 88th birthday.

Dale Robertson (1923- ) [Two Flags West (1950); Sitting Bull (1954) :: TV, numerous, including Dynasty (1981); Dallas (1982)] was born in Harrah, Oklahoma. He entered World War II service as a private in the Horse Cavalry at Fort Riley, Kansas in September, 1942. He was then stationed at Fort Knox and finally at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. After stateside training he served as a tank commander in the 777th Tank Battalion in the North African campaign. He rose to 1st Lieutenant with the 332nd Combat Engineers, attached to Patton's Third Army. The twice-wounded Robertson started his acting career while still on active duty. While stationed at San Luis Obispo, California he had a photograph taken for his mother. A copy of the photo displayed in the photo shop window attracted movie scouts, and the six foot tall, 180-lb. Roberson soon was on his way to Hollywood. Will Rogers Jr., whose father is the most famous son of Oklahoma, told him to avoid formal training and keep his own persona.

Gilbert Roland (1905-1994) [The Lady Who Lied (1925); Barbarosa (1982)] was born Luis Antonio Damaso de Alonso in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Following his parents to the USA, he did not become the bullfighter he had dreamed of being but became an actor instead. He chose his screen name in homage to his two favorite movie stars, John Gilbert and Ruth Roland. His Mexican roots, his half macho half romantic ways, his handsome virile figure helped him land roles in movies from the early twenties to 1982. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Force then resumed a long and varied career which included roles as an extra, a matinée idol (Armand Duval in Camille (1926/I)), a Latin Lover, a star of English-speaking films made in Hollywood in the early 1930s, a Mexican bandit in B-Movies, The Cisco Kid in a series of six popular Westerns, a brilliant character in major A movies (John Huston's We Were Strangers (1949), Vincente Minnelli's The Bad and the Beautiful (1952); Anthony Mann's Thunder Bay (1953), John Ford's Cheyenne Autumn (1964)), a sinister character in Spaghetti Westerns... He retired in 1982, twelve years before he died of cancer in Beverly Hills, California. -- Exerpted from IMDb Mini Biography By: Guy Bellinger

Andy Rooney (1919–2011) was born Andrew Rooney in Albany, New York where he grew up. He attended Albany University and Colgate Academy. In 1941, at the age of 22 he was drafted into the Army and was posted to London. There he began writing for Stars and Stripes, the US armed forces newspaper and later in the war he became one of the first US journalists to report on the Nazi concentration camps. He began working as a broadcast journalist in 1949 for CBS and established a name for himself over many years as a correspondent and commentator. He is probably best remembered by TV audiences for his regular closing segment on the TV show 60 Minutes (1968), A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney. He died in November 2011 at the age of 92 but had continued working until just a few weeks earlier.

Mickey Rooney (1920- ) [Andy Hardy series (1937 to 1958); The Black Stallion (1979)] served for 22 months in the U.S. Army during World War II, 5 months of which was with Patton's 3rd Army. He was awarded a Bronze Star among other decorations, and rose to the rank of Sgt.

Luis Van Rooten (1906-1973) [Two Years Before the Mast (1946); Detective Story (1951)] was born in Mexico City but raised in the United States and would become known in post-war Hollywood as a specialist in multiple dialects. Studying at the University of Pennsylvania, he received his B.A. and set up a sturdy practice as an architect before making a dramatic transition into acting during WWII. His facility with languages made van Rooten an in-demand military radio announcer during the war, and he conducted a variety of broadcasts in Italian, Spanish and French. This led to film work, often in roles requiring an accent or skill with dialects. After the war he settled into post-war films, playing outright villains or slick, shady suspects. Interestingly, he bookended his film career impersonating the nefarious Nazi ringleader Heinrich Himmeler.

Joe E. Ross (1914-1982) [Teaserama (1955); The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (1977)], a bravel-voiced comedian ("Oooh! Oooh!") was born in Manhattan and began his career, ironically enough, as a singing waiter in speak-easy clubs. Comedy came into the forefront and he steadily built up his image as a stand-up and impressionist, announcing and emceeing at burlesque clubs and various niteries around and about the Schuster circuit out of Chicago in the late 1930s. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II.

Harold Russell (1914-2002) [The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)]. From Wikipedia: "While an Army instructor, and training with the U.S. 13th Airborne Division stateside in 1944, a defective fuse detonated an explosive he was handling while making a training film. As a result, he lost both hands and was given two hooks to serve as hands. After his recovery, and while attending Boston University as a full-time student, an Army film called Diary of a Sergeant about rehabilitating war veterans was made featuring Russell. When film director William Wyler saw the film on Russell, he cast him in the film The Best Years of Our Lives with Fredric March and Dana Andrews. Russell played the role of Homer Parrish, a sailor who lost both hands during the War." -- One of the most moving films to come out of World War II wasn't even about the struggles of the battlefield. The film follows three returning veterans and their attempts to readjust to civilian life. The movie won seven Oscars, including two for Harold Russell, the only actor in Oscar history to win two awards for the same film. (One was the Best Supporting Actor statuette and the other a special Oscar for bringing hope and courage to disabled veterans.) The story wasn't all upbeat, though. When his wife was dying in 1992 Russell decided to put his Supporting Actor statuette on the block. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tried to keep Russell from selling the award but he ultimately auctioned it for $60,000.

John Russell (1921-1991) [Rio Bravo (1959); tv, Lawman (1958-1962) ]. Enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1942. In WW II he was highly decorated for valor and received a battlefield promotion to lieutenant during the battle of Guadalcanal. It was there he was wounded and also contracted a severe case of malaria. He was sent back to the US, hospitalized, and eventually received a medical discharge from the Corps.

Nipsey Russell (1918-2005) [Wiz on Down the Road (1978); Wildcats (1986)] was born in Atlanta Georgia. He served in Europe as a captain in the United States Army in World War II. Russell got his start in Rock and Roll and other music reviews in the 1950s. In the 1960s, Russell achieved his first major role as Officer Anderson in Car 54, Where Are You? (1961). After being on the show for a year Russell was a mainstay on variety shows, appearing on Laugh-In, The Dean Martin Show (1965), the Jackie Gleason Show, among many others. Russell also appeared in so many small shows in the 1960s as an always unique personality that would liven up almost any program. As the 1970s approached Nipsey Russell became a popular game show panelist, appearing mostly on To Tell The Truth, Match Game PM (1975), and many others. Nipsey was known as Television's Poet Laurete. On such shows like The Tonight Show, and many other very popular talk shows of the day.

Robert Ryan (1909-1973), [Crossfire (1947); The Battle of the Buldge (1965)], served in the United States Marines as a drill instructor in WWII (winning a boxing championship) and went on to become a key figure in post WWII American film noir and western productions.

Alfred Ryder (1916-1995) [The Story on Page One (1959); Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964)] was a radio, television and film actor. Ryder may best be remembered for appearing in over one hundered television shows, including the role of Professor Robert Crater in the first Star Trek episode The Man Trap in 1966. Ryder also appeared as one of the alien leaders in the TV series The Invaders. Ryder began acting at the age of 8 and later went on to study with the likes of Robert Lewis and Lee Strasberg. Ryder joined the Army Air Force during World War II, eventually appearing in the USAAF's gala Broadway stage show Winged Victory in 1943. The following year, he made his movie debut as PFC Alfred Ryder in the film version of the show Winged Victory (1944). After the war he made more films, including director Anthony Mann's classic 1947 film noir T-Men (1947).