After several years of similar supporting performances in a number of films, including as a co-pilot in William Wellman's The High and the Mighty (1954), he won his first starring role in Cell 2455 Death Row (1955), a low-budget prison film for Columbia Pictures.
Efter flere år med tilsvarende roller i en række film, blandt andet i William Wellmans The High and Mighty (1954), før han havde sin første hovedrolle i Cell 2455 Death Row i 1955, som blev optaget af filmstudiet Columbia Pictures.