After his parents divorced, he became a wayward, rebellious teenager.
Deciding he should instill himself with some discipline, he joined a
naval training ship for two years. His first taste of acting came
during ten years subsequent service in the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal
Navy.
He acted in Preston Jones' play, "The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia," at the Hampstead Theatre in Hampstead, London, England with Glyn Owen, Ian Hogg, and Thick Wilson in the cast. Michael Rudman was director.