A reliable player of stoic, military types on stage, he was best remembered, however, for his despicable bad guys on film, his standout roles included a hired killer in
The Sting (1973), as crude and vulgar hockey player Mo Wanchuck in
Slap Shot (1977) and as
Nick Nolte's terrifying monster of a father seen in flashbacks in
The Prince of Tides (1991).