- Was a teacher in the New York City public school system before becoming an actor. Left behind ten children at the time of his death.
- Enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army on 9 January 1942 during World War II.
- Initiated the "Do You Know Me" commercials for American Express
- His parents were Irish immigrants.
- He has appeared in three films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and Midnight Cowboy (1969).
- Father of actor Boris McGiver.
- Died of a heart attack at his New York home September 9 1975.
- Born on the same date as Vivien Leigh, of "Gone With the Wind" fame.
- Ex-father-in-law of Deborah Hecht.
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