Born on January 5 1931 in San Diego, he grew up largely in Annapolis, Maryland, where his father was a Navy man and his mother had been an amateur actress. Though logging a year in the army, he felt suited only for acting and went to study his craft in New York. Rooming at one point with Dustin Hoffman, he starred in plays by Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller, and began appearing on television in 1959. His film debut, unnerving and unforgettable, came in 1962 with To Kill a Mockingbird, as the odd, ghostly Boo Radley.