In 1963, he played a sailor with a Napoleon tattoo in the movie Irma La Douce, a romantic comedy starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, directed by Billy Wilder based on the 1956 French musical. He also joined the cast of The Joey Bishop Show in 1962. He became a highly regarded character actor and guest-starred in many television series, including Ben Casey, The Twilight Zone, The Andy Griffith Show, Dr. In 1961, Bixby was in the musical The Boy Friend at the Detroit Civic Theater, returning to Hollywood to make his television debut on an episode of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He organized shows at a resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and in 1959 was hired to work as a model and to do commercial work for General Motors and Chrysler. He then moved to Hollywood, California, where he had a string of odd jobs that included bellhop and lifeguard. Later, he attended the University of California, Berkeley, his parents' alma mater, and left just a few credits short of earning a degree. He served primarily in personnel management with Marine Attack Squadron 141 ( VMA-141) at Naval Air Station Oakland, and attained the rank of private first class before his 1956 discharge. Rather than report to the United States Army, Bixby joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve. ĭuring the Korean War, Bixby was drafted shortly after his 18th birthday. Īfter graduation from high school in 1952, against his parents' wishes, he majored in drama at City College of San Francisco.
Though he received average grades, he also competed in high-school speech tournaments regionally.
While dancing, he attended Lowell High School, where he perfected his oratory and dramatic skills as a member of the Lowell Forensic Society. In 1946, his mother encouraged him to take ballroom dance lessons and from there he started dancing all around the city. In one notable incident, he shot the bishop using a slingshot during a service and was kicked out of the choir. While in the seventh grade, Bixby attended Grace Cathedral and sang in the church's choir. In 1942, when Bixby was eight years old, his father enlisted in the Navy during World War II and traveled to the South Pacific. His mother, Jane (née McFarland) Bixby, was a senior manager at I. His father, Wilfred Bailey Everett Bixby II, was a store clerk.