Actor. He earned stardom for being an actor of the silver screen and television from the late 1940s until months before his death. The fifth of six children, the family lived in the greater Chicago, Illinois area until his senior year in high school when they relocated to Hollywood, California. He had no intention of becoming an actor until he enrolled in drama class for an easy English credit requirement. By accident, a Universal Studio talent scout caught the handsome, 6-foot tall, blue-eyed teenager in a school performance; hence his acting career began upon graduation with a contract signing with Universal International. His first film, 'Tomorrow is Forever,' in which he played the son of Claudette Colbert and Orson Welles, was released in 1946. In his second film, he played Noah Longstreet, the brother of Loretta Young's character in Orson Welles' film "The Stranger." This was followed by his role as the oldest Kettle son in "The Egg and I"and the next three sequel "Ma and Pa Kettle" movies. He had the roles of a plantation owner's son with Susan Hayward and Boris Karloff in "Tap Roots" in 1948; of Jeff Taylor in "The Life of Riley"; the outlaw Frank James in the 1950 "Kansas Raiders"; and "Air Cadet" in 1951 starring with Rock Hudson. In 1953, he had a supporting role in "All I Desire" starring Barbara Stanwyck. In the 1954 film "Saskatchewan," he was dashing in the Royal Mounties' red-coated uniform, sporting a mustache and a thick Irish accent in the role of Patrick Scanlon. Also that year, he had a role in "Playgirl" with Shelley Winters and starlet Mara Corday. In 1956, he played a leading role in the western "Fury at Gunsight Pass" for Columbia Studios. He was credited that year as "Dick Long" in "He Laughed Last." Other leading roles in black and white films were "Cult of the Cobra" in 1954, which he was credited as being co-director, and in 1959 "House on Haunted Hill" and "Tokyo After Dark." It was at this point, his career turned toward the emerging medium of television with one of his first performances airing February 1958 in the first season of "Have Gun Will Travel." From 1958 to 1960, he played the reoccurring role of gambler John "Gentleman Jack" Darby in four episodes of "Maverick." He had a lead role in Warner Brothers' "Bourbon Street Beat" from 1959 to 1960, a recurring role in "77 Sunset Strip," guest roles in "Hey, Jeannie!," "The Twilight Zone," and "Going My Way," in 1963 he was seen in episodes of "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," and in 1964 "The Tenderfoot." In a 1963 return to the screen, he was cast as a Navy officer alongside co-stars Connie Francis and Paula Prentiss in the MGM romantic musical "Follow the Boys," a sequel to "Where the Boys Are." Filmed on location in Finland, he was the lead actor and co-director of a comedy-mystery film, "Make Like a Thief," which was originally released in Finland in 1964 and in the United States 1966. In 1965, he accepted the role of Jarrod Barkley in what would become a four-year-long TV series, "The Big Valley." Set on a cattle ranch in California in the late 1870s, "Big Valley" cast him as a lawyer and the eldest son of a rich matriarch, played by Barbara Stanwyck. He directed two episodes of "The Big Valley": "Plunder!" airing March 13, 1967 and "The 25 Graves of Midas" airing February 3, 1969. Since "The Big Valley" is in reruns, the role of Jarrod Barkley was probably the most notable of all his roles as he was in 96 of the 112 episodes. After "Big Valley," Long appeared in 1970 in one episode of "Love, American Style," playing Rev. Atkins. From 1970 to 1971, he had the male lead in the ABC sitcom "Nanny and the Professor" and attempted another sitcom, "Thicker than Water," in the summer of 1973. Two made-for-TV-movies were released in 1974: First, a comedy "The Girl Came Gift Wrapped" with Karen Valentine and Farrah Fawcett and the second a murder mystery "Death Cruise," where he had a leading role ending with a death scene. Ironically, this was his very last performance. With a medical history of numerous myocardial infarctions starting as early as late 1950s, he died from a fatal one only four days after his 47th birthday. He was married twice: His first wife actress Suzan Ball died from cancer 16 months after their 1955 marriage; in January 1957, he married actress Mara Corday who survived him along with three teenage children. Long served in the US Army during the Korean Conflict alongside fellow actors Martin Milner, David Janssen and Clint Eastwood, who remained colleagues and friends throughout his lifetime.