EDGAR attended the UNIVERSITY OF OREGON. He wanted to be a dentist, but his grades were poor so he took a course in "Play Interpretation," which was considered easy, in order to improve his grade average. It was while taking it that he decided he wanted to be an actor. EDGAR used his dental license to make a living until he finally was able to be an actor full-time. Starting in 1940 he began his acting career and played in a lot of Westerns. Although he's appeared in almost 100 films, many people usually think of him as UNCLE JOE in the TV show PETTICOAT JUNCTION.