Herb Edelman as an announcer for Armed Forces Radio, he enrolled in Brooklyn College as a theater student, but eventually dropped out. He later worked as a hotel manager and as a taxicab driver. One of his fares was director Mike Nichols, who in 1963 cast Edelman in his breakthrough Broadway role, as the bewildered telephone repairman in Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park". Edelman reprised his role in the 1967 film version (starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda). He appeared in the movie versions of Simon's "The Odd Couple" (1968) and "California Suite" (1978). He also appeared in an installment of
Peter Fonda launched the biker movie genre, and established Fonda as a movie name. Fonda next played the male lead in Corman's popular film "The Trip" (1967), a take on the experience and "consequences" of consuming LSD which was written by Jack Nicholson. Fonda then travelled to France to appear in the portmanteau horror movie "Spirits of the Dead" (1968). His segment co-starred Fonda's sister Jane and was directed by her then-husband Roger Vadim. In 1968, Fonda produced, co-wrote and starred in "Easy Rider", directed by Dennis Hopper, which was Fonda's breakthrough role, and a critical and commercial success. "Easy Rider" is