He appeared four times on Gilligan's Island in the 1960s: in season one, episode 15 (1964–65) as a Japanese sailor who did not know World War II was over, later in season one, episode 31, as the same sailor in scenes where Ginger, the skipper, and Mister Howell reflect in diaries on their versions of how a rescue transpired in the above-mentioned episode 15, and twice as Dr. Boris Balinkoff, a mad scientist, in seasons two and three. He appeared in 5 episodes (1973-1975) of the original "Columbo", as a befuddled maître d’, a snobbish clothing store salesman, a soliciting undertaker, an erudite street bum, and a soybean wholesaler, and in one episode (1989) as Vito when the series was revived.