He appeared on such TV shows as "Who Do You Trust?" with Johnny Carson and "The Dick Clark Show", a Saturday-night variety show featuring rock 'n roll stars. He directed and acted in stock where he appeared in a wide spectrum of theatre works ranging from Shakespeare to Jule Styne. He then was cast in the off-Broadway production of "The Power of Darkness", which led to further off-Broadway work with the Blackfriars Guild. He co-produced (with his brother, writer-director Frank Bessell) Joe Orton's "Crimes of Passion", directed by Michael Kahn.