From 1979 until 1984, he appeared in several episodes of "Dallas" as Sheriff Fenton Washburn. In 1983, Corbin co-starred in the famed television miniseries "The Thorn Birds". Corbin played Mary Carson's stockman Pete, who teaches the Clearys' sons how to shear sheep on their aunt's gigantic sheep station Drogheda, in Australia. In 1983–1984, Corbin played Merit Sawyer in the NBC television series "Boone". Corbin's role was that of a stern father to the young actor Tom Byrd, who played Boone Sawyer, an aspiring singer. The program was set in rural Tennessee during the 1950s and was created by Earl Hamner, who had great success earlier with CBS's "The Waltons".