Joe Maross graduated with a bachelor degree in theater arts from Yale University. Made his bow on Broadway in the comedy play "Ladies Night in a Turkish Bath" in 1950 and moved on to the West Coast in 1957, where he became a founding member of the LA theater group Projects 58. A reedy, hungry-looking character actor from the days of early live television, he was one of the instantly recognisable faces from many classic TV shows of the 60's, excelling at intense, insecure or slightly paranoid characters.