Stone was born an only child into a Jewish acting family. At age six, Stone debuted on stage with his father, Jacob Hochstein, in the play White Slaves. A graduate of New York University, he attended the University of Buffalo to study medicine but was forced to drop out to support his mother and fell back on acting.[1]
After gaining considerable acting experience in various plays during the 1930s, Stone was finally cast on Broadway, where between 1939 and the early 1950s, he appeared in a series of critically acclaimed productions such as One Touch of Venus and Stalag 17. Some of his other Broadway credits include Morning Star (1939), A Bell for Adano (1944), S.S. Glencairn (1947), Abraham Cochrane (1963), Charley's Aunt (1970), and Ring Around the Bathtub (1971).[3]
By 1949, Stone began to work increasingly on television, as well as in films. That year, he co-starred on the short-lived live television sitcomThe Hartmans. He also performed as Jake Goldberg in the comedy-drama The Goldbergs and as Lieutenant Hauser in the crime series The Walter Winchell File.[4] In 1958, he played Rafe Larkin in the episode "The Last Comanchero" on the ABC/Warner Bros.Western series Cheyenne, and the next year he co-starred as a principal investigator in the syndicated series Grand Jury.[5] In the 1961–1962 season, Stone appeared three times in Stephen McNally's ABC crime dramaTarget: The Corruptors!. Then, in 1963, he appeared with Marsha Hunt in the ABC medical dramaBreaking Point. In September 1964, he appeared in the Western series Bonanza in the episode "The Hostage". Also in 1964, Stone performed as the character of Greenbriar in the episode "The Fluellen Family" on the action-adventure series Daniel Boone.
In 1969–1970, Stone portrayed Hamilton Greeley in the NBC comedy series My World and Welcome to It.[6]: 737 He also played Sam Steinberg on the 1972-1973 CBS comedy Bridget Loves Bernie, and had the role of Charlie on the CBS comedy Joe and Sons (1975-1976).[6][6]: 536
Stone was married twice. His first wife, Jean, died in 1960. He married again in 1962, but two years later separated from his second wife. He had two sons and one daughter.[1] Stone died on November 18, 2005, at age 92, from natural causes at the Motion Picture and Television Retirement Home in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles.[1][2]
Awards
In 1964, Stone was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his role in the CBS dramatic series The Nurses.[8]
Affair with a Killer (1966) edited a two-part episode (Don't Forget to Wipe the Blood Off) from the television seriesSeaway together into a feature film.
