Waggoner was born in Kansas City, Kansas, the son of Marie and Myron Waggoner, and spent part of his childhood in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. In 1953, he graduated from Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Missouri, and then studied briefly at Washington University in St. Louis. He then joined the United States Army, serving two years in West Germany as a radio operator.\n', 'After his discharge, Waggoner studied mechanical engineering in the junior executive program at the General Motors Institute of Technology. He then sold encyclopedias door to door. He made his acting debut as a muscle man in a Kansas City production of Li\'l Abner, after which he created a sales promotion organization that enabled him to make enough money to finance a trip to Los Angeles and start an acting career.\n', 'By the mid-1960s, Waggoner was appearing regularly in television and films, including an episode of Gunsmoke. He was a finalist for the title role in the TV series version of Batman, but lost the role to Adam West.\n', '

Return to Lyle Waggoner Autograph Profile