Le Mat's breakout performance in American Graffiti landed him the lead role in box office hit Aloha, Bobby and Rose (1975). He also is known for his work in the Jonathan Demme films Handle with Care (1977) and Melvin and Howard (1980). He won another Golden Globe award for his performance in the TV film The Burning Bed (1984) and starred in the cult film Puppet Master (1989) which spawned a franchise.
Le Mat was born to Matthew (1914–1963) and Paula Le Mat (1912–1990). He graduated from Newport Harbor High School in 1963, and attended San Diego City College, Cypress Junior College, Chapman College, and eventually received an Associate of Arts degree from Los Angeles Valley College. Le Mat served in the Vietnam War with the U.S. Navy on an SP-5B Marlin seaplane in a maritime patrol squadron.
Le Mat starred in the pilot episode of Firehouse in 1973. In 1972, he appeared in American Graffiti (released in 1973), a coming-of-age film about a group of friends in Modesto, California in the early 1960s. He played John Milner - a role that would earn him his first Golden Globe Award. The film received universal acclaim and was a box office smash. Le Mat also starred in Floyd Mutrux's 1975 crime spree film Aloha, Bobby and Rose, another commercial hit.

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