He relocated to Los Angeles to focus on an acting career, and went on to guest starring, recurring, and co-starring roles on such shows as “Best of the West”, “St. Elsewhere”, “Newhart”, “Hunter”, “The Dukes of Hazzard”, “The A-Team”, and “Cheers”. He is most widely recognized for his co-starring roles on “In the Heat of the Night” and “Grace Under Fire”. He left Hollywood behind in the mid-90s. He was the Mayor of Fresno, California from January 2001 to January 2009.