Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, Peter Boyle graduated La Salle College in 1957 with his first taste of acting on stage in the parish Christmas pageant. As Brother Francis he joined the Christian Brothers order as a student. Deciding that the religious life wasn't for him, he did a brief tour in the Navy before moving to New York to try acting. He took whatever parts were offered, touring on the road until he wound up in Chicago where he joined the Second City Improv troupe. He first appeared in an uncredited role in the 1966 film The Group, followed in 1968 with the role of Gen. Heath in The Virgin President. He worked steadily in film, landing his first small screen role in the TV movie The Man Who Could Talk to Kids.
Peter Boyle, suffering from multiple myeloma, bone-marrow cancer, died at the age of 71.
