He typically excelled as a second banana, providing asides and reactions for the likes of Brooks, frequent co-star and benefactor Burt Reynolds ("The Cannonball Run," "Smokey and Bandit II," "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and "The End"), and Wilder ("The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother," "The World's Great Lover."). He took on a rare leading part in the 1980 Anne Bancroft-directed film "Fatso," a comedy in which he played a man struggling with his weight.