- As did so many other actors, he interrupted his movie career during WWII. He served as an Air Force pilot in North Africa. He broke his back in a crash.
- First actor, in 1956, to be paid a percentage of his film's gross.
- He was a friend of Erroll Flynn and gained a reputation as an adventurous playboy, even joining Flynn in a trip in which they lived with Fidel Castro in Cuba's Sierra Maestra.
- In the late '50s and '60s he was involved in several legal controversies. In 1959, he agreed to pay a settlement of $176,000 to an 81 year old widow who alleged he had romanced her out of her fortune. In 1965, he gave up a position on the Louisiana Tourist Development Commission amid allegations of improprieties.
- Studied opera in Italy and drove racing cars before turning to acting.
- Father of Julianna Benito
- His cousin, Rayel "Jack" LaFaye is the grandfather of filmmaker Troy Antoine LaFaye.
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