McMillan was born in
Brooklyn, New York, the son of Margaret and Harry McMillan, a truck driver. He attended
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. Prior to becoming an actor, McMillan was employed at
Gimbels Department Store first as a salesman, then as a section manager, and then a floor superintendent managing three floors. At age 30, McMillan decided to pursue an acting career, and took acting lessons from
Uta Hagen and
Irene Dailey. He was married to Kathryn McDonald (20 June 1969 – 8 January 1989) (his death) with whom he had one child, actress Alison McMillan.
Career McMillan made his film debut at age 41 with a small role in
Sidney Lumet's police drama
Serpico. The actor played a borough commander in
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, but often was cast as characters such as a cowardly small town sheriff in
Tobe Hooper's 1979 TV mini-series ''
Salem's Lot, a similar law enforcement officer in the 1987 Burt Reynolds film Malone'',
William Hurt's bitter paraplegic father in
Eyewitness, a wily safe cracker in
The Pope of Greenwich Village, and a racist fire chief in
Ragtime who is memorably told off by the New York City police commissioner, played by
James Cagney. In 1985, he portrayed New York City's newly appointed police commissioner in the short-lived television
crime drama Our Family Honor. He portrayed the grotesquely obese and gleefully psychotic
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in
Dune, the pathetic drunken pop of
Aidan Quinn in
Reckless and as Cressner, a sleazy high roller gambler in "
The Ledge," a segment of the horror anthology film ''
Cat's Eye''. Yet he did sometimes get cast opposite the villain, playing
Robert Duvall's detective partner in
True Confessions, a judge who must rule whether
Richard Dreyfuss has the right to die in
Whose Life Is It Anyway?, as well as a lead detective investigating a serial killer in the 1982 film
The Clairvoyant. McMillan was also adept at comedy, giving performances as a baseball club manager in
Blue Skies Again,
Meg Ryan's corrupt security guard captain dad in
Armed and Dangerous and a dotty senile veterinarian in
Three Fugitives. McMillan had a recurring role in 1977–1978 as
Valerie Harper's irate boss Jack Doyle on the TV sitcom
Rhoda. Among the TV shows McMillan did guest spots on are
Dark Shadows, ''
Ryan's Hope, as a 53rd precinct lieutenant on Kojak, Starsky & Hutch, The Rockford Files, Moonlighting, Lou Grant, Magnum, P.I. and Murder, She Wrote''. Outside of his film and TV credits, McMillan also frequently performed on stage at the
New York Shakespeare Festival. He acted in the original
Broadway productions of
Streamers and
American Buffalo. He won an
Obie for his performance in the
Off-Broadway play
Weekends Like Other People. McMillan died of
liver disease at age 56. ==Filmography==