He was born in
Rye, New York, one of four sons born to Edna (Conroy) Courtleigh, a Gibson Girl, and
William Courtleigh, a Canadian-born acclaimed Broadway actor, member of the
Lamb's Club, and co-creator of the
Actors' Equity Association. Courtleigh got his start in the 1950s science fiction television series
Atom Squad playing character Steve Elliott alongside
Bob Hastings and
Bram Nossem. This role led to Courtleigh being chosen as an honorary delegate to the ninth annual
World Science Fiction Convention held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Among Courtleigh's other television roles were an episode of
Men into Space in the 1960s, the part of the evil stepmother's groom in
Rodgers and Hammerstein's
Cinderella, a
CBS TV special starring
Lesley Ann Warren; several appearances in
Hallmark Hall of Fame productions; and supporting roles in the
Sylvester Stallone drama
F.I.S.T. and
Winter Kills, a
John Huston thriller. On March 15, 2022 it was confirmed on the MASH matters pod cast that Courtleigh played the role of General Douglas McArthur in the M*A*S*H episode 'Big Mac' Courtleigh was preceded in death by his wife, Gretchen (who died in February 2004); they each had a child from previous marriages. Courtleigh's brother, Stephen, and half-brother,
William, were also actors. ==Film and television==