Stehli's professional acting debut came with a
stock theater company in Bayonne as he had understudy and bit-part responsibilities and worked with props. He worked there and with other stock companies until 1919, when he was invited to join the
Theatre Guild. He starred in the 1938 Broadway production of
The Greatest Show on Earth. Stehli appeared in the films
Boomerang;
Executive Suite;
Drum Beat;
The Cobweb;
The Brothers Karamazov;
No Name on the Bullet;
4D Man;
Cash McCall;
Atlantis, the Lost Continent;
Parrish;
Pocketful of Miracles;
The Spiral Road;
Twilight of Honor;
Seconds;
The Tiger Makes Out and
Loving, among others. His television appearances include episodes of
Dennis the Menace,
Gunsmoke,
Perry Mason,
Alfred Hitchcock Presents,
The Twilight Zone,
Hazel, and
The Texan(Western TV series starring Rory Calhoun.) On
old-time radio, Stehli portrayed Dr. Huer in
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, D.A. Miller in
Crime Doctor, and the title character in
Gramps. Stehli's acting on Broadway spanned a half-century, beginning on November 27, 1916, in
Six Who Pass While the Lentils Boil and ending on November 26, 1966, in
Those That Play the Clowns. In 1941 he created the role of Dr. Einstein in
Arsenic and Old Lace. At the time of Stehli's death, he was one of the oldest active members of
Actors' Equity Association. ==Personal life==