Raised in
Hazlet, New Jersey, Ortlieb graduated from
Raritan High School in 1974. He attended Glassboro State College (since renamed as
Rowan University), planning to study music and play soccer, but dropped out shortly after suffering an injury on one of the first days of team practice and started acting. After a few years on the stage, he earned a degree in drama from the
Mason Gross School of the Arts of
Rutgers University. ==Career==