Raised in South Gate with an avid interest in movies since childhood,
Don was awarded a contract by NBC to produce a 5 minute comedy short in
1967 during his senior year in high school. A short stint in college
followed and he landed his first "real" job in the business as a file
clerk in the Story Department at Paramount Studios in 1968. Following
his U.S. Army service (including Vietnam), he worked as a tour guide at
Universal Studios, began an acting career that saw him in 43 TV shows,
7 movies and 4 commercials. His interest turned to production and he
studied advanced make-up under
Michael Westmore.