Melvin. In 1953, he again had another minor part in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which starred Marilyn Monroe and the Doris Day classic, Calamity Jane. Fuller's career then went on hold for service in the United States Army. He served a tour of duty in Korea and returned to the United States in 1955. Though he had been considering giving up acting, Fuller, at the suggestion of his best friend, Chuck Courtney, attended Richard Boone's acting classes. Boone suggested that Fuller study under the tutelage of Sanford Meisner at New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse. Fuller's first speaking role was in Friendly Persuasion in 1956, where he worked with his future Laramie co-star John Smith and another close friend, Doug McClure. In the 1956 episode "The Comeback" in the religion anthology series, Crossroads, Fuller played the part of a former soldier. In the story line, Don DeFore, as the Reverend C. E. "Stoney" Jackson, offers spiritual insight to assist Lou Brissie (Chuck Connors) who is recovering from wounds sustained in World War II to enable him to return to professional baseball. Grant Withers appeared as Coach Whitey Martin and Crossroads regular Robert Carson appeared as a coach. In 1957, Fuller was cast in his first major film role in Teenage Thunder. He said of it: {{blockquote|I always wanted to be in show business and with the help of my best buddy, Chuck Courtney, who was an actor then, he helped get me my first starring role in a movie called Teenage Thunder. It was a break for me and since Chuck had the pull at the time to get the director, Paul Helmick, use me for the bad guy and not another actor that he really wanted. It was the gateway to many other roles which led to the Laramie series and so on and so forth.|author=Robert Fuller, emergencyfans.com}} Also in 1957, Fuller starred in the science fiction film The Brain from Planet Arous.Television work in the late 1950s and 1960s Fuller became an immensely popular character actor, guest-starring in dozens of television programs including Buckskin, The Big Valley, Official Detective, The Californians, The Restless Gun, The Lawless Years (as Cutie Jaffe on May 7, 1959), U.S. Marshal, Panic!, M Squad, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, "The Monroes" and the Lux Playhouse. He also appeared in the series Strange Intruder as a villain who dies in the third episode. In 1959,