s ▁baseball ▁and ▁track ▁teams . ▁He ▁studied ▁at ▁Ohio ▁State ▁University ▁on ▁an ▁athlet ic ▁scholar ship . ▁He ▁was ▁part ▁of ▁the ▁university ' s ▁sw im ▁team ▁that ▁won ▁the ▁United ▁States ▁National ▁Championships . ▁After ▁two ▁years ▁at ▁Ohio ▁State , ▁he ▁transferred ▁to ▁the ▁University ▁of ▁Hawai i ▁where ▁he ▁spent ▁much ▁time ▁training ▁as ▁a ▁sw immer ▁for ▁the ▁Olympics . ▁He ▁was ▁also ▁involved ▁in ▁the ater ▁produ ctions . ▁ ▁Career ▁ ▁Edwards ▁studied ▁acting ▁at ▁the ▁American ▁Academy ▁of ▁D ram atic ▁Arts ; ▁his ▁class m ates ▁included ▁Anne ▁B anc ro ft , ▁John ▁Cass av etes , ▁and ▁Grace ▁Kelly . ▁In ▁ 1 9 5 0 , ▁he ▁was ▁signed ▁to ▁a ▁contract ▁by ▁Param ount ▁Pictures , ▁making ▁his ▁film ▁debut ▁as ▁Vincent ▁Edwards ▁in ▁ 1 9 5 1 ' s ▁M ister ▁Un iverse . ▁The ▁following ▁year ▁he ▁played ▁the ▁lead ▁role ▁in ▁H ia w ath a . ▁Although ▁he ▁had ▁major ▁roles ▁in ▁several ▁films , ▁including ▁film ▁no irs ▁The ▁K illing ▁( 1 9 5 6 ) ▁and ▁Mur der ▁by ▁Cont ract ▁( 1 9 5 8 ), ▁it ▁was ▁not ▁until ▁he ▁was ▁featured ▁as ▁the ▁title ▁character ▁in ▁the ▁highly ▁successful ▁Ben ▁Case y ▁television ▁series ▁that ▁he ▁achieved ▁st ard om . ▁The ▁medical ▁drama , ▁which ▁he ▁occasionally ▁directed , ▁ran ▁from ▁ 1 9 6 1 ▁to ▁ 1 9 6 6 . ▁As ▁a ▁result