His stark white hair, imposing build and horn-rimmed glasses influenced the roles he received, as he was often cast as an ornery boss, a cagey businessman or other officious types.

Andrews was born in Griffin, Georgia, the son of an Episcopal priest, and was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Cleveland, Ohio and Wheeling, West Virginia.

During this period, Andrews starred in the short-lived but well-received military drama So Proudly We Hail in the lead role opposite Richard Cromwell.

His next film appearance came in 1955 as the subversive and corrupt Rhett Tanner, head of a violent political machine, in The Phenix City Story.

While Andrews' film acting career began in earnest in his forties, he appeared much older than he actually was and he was consistently typecast as a grandfatherly type.

He played Molly Ringwald's grandfather in the John Hughes film Sixteen Candles (1984) before making his final feature-film appearance in Gremlins (1984).

[1] Andrews guest-starred on many television series including Mama, Thriller, Goodyear Television Playhouse, Hands of Mystery, The United States Steel Hour, Justice (1954 series), Cheyenne, The Twilight Zone (in the episodes "Third From the Sun" and "You Drive"), The Real McCoys, The Eleventh Hour, Route 66, Naked City, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, The Untouchables, Bonanza, Alias Smith and Jones, The Wild Wild West, Ironside, The F.B.I., The Beverly Hillbillies, Mr. Novak, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, Love American Style, Ellery Queen, The Invaders, Bewitched, Hawaii Five-O, Charlie's Angels, The Rookies, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Storefront Lawyers, Sergeant Bilko, The Love Boat, The Andy Griffith Show, Fantasy Island, Three's Company, The Bob Newhart Show and Quincy, M.E.. Andrews was a regular on the ABC series Broadside (1964–1965) as Commander Roger Adrian.

[2] He served as the captain and commanding officer of Battery C within the 751st Field Artillery Battalion of the U.S. Army[3] and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal in September 1945.