He studied theater arts at San Bernardino Valley College for two years, then worked as a truck driver and at other odd jobs before launching his career as an actor.

[5] Lewis appeared in TV series including Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Mannix, Mission: Impossible, Cannon,[6] Barnaby Jones, Mork & Mindy, The Golden Girls, Lou Grant, Mama's Family, Magnum, P.I., The A-Team, Titus, Murder, She Wrote, The X-Files, Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven, Starsky & Hutch, Walker, Texas Ranger and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Lewis worked frequently with actor-director Clint Eastwood in several films, including Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Pink Cadillac, Any Which Way You Can, Bronco Billy, Every Which Way but Loose, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, and High Plains Drifter.

[5][7] In the 1980s, Lewis was also a member of musical storytelling group Celestial Navigations with musician and songwriter Geoff Levin.

His other children include his daughters Brandy, Hannah and Dierdre Lewis and Emily Colombier; his sons Peter, Lightfield, Miles and Matthew; and nine grandchildren.