He later attended St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree, and starred as goalie of the SLU hockey team.

[3] After completing Girl Crazy, he had a short film hiatus due to having enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps upon the US entry to World War II.

"[2][4] When Stratton completed his time with the Army, he returned to film, appearing in such features as Stalag 17 (1953) (as the narrator Cookie), a role in The Wild One (1953), and Bundle of Joy (1956).

He also starred in Waldo, an unsold television pilot that aired as an episode of the 1960 anthology series New Comedy Showcase.

Stratton was hired by Los Angeles television station KNXT (now KCBS-TV) in 1954[5] as a sportscaster and sports news anchor.

[2] Within a year, The Big News was earning a 28 percent share in the Los Angeles ratings and the show format became the standard that was copied by other local TV stations across the country.

He also covered the NFL as "the voice" of the Los Angeles Rams in the 1960s, and called Major League Baseball games, Kentucky Derbies, and feature races from Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, and Del Mar.

Stratton sold the station to Bill Evans and returned again to KNX 1070 radio in 1986 as a weekend sports anchor.