Cimino's most well known roles are in the 1983 science fiction miniseries, V as Abraham Bernstein and the 1987 feature film The Monster Squad as the "Scary German guy".

[1] In 1936, at the age of 18, he made his professional stage debut in a supporting role in the world premiere of Gladys Bronwyn Stern's Middle Man in Suffern, New York which starred actor Ernest Truex.

Cimino also appeared in numerous Off-Broadway productions during his career, notably winning an Obie Award in 1958 for his portrayal of Smerdyakov in The Brothers Karamazov.

He frequently appeared Off-Broadway in Shakespeare plays at the Public Theater, including Egeon in The Comedy of Errors (1975) alongside Ted Danson and Danny DeVito.

Cimino made many guest appearances on top TV programs, to include Naked City, The Defenders, The Doctors, Kojak, Ryan's Hope, The Equalizer and Law & Order.