After attending school in Los Angeles, they moved to a ranch in the San Fernando Valley, a style of living he would maintain for the rest of his life.

Beery's early television work included a weekly stint as Joey the Clown in Circus Boy with Micky Dolenz in the mid-1950s.

In 1960, Beery replaced Burt Reynolds as the co-starring sidekick on Riverboat, an NBC Western series starring Darren McGavin.

Beery portrayed the buckskin-clad recurring sidekick character "Buffalo Baker" in the 17-episode 1967 television series Hondo starring Ralph Taeger, a role played by Ward Bond in the original 3D John Wayne film.

He had two daughters, Muffett and Melissa; a son, actor Bucklind Beery; and three step-children, Page and Sean Slattery[2] and Lerena Barbe.