[2] He was a self-defense instructor while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II[3] and later played football for the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins.

[5] Phillips retired as a police officer after being injured while working undercover,[5] and attended acting school in the early 1950s.

[3] Phillips was hired by studios as a minder for Lee Marvin, to prevent him getting into fights after hours.

[5] His other film roles included appearances in The Killers (1964) and Cat Ballou (1965), Dimension 5 (1966), Hour of the Gun (1967), Mackenna's Gold (1969), Slaughter (1972), The Slams (1973), I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973), The Dion Brothers (1974), Capone (1975, as Bugs Moran), Mitchell (1975), Mean Johnny Barrows (1975), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) and Walking Tall: Final Chapter (1977).

Phillips also guest-starred in numerous television programs including Star Trek: The Original Series (in the episode "The Cage"), Gunsmoke, The Rockford Files, Bonanza, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Wild Wild West, Rawhide, Mission: Impossible, The High Chaparral, Mannix, The Fall Guy and Planet of the Apes.