[8] As a member of the Actors Studio in New York, Traylor, along with others, participated in a program to record and archive work that was being done there, including performances of scenes from dramatic literature.

His debut on Broadway occurred on November 14, 1957 at the Belasco Theatre, and was a remarkable opportunity: Two comedies written by and starring theatre legend, Noël Coward: Present Laughter with Traylor appearing as Roland Maule, and Nude With Violin with Traylor appearing as Clinton Preminger.

[15][16] In 2013, British playwright, James Martin Charlton, used this episode as the basis for a fictionalized theatrical dramatization, entitled Coward.

[17][18][19] Traylor went on to appear on Broadway in The Glass Menagerie, Show Boat, and Of Love Remembered, which was directed by Burgess Meredith.

In Los Angeles, he appeared in television dramas and series, including Adam-12, Bracken's World, The F.B.I., McMillan & Wife, Mannix, Kung Fu and The Execution of Private Slovik.

[1] His film work includes Cisco Pike (1972), The Towering Inferno (1974), Smile (1975), S*H*E (1980), The Long Riders (1980), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984), Fletch (1985) (for which he is best remembered as the uptight Mr. Underhill) and others.

They taught a remarkable roster of actors, including Sean Penn,[24][25] Johnny Depp,[26] Ellen Burstyn,[27] Jeff Goldblum,[28] Lily Tomlin, Joanna Kerns,[29] Annette O'Toole,[30] John Mayall, Anjelica Huston,[31][32] Meg Tilly,[33] Nicolas Cage,[34] Michelle Pfeiffer[35] and Callie Khouri — who wrote the film Thelma and Louise.