A durable American leading and supporting player primarily on TV, Cliff De Young began in show business as a rock musician with the band Clear Light in the 1960s. By the late 60s, he had settled in NYC and began to pursue a stage acting career, appearing in the Broadway company of "Hair" and off-Broadway in David Rabe's "Sticks and Bones" (1971), a role he reprised in the 1973 CBS broadcast of the play. Many affiliates found the subject matter (about a returning Vietnam veteran) too controversial and refused to air the production. During his days in NYC, De Young also landed a regular role on the CBS daytime drama "The Secret Storm."