Herbert Jefferson, Jr. was born in Sandersville, Georgia. He began his career guest starring on numerous of television series through out the the 70s and 80s. However his first claim to fame was his break out role as "Roy Dwyer" on the hit mini series Rich Man, Poor Man (1976). He is probably best known for his role as "Lieutenant Boomer" on the original version of the TV series Battlestar Galactica (1978-79). A year later he reprised his role as the newly-promoted "Colonel Boomer" on the short lived sequel series Galactica: 1980.