Rudley was born in 1910 (some sources say 1911) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended Temple University. He left Temple after winning a scholarship to Eva Le Gallienne's Civic Repertory Theatre.

In 1940, he appeared in the film version of Abe Lincoln in Illinois. For the next four decades, he appeared in dozens of supporting film roles, including The Seventh Cross and Rhapsody in Blue, the film biography of George Gershwin, in which he portrayed Ira Gershwin. He also appeared in A Walk in the Sun, in which he played a World War II sergeant who experiences a psychological breakdown in combat; Joan of Arc; and The Young Lions, in which he played an unsympathetic Army officer.

On television, he appeared in both dramas, often as a military man, and comedies. He also appeared on My Friend Flicka. In 1957, he guest starred as a Prussian cavalry officer in an episode of the syndicated western series, Boots and Saddles. From 1957-1959, he co-starred in the role of Sam Brennan in [thirty-seven episodes of NBC's western drama, The Californians, set in the San Francisco gold rush of the 1850s. His co-stars included Sean McClory, Richard Coogan, Art Fleming, and Adam Kennedy. He made four guest appearances on Perry Mason between 1958-1962. In his first appearance he played the title character and murderer George Durell in "The Case of the Prodigal Parent." In 1962 he played murder victim Ben Faraday in "The Case of the Captain's Coins."

In 1959, he appeared as John McAuliffe on the syndicated television series Border Patrol, with Richard Webb. Rudley guest starred twice as Jeremy Thorne in NBC's western series Laramie. In the 1960s, he was a regular in a short-lived television vehicle for Juliet Prowse called Mona McCluskey. In 1963, he appeared in two episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies as the psychiatrist Dr. Twombey, and once on My Favorite Martian. In 1973, he guest starred in one episode of Lorne Greene's ABC crime drama Griff.

However, Rudley is best remembered for his role as Eve Arden's husband, attorney Herb Hubbard, in NBC's sitcom, The Mothers-in-Law. In 1981, he made four appearances on the soap opera Dallas as Howard Barker, an attorney who represented J.R. Ewing in his divorce and child custody fight with his former wife, Sue Ellen.

Source: Wikipedia