Cordic was born in the Hazelwood neighborhood of Pittsburgh and attended Central Catholic High School. He started in radio as a staff announcer and substitute sportscaster at WWSW-AM.[1] When morning host Davey Tyson left the station in 1948, Cordic was one of a number of staffers given the opportunity to replace him. At first a straightforward announcer, Cordic began introducing comedy to his program—first in subtle ways, such as reading a sports score for "East Overshoe University" along with the real scores, and later by adding a repertory company of supporting comic characters. The morning show, renamed Cordic & Company, became the most popular in Pittsburgh. In 1954, Cordic & Company moved to KDKA (AM) on Labor Day, one of the first times that an American radio station had hired a major personality directly from a local competitor. Popular Bette Smiley had decided to retire from her full-time KDKA wake-up show Radio Gift Shoppe of the Air and move to a Sunday-only condensed version on WCAE in August 1954 in order to raise her young son Robbie. Cordic's immediate predecessor in the morning slot was the Ed and Rainbow show, featuring Ed Schaughency with Elmer Waltman cast in the role of Rainbow, the janitor. Waltman was dropped, and Schaughency was moved to the afternoon with a show called Schaughency's Record Cabinet. Schaughency lasted less than two years in that role before he was replaced by Art Pallan, who also came over from WWSW. Schaughency took on a new role as a news reader and moved back to mornings, delivering the newscasts during Cordic & Company. The show's ratings continued to grow until, at some points, it had an 85 share—meaning that 85% of all radios in Pittsburgh were tuned to Cordic & Company while it was on. By the end of his tenure in Pittsburgh, Cordic was reportedly earning $100,000 a year, a huge sum for a radio host at the time.

Filmography

• The Transformers — Menasor
• 1979Americathon — Herb
• 1979Gulliver's Travels — (voice)
• 1979The Golden Gate Murders — Father John Thomas
• 1978Puff, the Magic Dragon — Bald Doctor (voice)
• 1978Standing Tall — Hodges
• The Critical List — Chairman
• 1978The Meanest Men in the West
• 1977Intimate Strangers — Simpson, Rest Home Director
• 1977John Hus — Cardinal Anthony
• Logan's Run — Darrel
• 1977Panic in Echo Park — Dr. Gavin O'Connor
• The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries — Paul Chase
• The Incredible Hulk
• 1977The Man with the Power — Personage
• 1977The Mouse and His Child — The Clock (voice)
• 1976Obsession — Newscaster
• Quincy, M.E. — Judge
• Rich Man, Poor Man - Book II — Dr. Lassiter
• The Bionic Woman
• The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour — (voice)
• 1976Woman of the Year — Editor Clayton
• Switch — Dr. Dane Cranston
• 1975Target Risk — Mr. Ryan
• 1975The Wild Party — Mr. Murchison
• Wonder Woman — Professor Eidleman
• 1974Indict and Convict — Yacht Club Bartender
• Kolchak: The Night Stalker — Dr. Peel
• 1974Newman's Law — Clement
• 1974The Death Squad — Judge
• The Manhunter
• The Rockford Files — Dr. Evan Stuart
• The Six Million Dollar Man — Host, Space Explorer
• 1973Detroit 9000 — Dr. Horace Cooley
• 1973Sleeper — Party Guest (uncredited)
• Toma
• Emergency! — Norman Harrison
• Kung Fu — Stoddard
• The Sixth Sense
• The Streets of San Francisco — Abe Johnson
• The Waltons
• Cannon
• Columbo — Lewis, Deputy Commissioner
• 1971Death Takes a Holiday — TV Announcer
• Monty Nash — Ambassador Reynolds
• Nichols — Tyler
• Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law — Dr. Bereton
• 1971The Face of Fear — Dr. Landsteiner
• 1971The Priest Killer — Archbishop
• 1971Travis Logan, D.A.
• Famous Classic Tales
• McCloud
• Night Gallery — Doctor (as Regis J. Cordic)
• 1970Ritual of Evil — The Sheriff
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show — Marc Williams (as Regis J. Cordic)
• Medical Center
• The Name of the Game — Chairman Walt
• The Outsider — Stambler
• Ironside
• Mannix
• Space Ghost and Dino Boy — Moltar (voice)
• The Monkees — Doctor, Narrator / Town Cryer
• Get Smart — Colonel Quinton
• The F.B.I. — Daniel Austin
• Gunsmoke — Reverend, Sheriff Crane, Marshal Halstead, Sheriff Grimes
• The Milky Way

Appearances as themselves (1)

• 1988The Secret Identity of Jack the Ripper — Self - Announcer