Ray Castellani played the villain in hundreds of TV and movie Westerns, but his career deteriorated and finally disappeared altogether as a result of his drinking.

Castellani says he can remember “standing outside 20th Century Fox and not remembering what show I was in, much less what my lines were.”

He lost his family, his reputation, and his home, then spent several years drifting in and out of home-lessness while he battled the bottle.

When he finally sobered up, instead of trying to get back the comfortable life he once had, he went to work helping the people with whom he had once shared the streets.

Castellani had his own ideas about how to help the homeless—he gave them food with no rules, no regulations, no scripture—just food. He made up batches of sandwiches and distributed them from the back of the pickup truck that he also lived in. When his truck was stolen, publicity about the theft brought in a flood of volunteers and donations.

Now with two trucks, a central kitchen, more than 100 volunteers and a minuscule budget, fulltime volunteer Castellani and his Frontline Foundation are cooking and serving nearly 2,000 meals a week. These days the former villain is wearing a very white hat.