The Arkansas....
The Arkansas native began his musical career as a the drummer for the rockabilly band Ronnie Hawkins' Hawks. By 1963, Helm and fellow musicians Robbie Robertson, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko had left to form their own group variously known as Levon and the Hawks, the Crackers and the Canadian Squires. In 1964, singer John Hammond Jr had heard them and asked them to join him on tour. In NYC, Helm and Robertson caught the attention of singer Bob Dylan who hired them to perform with his electrified band at his now famous Forest Hills (NY) concert. Helm and Dylan had a disagreement and the group toured for a year without Helm. By late 1966, the rift had been healed and Helm joined in the recording session which were eventually released in 1975 as "The Basement Tapes".
Around this same time, the musicians began working on their own material and they renamed their group The Band. For the next decade, The Band recorded six albums and toured. In 1976, The Band played its last concert at Winterland in San Francisco (where the group had played its first concert in 1969) which Scorsese captured in "The Last Waltz". Helm continued his music career but added acting to his resume.
Hired by Michael Apted to play Ted Webb, Loretta Lynn's father, in "Coal Miner's Daughter" (1980), Helm surprised many with his strong characterization. He subsequently appeared to good effect in Philip Kaufman's "The Right Stuff" (1980), Joyce Chopra's "Smooth Talk" (1985) and "End of the Line" (1987). On TV, in addition to making appearances as a musical performer ("Live From the Lone Star", "Farm Aid VI") or in documentaries ("The History of Rock 'n' Roll", "The Band"), Helm offered strong support as Jane Fonda's mechanic husband in "The Dollmaker" (ABC, 1984) and won praise for his turn as an ex-convict in a 1990 episode of the NBC drama series "Midnight Caller".