Biography

Only appeared in the first year of The Big Valley (1965), due to his being drafted by the United States Army in June of 1965.

He had completed only eight episodes of The Big Valley when he received his draft notice in June 1965. He was able to avoid Vietnam by volunteering for the California National Guard in order to fulfill his draft requirement. He had just signed on when the Watts riots occurred in Los Angeles.

Big Valley co-star Peter Breck, when asked about Briles in an interview with Eddie Lucas from Lucas' 2015 book "Close-Ups - Conversations with Our TV Favorites", said producers decided that they could save money by taking any future story lines that would involve the Eugene character and assign them to Briles' co-star and fellow newcomer on the television scene, Lee Majors. Breck mentioned nothing about Briles receiving his draft notice, although producers could have decided to do this once Briles had notified them of his call to arms.

As a teenager he performed with the Kentwood Players of the Westchester Playhouse in L.A. Later, he directed various stage productions in Southern California. He also wrote and produced industrial films during his 24 years with the Northrop Corporation. He retired to Orcutt, California, and died while visiting one of his sons in Portland, Oregon.

He was a guest at the 2012 Memphis Film Festival's "A Gathering of Guns 4: A TV Western Reunion" at the Whispering Woods Hotel and Conference Center in Olive Branch, Mississippi.