Sawyer gained acting experience in the Pasadena Playhouse. Popular roles that he portrayed included Sergeant Biff O'Hara in the Rin Tin Tin television program, a film, and on radio. On Stories of the Century in 1954, he portrayed Butch Cassidy, a role which he repeated in the 1958 episode "The Outlaw Legion" of the syndicated western series Frontier Doctor starring Rex Allen, with Doris Singleton and Michael Ansara as fellow guest stars. Sawyer also appeared on ABC's, Maverick, Sugarfoot, Peter Gunn, and Surfside 6 as well as NBC's Bat Masterson.