Caruso was born in Frankfort, Indiana.^[2] While acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, he met Alan Ladd, beginning a friendship that continued as they made 11 films together.^[3]

Caruso's early acting experience included performing with The Hart Players, a stock theater company that presented tent shows. He also acted with the Federal Theatre Project and was a star in plays at the Hollywood Playhouse.^[4]

He made his film debut in Henry Hathaway's Johnny Apollo (1940) starring Tyrone Power.^[4]

In 1960, on Gunsmoke, Caruso played a cowboy named Gurney. He also played “Lone Wolf” in a 1961 episode entitled “Indian Ford”. He returned in 1963, playing the title character “Ash Farior”, in a performance outside of his normal roles, partnering with & befriending “Ben” (John Dehner), where the latter has an accident that disrupts his brain, and Caruso shows his friend sympathy, love, patience, care & loyalty. In 1964 he played “Sims”, a surly cowboy in “Father’s Love”, as well as “Bull Foot” in a semi-comedic role in the episode “The Warden”.

In 1954, Caruso played Tiburcio Vásquez in an episode of the western series Stories of the Century. He appeared in the first Brian Keith series, Crusader. Among Caruso's other Western credits was 1954's Cattle Queen of Montana starring Barbara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan. In 1957, he appeared in the fourth episode of the first season of the TV western Have Gun – Will Travel starring Richard Boone titled "The Winchester Quarantine".

In 1956 Caruso appeared as Disalin with war hero Audie Murphy, Charles Drake and Anne Bancroft in Walk the Proud Land.

In 1957, Caruso appeared in episode "The Child" on NBC's The Restless Gun.^[5] In 1959, he was cast as George Bradley in the episode "Annie's Old Beau" on the NBC children's western series, Buckskin.

That same year, he portrayed Matt Cleary on CBS's Wanted: Dead or Alive episode "The Littlest Client", with Steve McQueen. Also 1959, he also guest-starred on the ABC/Warner Brothers western series, Sugarfoot, in the episode "The Extra Hand", along with guest stars Karl Swenson and Jack Lambert as well as the series star, Will Hutchins.^{[citation needed]} The same year he appeared in the 'Syndicate Sanctuary' episode of The Untouchables.

In 1960, Caruso played a Cherokee Indian, Chief White Bull, in the episode "The Long Trail" of the NBC western series, Riverboat, starring Darren McGavin.^{[citation needed]}

Also in 1960, he returned to Gunsmoke playing a cowboy named Gurney in S6E5’s “Shooting Stopover”.

In 1961, he appeared twice on the ABC/Warner Brothers drama series, The Roaring 20s, including the role of Lucky Lombardi in "The Maestro". He was also cast with Will Hutchins in a second The Roaring 20s episode entitled, "Pie in the Sky."^{[citation needed]} Early in 1961, he was cast as Velde in the episode "Willy's Millionaire" of the short-lived ABC adventure series, The Islanders, with Diane Brewster.

Caruso guest-starred in an episode of the ABC western series, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, based on a Robert Lewis Taylor novel of the same name. Caruso guest-starred three times on CBS's Perry Mason. In 1962, he played Keith Lombard in "The Case of the Playboy Pugilist." Also in 1962, Caruso played Cody Durham in "Cody's Code" on Gunsmoke. In 1965, he made two Perry Mason appearances, both times as the murder victim: first as title character Enrico Bacio in "The Case of the Sad Sicilian," then as Harvey Rettig in "The Case of the Runaway Racer."

Caruson portrayed the title character in the 1963 Gunsmoke episode "Ash", Also appearing with him are John Dehner and Adam West.

In 1964, he guest-starred in the Bonanza episode "The Saga of Squaw Charlie" playing a Native American man shunned by almost everybody and with only two friends, Ben Cartwright and a little girl named Angela. In 1969 he starred alongside Ricardo Montalbán in Desperate Mission, a fictionalized telling of the life of Joaquin Murrieta. From 1966 to 1970 he guest-starred three times on the long-running NBC western The Virginian, starring James Drury. In 1965 he guest-starred on ABC's The Addams Family as Don Xavier Molinas.

Some of his other roles were that of the alien gangster "Bela Oxmyx" in the classic Star Trek episode "A Piece of the Action", Chief Blackfish on the NBC series Daniel Boone, Mongo in the film Tarzan and the Leopard Woman, Sengo in Tarzan and the Slave Girl, and Louis Ciavelli (the "box man" or safecracker) in The Asphalt Jungle. Caruso played the comical character of the Native American "Red Cloud" on the 1965 Get Smart episode "Washington 4, Indians 3," and Chief Angry Bear in the episode "You Can't Scalp a Bald Indian" of Rango.

In 1970, Caruso made a guest appearance on the ABC crime drama The Silent Force in the episode "A Family Tradition." In 1974, he appeared in the final episode, entitled "The Fire Dancer," of the ABC police drama Nakia. Caruso also had a recurring roll as El Lobo on The High Chaparral.

Caruso met his future wife, Tonia at the Alcazar Theater in 1939 in San Francisco, when the play she was in was closing and the play he was in was opening.^{[clarification needed]} Caruso was married for 63 years. He enjoyed gardening and cooking. He was the father of son Tonio.^[6]

On April 4, 2003, Caruso died at age 86 at his home in Los Angeles, California, three days before his 87th birthday.^[2]

• Anthony Caruso at IMDb