His first on-screen role was as a military policeman in the 1952 movie Fearless Fagan. In 1953, he began appearing on television. In 1958, he was cast in the episode "The Trial" of the American Civil War drama Gray Ghost with Tod Andrews. Eisley was in the 1959 Roger Corman film The Wasp Woman, which he described as "a hell of a lot of fun". Eisley's big break was being discovered playing opposite Jerry Paris in a Pasadena, California production of Who Was That Lady I Saw You With? where he was signed to a contract with Warner Bros. In the days of Tab, Ty, and Rock, Warner Bros. did not want a leading man with the name of "Fred" so they changed his first name to "Anthony". In 1959, Eisley played Carter Henry (as Fred Eisley), The Young Philadelphians (1959).