His contract led him to guest appearances in Warner Bros. Television programs, such as Conflict, in which he appeared in three hour-long episodes, including his screen debut as Ed Masters in "The Magic Brew" on October 16, 1956.
He had small roles in the Warners movies Bombers B-52 (1957), Lafayette Escadrille (1958), and No Time for Sergeants (1958).
Warners tried him in the lead of a feature, Young and Eager (1961) aka Claudelle Inglish with Diane McBain.
He tried another pilot for a series, Howie, that was not picked up and war in the Warners war film with Jeff Chandler, Merrill's Marauders (1962), a picture filmed in the Philippine Islands and Chandler's last acting role.
While appearing in a play in Chicago in late 1963, he was flown to Los Angeles to shoot a television pilot for MGM, Bert I. Gordon's Take Me to Your Leader, in which Hutchins played a Martian salesman who came to Earth. Though the pilot was not picked up, it led MGM to sign him for Spinout, in which he co-starred as Lt. Tracy Richards ("Dick Tracy" backwards) alongside Elvis Presley.
In 1965, Hutchins co-starred with Jack Nicholson and Warren Oates in Monte Hellman's The Shooting.
In 1966-1967, he costarred with Sandy Baron in Hey, Landlord, set in a New York City apartment building. The program followed Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, but it failed to attract a sustaining audience against CBS's The Ed Sullivan Show and ABC's The F.B.I. with Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., his former Warner Bros. colleague.
Hutchins was reunited with Presley in Clambake (1967).
In 1968-69, Hutchins starred as Dagwood Bumstead in a CBS television version of the comic strip Blondie.
He travelled to South Africa to appear in Shangani Patrol (1970) playing Frederick Russell Burnham.
Back in the US, Hutchins guest starred on Love, American Style, Emergency!, Chase, Movin' On, The Streets of San Francisco, and The Quest. He was in The Horror at 37,000 Feet (1973), Slumber Party '57 (1976), and The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (1977).
Hutchins had roles in Roar (1981), Gunfighter (1999) and The Romantics (2010).
