Along with Glenn Close, he narrarated the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah.

Was a member of the radically political theatre performance group "The San Francisco Mime Troupe".

Graduated with a B.A in English Literature in 1964.

Given the actor's unusual second name, it's ironic that, prior to his acting career, he once plucked chickens for a living

He was one of the organizers of a group of 12 students who traveled to Washington, DC, during the Cuban missile crisis of the early 1960s supporting President John F. Kennedy's "peace race." President Kennedy invited the group into the White House (the first time protesters had ever been so recognized) and they met for several hours with Kennedy advisor McGeorge Bundy.

Before becoming an actor at the age of 39, he spent 15 years in the counterculture during the 1960s. He wrote a memoir of that time called "Sleeping Where I Fall". It has gone through five hardback printings and is in its second paperback edition. "Carla's Story", a chapter from the book, won the Pushcart Prize for Excellence in Non-Fiction in 1993/1994.

In his book Lila, Robert Pirsig relates that he had Coyote in mind to star in an adaptation of, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." Coyote was a friend of Pirsig's son Chris.

With Peter unseen (as in voiceovers or radio adverts), his voice is strongly reminiscent of that of Henry Fonda.

Tested for the role of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).