Dabney Coleman

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Dabney Coleman
Born Dabney Wharton Coleman
(1932-01-03) January 3, 1932 (age 81)
Austin, Texas, USA
Occupation Actor
Years active 1961-present
Spouse(s) Ann Courtney Harrell
(1957–1959; divorced)
Jean Hale
(m.1961–1984; divorced)

Dabney Wharton Coleman (born January 3, 1932) is an American actor.[1] Coleman is perhaps best known for roles in 9 to 5, Cloak & Dagger, Tootsie, WarGames, You've Got Mail, Sworn to Silence, The Beverly Hillbillies and as the voice of Principal Peter Prickly in Recess and Recess: School's Out.

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Early life [edit]

Coleman was born in Austin, Texas, the son of Mary Wharton (née Johns) and Melvin Randolph Coleman.[2][3] He entered the Virginia Military Institute in 1949, then studied law at the University of Texas before turning to acting. He was drafted in 1953 to the US Army and served in Europe.

Career [edit]

Coleman is a character actor who has a wide range, with over 60 films to his credit. Early roles in his career included a US Olympic skiing team coach in the Robert Redford 1969 film Downhill Racer, a high-ranking superior to firefighter Steve McQueen in The Towering Inferno (1974) and a wealthy Westerner whose champion horse is entered in a long-distance race against that of Gene Hackman and others in Bite the Bullet (1975).

He eventually landed the main antagonist part of Franklin Hart, Jr., a sexist boss on whom three female office employees (Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin) get their revenge in 1980's Nine to Five. It was this film that established Coleman in the character type he is most identified with and has frequently played since - a comic relief villain. (He had played earlier versions of such characters in the Elvis Presley vehicle The Trouble with Girls as well as an appearance in a 1962 AMC Rambler commercial.) Coleman followed up Nine to Five with the role of the arrogant, sexist, soap opera director in Tootsie (1982), further enforcing audiences' identification of him as a smarmy, devious foil to a film's main character. He broke from this type somewhat, however, in his portrayal of military computer scientist John McKittrick in WarGames (1983).

Coleman received his first Emmy nomination for his lead role in the critically acclaimed, though short-lived, TV series Buffalo Bill. In 1987, he received an Emmy Award for his role in the TV movie Sworn to Silence.[4] He was featured in the feature film On Golden Pond (1981), playing the fiance of Chelsea Thayer Wayne (Jane Fonda). Coleman played a Hugh Hefner-ish magazine mogul in the comedy Dragnet (1987), Bobcat Goldthwait's boss (wearing, inexplicably, a set of fake teeth) in the 1988 talking-horse comedy Hot to Trot, and befuddled banker Milburn Drysdale in the feature film The Beverly Hillbillies (1993).

Coleman received top billing as Gerald Ellis in Clifford (1994), with Martin Short in the title role. He also played a philandering father in You've Got Mail (1998). More recently, Coleman appeared as a casino owner in 2005's Domino.

For two seasons, from 2010 to 2011, Coleman was a series regular on HBO's hit series Boardwalk Empire.

Personal life [edit]

Coleman has been married twice. He was married to Ann Courtney Harrell from 1957 to 1959 and to actress Jean Hale from 1961 to 1984. He has four children: Meghan, Kelly, Randy, and Quincy. He resides in the Brentwood district of Los Angeles.[5]

Coleman has been an avid tennis player, playing for the US Army while posted in Europe (he was drafted in 1953), and later playing in and winning some celebrity and charity tournaments.[6][7]

Filmography [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "The New York Times". 
  2. ^ Dabney Coleman Biography (1931-) at filmreference.com
  3. ^ Dabney Coleman Biography at Yahoo! Movies
  4. ^ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 1437. ISBN 0-345-45542-8. 
  5. ^ Dabney Coleman, The Movieland Directory, 2010 
  6. ^ Wallace, David (11 July 1983), "As TV's Macho Buffalo Bill, Dabney Coleman Finds That Sexism Breeds Success", People 20 (2) 
  7. ^ Scott, Vernon (17 January 1982), "Dabney Coleman Gradually Working His Way to Top", Florence Times - Tri-Cities Daily, UPI 

Madman of the People (TV) (1994–1995)

External links [edit]
Authority control
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