Dabney Coleman

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

195

Gender

Male

Birthday

1932-01-03

Day of death

2024-05-16 (92 years old)

Place of Birth

Austin, Texas, USA

Dabney Coleman

Biography

Dabney Wharton Coleman (January 3, 1932 – May 16, 2024) was an American actor. Coleman's best known films include 9 to 5 (1980), On Golden Pond (1981), Tootsie (1982), WarGames (1983), Cloak & Dagger (1984), The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), You've Got Mail (1998), Inspector Gadget (1999), Recess: School's Out (2001), Moonlight Mile (2002), and Rules Don't Apply (2016). Coleman's television roles included the title characters of Buffalo Bill (1983–1984) and The Slap Maxwell Story (1987–1988), as well as Burton Fallin on The Guardian (2001–2004), the voice of Principal Peter Prickly on Recess (1997–2001), and Louis "The Commodore" Kaestner on Boardwalk Empire (2010–2011). He won one Primetime Emmy Award from six nominations and one Golden Globe Award from three nominations. Coleman was a character actor with roles in well over 60 films and television programs to his credit. He trained with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City from 1958 to 1960. Coleman made his Broadway debut in the short-lived A Call on Kuprin in 1961. In a 1964 episode of Kraft Suspense Theatre titled "The Threatening Eye", Coleman played private investigator William Gunther. Two years later, he played Dr. Leon Bessemer with Bonnie Scott as his wife Judy, neighbors and friends of the protagonist in Season 1 of That Girl, episode 3, "Never Change a Diaper on Opening Night". Noted for his moustache which he grew in 1973, he appeared in the sitcom wearing horn-rimmed glasses and with no facial hair. Other early roles in his career included a U.S. Olympic skiing team coach in Downhill Racer (1969), a high-ranking fire chief in The Towering Inferno (1974), and a wealthy Westerner in Bite the Bullet (1975). He portrayed an FBI agent in Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan (1975).

Known For

  • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

    Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

  • NCIS

    NCIS

  • Yellowstone

    Yellowstone

  • Columbo

    Columbo

  • Columbo

    Columbo

  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

  • Saturday Night Live

    Saturday Night Live

  • Mannix

    Mannix

  • Mannix

    Mannix

  • Bonanza

    Bonanza

  • Bonanza

    Bonanza

  • The Love Boat

    The Love Boat

  • Ironside

    Ironside

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • The Fugitive

    The Fugitive

  • The Fugitive

    The Fugitive

  • The Fugitive

    The Fugitive

  • The Fugitive

    The Fugitive

  • Ray Donovan

    Ray Donovan

  • Quincy, M.E.

    Quincy, M.E.

  • Quincy, M.E.

    Quincy, M.E.

  • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

    The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

  • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

    The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

  • Boardwalk Empire

    Boardwalk Empire

  • I Dream of Jeannie

    I Dream of Jeannie

  • I Dream of Jeannie

    I Dream of Jeannie

  • The Guardian

    The Guardian

  • Naked City

    Naked City

  • Hazel

    Hazel

  • Cannon

    Cannon

  • Dr. Kildare

    Dr. Kildare

  • Medical Center

    Medical Center

  • Recess

    Recess

  • Kojak

    Kojak

  • The Invaders

    The Invaders

  • The Invaders

    The Invaders

  • Switch

    Switch

  • The Outer Limits

    The Outer Limits

  • The Outer Limits

    The Outer Limits

  • The Outer Limits

    The Outer Limits

  • Ben Casey

    Ben Casey

  • The Mary Tyler Moore Show

    The Mary Tyler Moore Show

  • Barnaby Jones

    Barnaby Jones

  • Barnaby Jones

    Barnaby Jones

  • Barnaby Jones

    Barnaby Jones

  • Barnaby Jones

    Barnaby Jones

  • The F.B.I.

    The F.B.I.

  • The F.B.I.

    The F.B.I.

  • The F.B.I.

    The F.B.I.

  • The F.B.I.

    The F.B.I.

  • The F.B.I.

    The F.B.I.

  • The F.B.I.

    The F.B.I.

  • The F.B.I.

    The F.B.I.

  • How to Beat the High Cost of Living

    How to Beat the High Cost of Living

  • The Donna Reed Show

    The Donna Reed Show

  • Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman

    Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman

  • That Girl

    That Girl

  • The Magic School Bus

    The Magic School Bus

  • Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

    Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

  • Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

    Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

  • WarGames

    WarGames

  • Pound Puppies

    Pound Puppies

  • The Streets of San Francisco

    The Streets of San Francisco

  • The Streets of San Francisco

    The Streets of San Francisco

  • 12 O'Clock High

    12 O'Clock High

  • 12 O'Clock High

    12 O'Clock High

  • McMillan & Wife

    McMillan & Wife

  • McMillan & Wife

    McMillan & Wife

  • Run for Your Life

    Run for Your Life

  • Room 222

    Room 222

  • Kraft Suspense Theatre

    Kraft Suspense Theatre

  • Kraft Suspense Theatre

    Kraft Suspense Theatre

  • The Flying Nun

    The Flying Nun

  • The Mod Squad

    The Mod Squad

  • Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child

    Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child

  • Stuart Little

    Stuart Little

  • The Zeta Project

    The Zeta Project

  • Police Story

    Police Story

  • Then Came Bronson

    Then Came Bronson

  • Guilty of Innocence: The Lenell Geter Story

    Guilty of Innocence: The Lenell Geter Story

  • Petrocelli

    Petrocelli

  • Arrest and Trial

    Arrest and Trial

  • The Brotherhood of the Bell

    The Brotherhood of the Bell

  • You've Got Mail

    You've Got Mail

  • Judd for the Defense

    Judd for the Defense

  • Midway

    Midway

  • For The People

    For The People

  • The Manhunter

    The Manhunter

  • Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law

    Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law

  • The Dove

    The Dove

  • Inspector Gadget

    Inspector Gadget

  • Bad Ronald

    Bad Ronald

  • Downhill Racer

    Downhill Racer

  • The Beverly Hillbillies

    The Beverly Hillbillies

  • Tootsie

    Tootsie

  • Dan August

    Dan August

  • The Bold Ones: The New Doctors

    The Bold Ones: The New Doctors

  • Dan August: The Jealousy Factor

    Dan August: The Jealousy Factor

  • Moonlight Mile

    Moonlight Mile

  • Target Earth

    Target Earth

  • The Towering Inferno

    The Towering Inferno

  • Dragnet

    Dragnet

  • Nanny and the Professor

    Nanny and the Professor

  • Short Time

    Short Time

  • Search

    Search

  • Amos & Andrew

    Amos & Andrew

  • Nothing Personal

    Nothing Personal

  • Nine to Five

    Nine to Five

  • Cloak & Dagger

    Cloak & Dagger

  • Rules Don't Apply

    Rules Don't Apply

  • Cinderella Liberty

    Cinderella Liberty

  • Callie & Son

    Callie & Son

  • Returning Home

    Returning Home

  • Viva Knievel!

    Viva Knievel!

  • Recess: School's Out

    Recess: School's Out

  • Lincoln

    Lincoln

  • The Climb

    The Climb

  • Domino

    Domino

  • Banyon

    Banyon

  • Pray TV

    Pray TV

  • The Muppets Take Manhattan

    The Muppets Take Manhattan

  • Plaza Suite

    Plaza Suite

  • Hard Four

    Hard Four

  • Taken

    Taken

  • Fernwood 2 Night

    Fernwood 2 Night

  • Bite the Bullet

    Bite the Bullet

  • Where the Red Fern Grows

    Where the Red Fern Grows

  • Please Don't Eat the Daisies

    Please Don't Eat the Daisies

  • This Property Is Condemned

    This Property Is Condemned

  • Modern Problems

    Modern Problems

  • Judicial Consent

    Judicial Consent

  • Madman of the People

    Madman of the People

  • Medical Story

    Medical Story

  • On Golden Pond

    On Golden Pond

  • Heartland

    Heartland

  • Melvin and Howard

    Melvin and Howard

  • The Man with One Red Shoe

    The Man with One Red Shoe

  • Buffalo Bill

    Buffalo Bill

  • The Trouble with Girls

    The Trouble with Girls

  • Recess: All Growed Down

    Recess: All Growed Down

  • Exiled

    Exiled

  • Hot to Trot

    Hot to Trot

  • Giving It Up

    Giving It Up

  • Savage

    Savage

  • My Date with the President's Daughter

    My Date with the President's Daughter

  • Kraft Mystery Theatre

    Kraft Mystery Theatre

  • Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade

    Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade

  • The Scalphunters

    The Scalphunters

  • Meet the Applegates

    Meet the Applegates

  • Maybe Baby

    Maybe Baby

  • Diff'rent Strokes

    Diff'rent Strokes

  • A Witch's Way of Love

    A Witch's Way of Love

  • Sworn to Silence

    Sworn to Silence

  • North Dallas Forty

    North Dallas Forty

  • Clifford

    Clifford

  • Where the Heart Is

    Where the Heart Is

  • The Slender Thread

    The Slender Thread

  • Never Forget

    Never Forget

  • The Case of the Baltimore Girls

    The Case of the Baltimore Girls

  • The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson

    The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson

  • Young Doctors in Love

    Young Doctors in Love

  • The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer

    The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer

  • Drexell's Class

    Drexell's Class

  • House of Evil

    House of Evil

  • Maneaters Are Loose!

    Maneaters Are Loose!

  • In the Line of Duty: Kidnapped

    In the Line of Duty: Kidnapped

  • Fresno

    Fresno

  • Char·ac·ter

    Char·ac·ter

  • The Slap Maxwell Story

    The Slap Maxwell Story

  • Forever Fernwood

    Forever Fernwood

  • Dying Room Only

    Dying Room Only

  • I Love My Wife

    I Love My Wife

  • There Goes the Neighborhood

    There Goes the Neighborhood

  • Rolling Thunder

    Rolling Thunder

  • Kiss My Act

    Kiss My Act

  • Must Be Santa

    Must Be Santa

  • Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood

    Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood

  • E! True Hollywood Story

    E! True Hollywood Story

  • Black Fist

    Black Fist

  • Kiss Me... Kill Me

    Kiss Me... Kill Me

  • More Than Friends

    More Than Friends

  • Moving Target

    Moving Target

  • How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale

    How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale

  • Courting Alex

    Courting Alex

  • Murrow

    Murrow

  • Apple Pie

    Apple Pie

  • The Other Side of the Mountain

    The Other Side of the Mountain

  • Baby M

    Baby M

  • Sons and Daughters

    Sons and Daughters

  • When She Was Bad...

    When She Was Bad...

  • Still Working 9 to 5

    Still Working 9 to 5

  • Night of 100 Stars II

    Night of 100 Stars II

  • The President's Plane Is Missing

    The President's Plane Is Missing

  • Devil's Food

    Devil's Food

  • Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan

    Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan