Dabney Coleman

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

193

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

  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

  • Yellowstone

    Yellowstone

  • Columbo

    Columbo

  • Columbo

    Columbo

  • Bonanza

    Bonanza

  • Bonanza

    Bonanza

  • Ironside

    Ironside

  • Saturday Night Live

    Saturday Night Live

  • The Fugitive

    The Fugitive

  • The Fugitive

    The Fugitive

  • The Fugitive

    The Fugitive

  • The Fugitive

    The Fugitive

  • The Love Boat

    The Love Boat

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • Mannix

    Mannix

  • Mannix

    Mannix

  • Quincy, M.E.

    Quincy, M.E.

  • Quincy, M.E.

    Quincy, M.E.

  • The Donna Reed Show

    The Donna Reed Show

  • I Dream of Jeannie

    I Dream of Jeannie

  • I Dream of Jeannie

    I Dream of Jeannie

  • Ray Donovan

    Ray Donovan

  • Hazel

    Hazel

  • Dr. Kildare

    Dr. Kildare

  • Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

    Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

  • Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

    Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

  • The Guardian

    The Guardian

  • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

    The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

  • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

    The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

  • Naked City

    Naked City

  • Boardwalk Empire

    Boardwalk Empire

  • Ben Casey

    Ben Casey

  • 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.

  • Cannon

    Cannon

  • Barnaby Jones

    Barnaby Jones

  • Barnaby Jones

    Barnaby Jones

  • Barnaby Jones

    Barnaby Jones

  • Barnaby Jones

    Barnaby Jones

  • Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law

    Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law

  • Recess

    Recess

  • That Girl

    That Girl

  • Medical Center

    Medical Center

  • Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman

    Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman

  • The Mary Tyler Moore Show

    The Mary Tyler Moore Show

  • Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child

    Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child

  • Kojak

    Kojak

  • Run for Your Life

    Run for Your Life

  • The Outer Limits

    The Outer Limits

  • The Outer Limits

    The Outer Limits

  • The Outer Limits

    The Outer Limits

  • Kraft Suspense Theatre

    Kraft Suspense Theatre

  • Kraft Suspense Theatre

    Kraft Suspense Theatre

  • Pound Puppies

    Pound Puppies

  • Switch

    Switch

  • The Streets of San Francisco

    The Streets of San Francisco

  • The Streets of San Francisco

    The Streets of San Francisco

  • McMillan & Wife

    McMillan & Wife

  • McMillan & Wife

    McMillan & Wife

  • The Invaders

    The Invaders

  • The Invaders

    The Invaders

  • Petrocelli

    Petrocelli

  • Arrest and Trial

    Arrest and Trial

  • 12 O'Clock High

    12 O'Clock High

  • 12 O'Clock High

    12 O'Clock High

  • Then Came Bronson

    Then Came Bronson

  • The Mod Squad

    The Mod Squad

  • Judd for the Defense

    Judd for the Defense

  • Police Story

    Police Story

  • Room 222

    Room 222

  • Dan August

    Dan August

  • The Magic School Bus

    The Magic School Bus

  • For The People

    For The People

  • The Flying Nun

    The Flying Nun

  • The Zeta Project

    The Zeta Project

  • Midway

    Midway

  • Stuart Little

    Stuart Little

  • You've Got Mail

    You've Got Mail

  • Search

    Search

  • WarGames

    WarGames

  • The Bold Ones: The New Doctors

    The Bold Ones: The New Doctors

  • Nanny and the Professor

    Nanny and the Professor

  • The Beverly Hillbillies

    The Beverly Hillbillies

  • Cinderella Liberty

    Cinderella Liberty

  • This Property Is Condemned

    This Property Is Condemned

  • Inspector Gadget

    Inspector Gadget

  • The Manhunter

    The Manhunter

  • Rules Don't Apply

    Rules Don't Apply

  • Melvin and Howard

    Melvin and Howard

  • The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer

    The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer

  • Banyon

    Banyon

  • Callie & Son

    Callie & Son

  • Returning Home

    Returning Home

  • Please Don't Eat the Daisies

    Please Don't Eat the Daisies

  • Moonlight Mile

    Moonlight Mile

  • Dragnet

    Dragnet

  • Target Earth

    Target Earth

  • Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade

    Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade

  • Rolling Thunder

    Rolling Thunder

  • The Muppets Take Manhattan

    The Muppets Take Manhattan

  • Where the Red Fern Grows

    Where the Red Fern Grows

  • The Scalphunters

    The Scalphunters

  • Fernwood 2 Night

    Fernwood 2 Night

  • The Dove

    The Dove

  • The Towering Inferno

    The Towering Inferno

  • Amos & Andrew

    Amos & Andrew

  • Sworn to Silence

    Sworn to Silence

  • Clifford

    Clifford

  • Bite the Bullet

    Bite the Bullet

  • The Man with One Red Shoe

    The Man with One Red Shoe

  • Savage

    Savage

  • On Golden Pond

    On Golden Pond

  • Giving It Up

    Giving It Up

  • Medical Story

    Medical Story

  • Recess: School's Out

    Recess: School's Out

  • Heartland

    Heartland

  • Domino

    Domino

  • Still Working 9 to 5

    Still Working 9 to 5

  • Hot to Trot

    Hot to Trot

  • The Trouble with Girls

    The Trouble with Girls

  • Bad Ronald

    Bad Ronald

  • How to Beat the High Cost of Living

    How to Beat the High Cost of Living

  • Kraft Mystery Theatre

    Kraft Mystery Theatre

  • Nothing Personal

    Nothing Personal

  • Tootsie

    Tootsie

  • Buffalo Bill

    Buffalo Bill

  • Short Time

    Short Time

  • The Climb

    The Climb

  • Lincoln

    Lincoln

  • Modern Problems

    Modern Problems

  • Nine to Five

    Nine to Five

  • Pray TV

    Pray TV

  • My Date with the President's Daughter

    My Date with the President's Daughter

  • Guilty of Innocence: The Lenell Geter Story

    Guilty of Innocence: The Lenell Geter Story

  • The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson

    The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson

  • Forever Fernwood

    Forever Fernwood

  • Char·ac·ter

    Char·ac·ter

  • A Witch's Way of Love

    A Witch's Way of Love

  • Diff'rent Strokes

    Diff'rent Strokes

  • Fresno

    Fresno

  • Madman of the People

    Madman of the People

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

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

  • Hard Four

    Hard Four

  • Maneaters Are Loose!

    Maneaters Are Loose!

  • Meet the Applegates

    Meet the Applegates

  • Courting Alex

    Courting Alex

  • Must Be Santa

    Must Be Santa

  • Young Doctors in Love

    Young Doctors in Love

  • The Brotherhood of the Bell

    The Brotherhood of the Bell

  • Downhill Racer

    Downhill Racer

  • Drexell's Class

    Drexell's Class

  • Murrow

    Murrow

  • E! True Hollywood Story

    E! True Hollywood Story

  • The Slap Maxwell Story

    The Slap Maxwell Story

  • The Case of the Baltimore Girls

    The Case of the Baltimore Girls

  • Exiled

    Exiled

  • The Slender Thread

    The Slender Thread

  • Recess: All Growed Down

    Recess: All Growed Down

  • Sons and Daughters

    Sons and Daughters

  • Apple Pie

    Apple Pie

  • Judicial Consent

    Judicial Consent

  • Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood

    Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood

  • Where the Heart Is

    Where the Heart Is

  • In the Line of Duty: Kidnapped

    In the Line of Duty: Kidnapped

  • Kiss Me... Kill Me

    Kiss Me... Kill Me

  • How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale

    How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale

  • Black Fist

    Black Fist

  • Dan August: The Jealousy Factor

    Dan August: The Jealousy Factor

  • Never Forget

    Never Forget

  • Plaza Suite

    Plaza Suite

  • Taken

    Taken

  • Cloak & Dagger

    Cloak & Dagger

  • North Dallas Forty

    North Dallas Forty

  • Dying Room Only

    Dying Room Only

  • Moving Target

    Moving Target

  • Night of 100 Stars II

    Night of 100 Stars II

  • More Than Friends

    More Than Friends

  • There Goes the Neighborhood

    There Goes the Neighborhood

  • I Love My Wife

    I Love My Wife

  • House of Evil

    House of Evil

  • When She Was Bad...

    When She Was Bad...

  • Maybe Baby

    Maybe Baby

  • The Other Side of the Mountain

    The Other Side of the Mountain

  • The President's Plane Is Missing

    The President's Plane Is Missing

  • Viva Knievel!

    Viva Knievel!

  • Devil's Food

    Devil's Food