Robert Coote

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

68

Gender

Male

Birthday

1909-02-04

Day of death

1982-11-26 (73 years old)

Place of Birth

London, England, UK

Robert Coote

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert Coote (4 February 1909 – 26 November 1982) was an English actor. He played aristocrats or British military types in many films, and created the role of Colonel Hugh Pickering in the long-running original Broadway production of My Fair Lady. Coote was born in London and educated at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex. He began his stage career at the age of 16, performing in Britain, South Africa, and Australia before arriving in Hollywood in the late 1930s. He played a succession of pompous British types in supporting roles, including a brief but memorable turn as Sgt. Bertie Higginbotham in Gunga Din (1939). His acting career was interrupted by his service as a squadron leader in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. He played Bob Trubshawe in Powell and Pressburger's A Matter of Life and Death (1946), chosen for the first-ever Royal Film Performance on 1 November 1946, before he returned to Hollywood, where his films included The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), Forever Amber (1947), The Three Musketeers (1948), and Orson Welles' Othello (1952). In 1956, Coote created the role of Colonel Pickering in the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady (1956–62), which he reprised in the musical's 1976–77 Broadway revival. He also originated the role of King Pellinore in the Broadway production of Camelot (1960–63). He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance as Timmy St. Clair in the NBC TV series The Rogues (1964–65). In 1966, Coote appeared with Jackie Gleason and Art Carney in an episode of The Honeymooners entitled "The Honeymooners in England", broadcast on CBS-TV from Miami. In his last feature film performance, Coote portrayed one of the critics dispatched by Vincent Price in Theatre of Blood (1973). His final role was on television, playing orchid nurse Theodore Horstmann in the 1981 NBC-TV series Nero Wolfe, starring William Conrad in the title role. In most film and TV adaptations of Nero Wolfe mysteries, before and since, Horstmann has been a very minor character, but Coote's Horstmann got considerable screen time in the series. The veteran British character actor died in his sleep at the New York Athletic Club in November 1982, at the age of 73. Coote was a close friend of actor David Niven, sharing a house with Niven for a time in the late 1930s and living in a flat over Niven's garage for several years after the Second World War.

Known For

  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

  • Robert Montgomery Presents

    Robert Montgomery Presents

  • Robert Montgomery Presents

    Robert Montgomery Presents

  • Rawhide

    Rawhide

  • Studio One

    Studio One

  • BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

  • BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

  • Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

    Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

  • Lux Video Theatre

    Lux Video Theatre

  • Lux Video Theatre

    Lux Video Theatre

  • Lux Video Theatre

    Lux Video Theatre

  • The Rogues

    The Rogues

  • The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel

    The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel

  • A Matter of Life and Death

    A Matter of Life and Death

  • A Yank at Oxford

    A Yank at Oxford

  • Forever Amber

    Forever Amber

  • Cloak and Dagger

    Cloak and Dagger

  • $weepstake$

    $weepstake$

  • Nero Wolfe

    Nero Wolfe

  • A Man Could Get Killed

    A Man Could Get Killed

  • The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

    The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

  • The Constant Husband

    The Constant Husband

  • Scaramouche

    Scaramouche

  • The Swan

    The Swan

  • The Elusive Pimpernel

    The Elusive Pimpernel

  • Kenner

    Kenner

  • Loyalties

    Loyalties

  • Rangle River

    Rangle River

  • The League of Gentlemen

    The League of Gentlemen

  • The Sheik Steps Out

    The Sheik Steps Out

  • The Three Musketeers

    The Three Musketeers

  • The Exile

    The Exile

  • The Merry Widow

    The Merry Widow

  • Forever and a Day

    Forever and a Day

  • Alice Through the Looking Glass

    Alice Through the Looking Glass

  • Theatre of Blood

    Theatre of Blood

  • Berlin Express

    Berlin Express

  • Soldiers Three

    Soldiers Three

  • Filming Othello

    Filming Othello

  • Merry Andrew

    Merry Andrew

  • Commandos Strike at Dawn

    Commandos Strike at Dawn

  • Lured

    Lured

  • Othello

    Othello

  • The House of Fear

    The House of Fear

  • Gunga Din

    Gunga Din

  • The Red Danube

    The Red Danube

  • Mr. Moto's Last Warning

    Mr. Moto's Last Warning

  • Institute for Revenge

    Institute for Revenge

  • Sally in Our Alley

    Sally in Our Alley

  • Bad Lands

    Bad Lands

  • Lord Arthur Savile's Crime

    Lord Arthur Savile's Crime

  • The Prisoner of Zenda

    The Prisoner of Zenda

  • Prudence and the Pill

    Prudence and the Pill

  • Up the Front

    Up the Front

  • Nurse Edith Cavell

    Nurse Edith Cavell

  • The V.I.P.s

    The V.I.P.s

  • The Horse's Mouth

    The Horse's Mouth

  • Vigil in the Night

    Vigil in the Night

  • The Cool Ones

    The Cool Ones

  • The Girl Downstairs

    The Girl Downstairs

  • The Swinger

    The Swinger

  • Best Of Enemies

    Best Of Enemies

  • The Golden Head

    The Golden Head

  • Charley's Aunt

    Charley's Aunt

  • The Whitehall Worrier

    The Whitehall Worrier

  • The Thirteenth Chair

    The Thirteenth Chair

  • Blond Cheat

    Blond Cheat

  • You Can't Fool Your Wife

    You Can't Fool Your Wife