Dabney Coleman
Acting
Born: January 3, 1932 · Austin, Texas, USA
Died: May 16, 2024 (aged 92)
Highest Rated
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
Stuart Little
1999
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
You've Got Mail
1998
Yellowstone
2018
NCIS
2003
WarGames
1983
Tootsie
1982
Inspector Gadget
1999
Domino
2005
Boardwalk Empire
2010
The Towering Inferno
1974
Ray Donovan
2013
Photos (3)
Movies (83)
Nine to Five
Franklin M. Hart Jr.
You've Got Mail
Nelson Fox
Stuart Little
Dr. Beechwood
WarGames
McKittrick
The Beverly Hillbillies
Milburn Drysdale
The Towering Inferno
Deputy Chief #1
Inspector Gadget
Chief Quimby
Tootsie
Ron Carlisle
Midway
Captain Murray Arnold
Domino
Drake Bishop
Dragnet
Jerry Caesar
The Man with One Red Shoe
Cooper
On Golden Pond
Bill Ray
The Muppets Take Manhattan
Martin Price
Amos & Andrew
Chief of Police Cecil Tolliver
Recess: School's Out
Principal Peter Prickly (voice)
Rules Don't Apply
Raymond Holliday
Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade
Principal Prickly (voice)
Recess: All Growed Down
Principal Prickley (voice)
Cloak & Dagger
Jack Flack / Hal Osborne
Moonlight Mile
Mike Mulcahey
Where the Red Fern Grows
Grandpa
The Scalphunters
Jed
Young Doctors in Love
Dr. Joseph Prang
Downhill Racer
Mayo
This Property Is Condemned
Salesman
Bite the Bullet
Jack Parker
Rolling Thunder
Maxwell
Recess Christmas: Miracle On Third Street
Principal Peter Prickly
Cinderella Liberty
Executive Officer
There Goes the Neighborhood
Jeffrey Babitt
Melvin and Howard
Judge Keith Hayes
Short Time
Burt Simpson
The Trouble with Girls
Harrison Wilby
Clifford
Gerald Ellis
Plaza Suite
Jesse Kiplinger
North Dallas Forty
Emmett Hunter
The Other Side of the Mountain
Dave McCoy
My Date with the President's Daughter
George Richmond
Bad Ronald
Mr. Wood
Hot to Trot
Walter Sawyer
How to Beat the High Cost of Living
Jack Heintzel
Savage!
Ted Seligson
The Slender Thread
Charlie
Exiled
Lieutenant Kevin Stolper
Dying Room Only
Bob Mitchell
Where the Heart Is
Stewart McBain
Nothing Personal
Dickerson
When She Was Bad...
Jack Wilson
A Witch's Way of Love
Joel
The Brotherhood of the Bell
Agent Shepard
Viva Knievel!
Ralph Thompson
Modern Problems
Mark Winslow
Giving It Up
Johnathan Gallant
Kiss Me... Kill Me
Capt. Logan
The Dove
Charles Huntley
Callie & Son
Randall Bordeaux
I Love My Wife
Frank Donnelly
The President's Plane Is Missing
Sen. Bert Haines
Target Earth
Senator Ben Arnold
Judicial Consent
Charles Mayron
Never Forget
William Cox
Sworn to Silence
Martin Costigan
Pray TV
Marvin Fleece
The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
Dabney Coleman
Devil's Food
Seymour Kecker
How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale
John Kennedy
In the Line of Duty: Kidnapped
Arthur Milo
Meet the Applegates
Aunt Bea
More Than Friends
Joshua 'Josh' Harrington
The Climb
Mack
Guilty of Innocence: The Lenell Geter Story
Ed Sigel
Moving Target
1973
Must Be Santa
1999
House of Evil
1974
Returning Home
Al Stephenson
The Case of the Baltimore Girls
George Bates
Maneaters Are Loose!
McCallum
Kiss My Act
Henry
Maybe Baby
Hal
Murrow
William Paley
Hard Four
Spray Loomis
Black Fist
Heineken
TV Shows (100)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Frank Hager · 1 eps
NCIS
John Sydney · 1 eps
Yellowstone
John Dutton Sr. · 1 eps
Columbo
Hugh Creighton · 1 eps
Columbo
Detective Murray · 1 eps
The Love Boat
Van Milner · 1 eps
Ironside
Daniel Leary · 1 eps
The Donna Reed Show
Rallye Master · 1 eps
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Tom Esterow · 1 eps
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Sgt. Lou Snyder · 1 eps
Bonanza
Clyde · 1 eps
Bonanza
Ivar Peterson · 1 eps
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Congressman Phil Whitman · 1 eps
Boardwalk Empire
Commodore Louis Kaestner · 24 eps
The Fugitive
Floyd · 1 eps
The Fugitive
Sergeant Keith · 1 eps
The Fugitive
Officer George Graham · 1 eps
The Fugitive
Steve · 1 eps
Mannix
Ralph Stoner · 1 eps
Mannix
Howard Graham · 1 eps
Ray Donovan
Mr. Price · 1 eps
Quincy, M.E.
Dr. Burt Travers · 1 eps
Quincy, M.E.
Officer Peter O'Neil · 1 eps
Dr. Kildare
Dr. David Kirkson · 1 eps
I Dream of Jeannie
George Webb · 1 eps
I Dream of Jeannie
Captain Yardley · 1 eps
Cannon
1 eps
The Streets of San Francisco
George Todd · 1 eps
The Streets of San Francisco
Andrew Horvath, Sr. · 1 eps
Barnaby Jones
George Clark · 1 eps
Barnaby Jones
Ted Sayers · 2 eps
Barnaby Jones
Brad Adamson · 1 eps
Barnaby Jones
Paul Cleveland · 1 eps
The Flying Nun
Sub. Captain · 1 eps
The Guardian
Burton Fallin · 67 eps
The F.B.I.
Ira Barker · 1 eps
The F.B.I.
Allen Clarke · 1 eps
The F.B.I.
Stanley Leonard · 1 eps
The F.B.I.
Sam Langlin · 1 eps
The F.B.I.
Ty Williams · 1 eps
The F.B.I.
Mr. Jamison · 1 eps
The F.B.I.
Barnes · 1 eps
Run for Your Life
Fred Palmer · 1 eps
The Outer Limits
Dr. Williams · 1 eps
The Outer Limits
James Custer · 1 eps
The Outer Limits
Lt. Rupert Lawrence Howard (uncredited) · 1 eps
Room 222
1 eps
Naked City
Resident · 1 eps
Ben Casey
1 eps
Recess
Principal Peter Prickly (voice) · 5 eps
Pound Puppies
Mayor (voice) · 4 eps
Medical Center
1 eps
The Invaders
Capt. Mitchell Ross · 1 eps
The Invaders
John Carter · 1 eps
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Merle Jeeter · 212 eps
That Girl
7 eps
That Girl
Dr. Leon Bessemer · 1 eps
Kojak
Alex Linden · 1 eps
12 O'Clock High
Captain Robbins · 1 eps
12 O'Clock High
Captain Wilson · 1 eps
Police Story
2 eps
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Monsieur Fox (voice) · 1 eps
Hazel
Les Swanton · 1 eps
McMillan & Wife
Hansen · 1 eps
McMillan & Wife
Walter Jennings · 1 eps
Judd, for the Defense
1 eps
Switch
C.C. Owens · 1 eps
Kraft Suspense Theatre
William Gunther · 1 eps
Kraft Suspense Theatre
Alvin Piper · 1 eps
The Magic School Bus
Horace Scope (voice) · 1 eps
The Zeta Project
1 eps
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Frank Wellmam · 1 eps
Petrocelli
Willy Morgan · 1 eps
The Mod Squad
John · 1 eps
Arrest and Trial
Wayne Holton · 1 eps
Nanny and the Professor
Detective Robinson · 1 eps
For the People
Donald · 1 eps
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors
Dr. Goldstone · 1 eps
Then Came Bronson
Dr. Ron Carlisle · 1 eps
The Manhunter
1 eps
Dan August
Rick Bessett · 1 eps
Banyon
Ralph Hubbard · 1 eps
Medical Story
Blair · 1 eps
Heartland
Dr. Bart Jacobs · 6 eps
Kraft Mystery Theatre
1 eps
Buffalo Bill
Bill Bittinger · 26 eps
Please Don't Eat the Daisies
Clark · 1 eps
Search
1 eps
Fernwood 2 Night
Mayor Merle Jeeter · 2 eps
Madman of the People
Jack 'Madman' Buckner · 16 eps
Fresno
Tyler Cane · 5 eps
Diff'rent Strokes
2 eps
E! True Hollywood Story
1 eps
Courting Alex
Jack Atwell · 12 eps
Forever Fernwood
30 eps
Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan
Paul Mathison · 2 eps
The Slap Maxwell Story
22 eps
Sons and Daughters
1 eps
Baby M
Gary Skoloff · 2 eps
Apple Pie
Fast Eddie Murtaugh · 2 eps
Self / Appearances (9)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · 10 eps
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host · 1 eps
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee · 2 eps
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
Self
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
Self
Night of 100 Stars II
Self
Char·ac·ter
Self
Still Working 9 to 5
Self
The Making of Midway
Self