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 (84)
You've Got Mail
Nelson Fox
WarGames
McKittrick
Nine to Five
Franklin M. Hart Jr.
Stuart Little
Dr. Beechwood
Midway
Captain Murray Arnold
Amos & Andrew
Chief of Police Cecil Tolliver
Inspector Gadget
Chief Quimby
The Man with One Red Shoe
Cooper
Domino
Drake Bishop
Rules Don't Apply
Raymond Holliday
The Muppets Take Manhattan
Martin Price
The Beverly Hillbillies
Milburn Drysdale
There Goes the Neighborhood
Jeffrey Babitt
The Towering Inferno
Deputy Chief #1
Downhill Racer
Mayo
On Golden Pond
Bill Ray
Recess: All Growed Down
Principal Prickley (voice)
Tootsie
Ron Carlisle
Recess: School's Out
Principal Peter Prickly (voice)
Cloak & Dagger
Jack Flack / Hal Osborne
Where the Heart Is
Stewart McBain
Cinderella Liberty
Executive Officer
The Trouble with Girls
Harrison Wilby
Hot to Trot
Walter Sawyer
Modern Problems
Mark Winslow
Young Doctors in Love
Dr. Joseph Prang
Dolly Parton: An American Original – Special Edition of 20/20
Franklin M. Hart Jr (archive footage)
The Scalphunters
Jed
Bite the Bullet
Jack Parker
This Property Is Condemned
Salesman
Dragnet
Jerry Caesar
Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade
Principal Prickly (voice)
Nothing Personal
Dickerson
The Other Side of the Mountain
Dave McCoy
Recess Christmas: Miracle On Third Street
Principal Peter Prickly
Rolling Thunder
Maxwell
Short Time
Burt Simpson
Where the Red Fern Grows
Grandpa
Exiled
Lieutenant Kevin Stolper
How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale
John Kennedy
The President's Plane Is Missing
Sen. Bert Haines
Moonlight Mile
Mike Mulcahey
Sworn to Silence
Martin Costigan
Meet the Applegates
Aunt Bea
My Date with the President's Daughter
George Richmond
How to Beat the High Cost of Living
Jack Heintzel
North Dallas Forty
Emmett Hunter
Bad Ronald
Mr. Wood
Devil's Food
Seymour Kecker
Kiss Me... Kill Me
Capt. Logan
Never Forget
William Cox
A Witch's Way of Love
Joel
Giving It Up
Johnathan Gallant
The Slender Thread
Charlie
The Brotherhood of the Bell
Agent Shepard
Viva Knievel!
Ralph Thompson
Melvin and Howard
Judge Keith Hayes
Clifford
Gerald Ellis
I Love My Wife
Frank Donnelly
Pray TV
Marvin Fleece
In the Line of Duty: Kidnapped
Arthur Milo
Must Be Santa
1999
Dying Room Only
Bob Mitchell
Callie & Son
Randall Bordeaux
Black Fist
Heineken
When She Was Bad...
Jack Wilson
The Dove
Charles Huntley
The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
Dabney Coleman
Moving Target
Morty Raskin
Savage!
Ted Seligson
Hard Four
Spray Loomis
Target Earth
Senator Ben Arnold
House of Evil
1974
Murrow
William Paley
Maybe Baby
Hal
The Climb
Mack
Plaza Suite
Jesse Kiplinger
Returning Home
Al Stephenson
More Than Friends
Joshua 'Josh' Harrington
Kiss My Act
Henry
Judicial Consent
Charles Mayron
The Case of the Baltimore Girls
George Bates
Maneaters Are Loose!
McCallum
Guilty of Innocence: The Lenell Geter Story
Ed Sigel
TV Shows (100)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Frank Hager · 1 eps
NCIS
John Sydney · 1 eps
Columbo
Hugh Creighton · 1 eps
Columbo
Detective Murray · 1 eps
Yellowstone
John Dutton Sr. · 1 eps
Mannix
Ralph Stoner · 1 eps
Mannix
Howard Graham · 1 eps
The Love Boat
Van Milner · 1 eps
Bonanza
Clyde · 1 eps
Bonanza
Ivar Peterson · 1 eps
Ironside
Daniel Leary · 1 eps
The Fugitive
Floyd · 1 eps
The Fugitive
Sergeant Keith · 1 eps
The Fugitive
Officer George Graham · 1 eps
The Fugitive
Steve · 1 eps
Boardwalk Empire
Commodore Louis Kaestner · 24 eps
Quincy, M.E.
Dr. Burt Travers · 1 eps
Quincy, M.E.
Officer Peter O'Neil · 1 eps
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Tom Esterow · 1 eps
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Sgt. Lou Snyder · 1 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
Dr. Kildare
Dr. David Kirkson · 1 eps
Cannon
1 eps
Ray Donovan
Mr. Price · 1 eps
I Dream of Jeannie
George Webb · 1 eps
I Dream of Jeannie
Captain Yardley · 1 eps
The Donna Reed Show
Rallye Master · 1 eps
Naked City
Resident · 1 eps
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Congressman Phil Whitman · 1 eps
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Merle Jeeter · 212 eps
The Guardian
Burton Fallin · 67 eps
Ben Casey
1 eps
Kojak
Alex Linden · 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 Invaders
Capt. Mitchell Ross · 1 eps
The Invaders
John Carter · 1 eps
Recess
Principal Peter Prickly (voice) · 5 eps
Medical Center
1 eps
The Streets of San Francisco
George Todd · 1 eps
The Streets of San Francisco
Andrew Horvath, Sr. · 1 eps
Run for Your Life
Fred Palmer · 1 eps
Switch
C.C. Owens · 1 eps
Pound Puppies
Mayor (voice) · 4 eps
Nanny and the Professor
Detective Robinson · 1 eps
Hazel
Les Swanton · 1 eps
That Girl
7 eps
That Girl
Dr. Leon Bessemer · 1 eps
Police Story
2 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
Kraft Suspense Theatre
William Gunther · 1 eps
Kraft Suspense Theatre
Alvin Piper · 1 eps
The Magic School Bus
Horace Scope (voice) · 1 eps
12 O'Clock High
Captain Wilson · 1 eps
12 O'Clock High
Captain Robbins · 1 eps
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Monsieur Fox (voice) · 1 eps
Judd, for the Defense
1 eps
For the People
Donald · 1 eps
Room 222
1 eps
McMillan & Wife
Hansen · 1 eps
McMillan & Wife
Walter Jennings · 1 eps
Petrocelli
Willy Morgan · 1 eps
The Flying Nun
Sub. Captain · 1 eps
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Frank Wellmam · 1 eps
The Zeta Project
1 eps
The Mod Squad
John · 1 eps
Arrest and Trial
Wayne Holton · 1 eps
Then Came Bronson
Dr. Ron Carlisle · 1 eps
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors
Dr. Goldstone · 1 eps
Dan August
Rick Bessett · 1 eps
The Manhunter
1 eps
Medical Story
Blair · 1 eps
Please Don't Eat the Daisies
Clark · 1 eps
Heartland
Dr. Bart Jacobs · 6 eps
Kraft Mystery Theatre
1 eps
Fernwood 2 Night
Mayor Merle Jeeter · 2 eps
Banyon
Ralph Hubbard · 1 eps
Forever Fernwood
30 eps
Madman of the People
Jack 'Madman' Buckner · 16 eps
E! True Hollywood Story
1 eps
Buffalo Bill
Bill Bittinger · 26 eps
Diff'rent Strokes
2 eps
Fresno
Tyler Cane · 5 eps
The Slap Maxwell Story
22 eps
Sons and Daughters
1 eps
Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan
Paul Mathison · 2 eps
Baby M
Gary Skoloff · 2 eps
Courting Alex
Jack Atwell · 12 eps
Apple Pie
Fast Eddie Murtaugh · 2 eps
Search
1 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
Still Working 9 to 5
Self
Night of 100 Stars II
Self
The Making of Midway
Self (archive footage)
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
Self
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
Self
Char·ac·ter
Self